Category Archives: computer tips

Rotate a tablet screen when using TeamViewer or remote work software

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Summary: sometimes a PC or tablet may be stuck in the wrong screen orientation when you log in via TeamViewer or other remote software. Solution: Turn rotation lock ON Rotate via the “orientation setting” Apply settings and you are done! Details: Recently I had to do some work for a client via TeamViewer. While that is normal, the ruggedized tablet that I was logging into was a little out of the usual. Specifically, the tiny tablet was running Windows 10

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Photoshop JPG file sizes are way too BIG!

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Recently I received an unusual JPEG for a work project. The resolution was fairly low (1344×576) and the document resolution was also set to a relatively low screen resolution of 72dpi: Normally I would anticipate this file being less than 1MB. However, it was over 10MB! Copy and pasting the image content into a blank Photoshop file and saving as a JPEG also resulted in a 10MB file size. Even using a very high compression level (and thus reducing the

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Improve Lenovo PC performance, remove McAfee LiveSafe, replace with best Antivirus

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Recently we purchased some new Lenovo AIO PCs with Windows 10. These systems have nice Ryzen CPUs, SSDs and plenty of RAM but there is still room for performance improvement! One of the first things I like to is uninstall programs that I do not need. There are a ton of candidates but McAfee LiveSafe is one of the first that I uninstall. It takes up precious resources and nearly a GB of space on the SSD. Uninstalling is quick

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InDesign PDF export blank 0kB error [SOLVED]

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Question. I am trying to export a large Adobe InDesign project as a PDF but I only get a 0kB blank PDF. 🙁 I have tried restarting and sometimes that helps but it is driving me crazy. How do I fix this InDesign error? Answer. If your project is very large, your PDF may still be exporting in the background. Here is how to check: Start your PDF export Go to the menu item  Window->Utilities->Background Tasks Check the resulting list

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Get Minecraft for Windows 10 for free if you already own Minecraft [SOLVED]

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Question. Is Minecraft for Windows 10 really free if you already own Minecraft for JAVA? If so, how do I get my Windows 10 Minecraft product key?! Answer. Yes, if you were an early purchaser of Minecraft, you can redeem a gift code for Minecraft for Windows 10 for FREE (normally around $27!) Here are the steps: Login to https://account.mojang.com/me Look for the Minecraft for Windows 10 heading under “My Games” Click the Redeem button Follow the steps on the

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How to set FireFox homepage and disable top sites/recommended/highlights [SOLVED]

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Question: Help! How do I disable the “Top Sites” “Recommended by Pocket” and “Highlights” when I start Firefox? Also, how do I set my OWN homepage? Thank you. Answer: In the Firefox address bar, type about:preferences and press Enter. That takes you to preferences. Now you can: Set your preferred Homepage for new windows Set your preferred page for new tabs Disable Top Sites by unchecking (under the “Firefox Home Content”  heading) Disable Recommended by Pocket Disable Highlights I hope

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What does TBW stand for in reference to an SSD? [SOLVED]

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Question: What does TBW stand for on my SSD? Answer: TBW stands for Terabytes Written. Specifically, TBW is the number of terabytes written that the manufacturer expects a particular SSD to be capable of during the lifetime of the drive. In general, the higher the TBW the better. However, be aware that different manufacturers may use different estimates and formulas for arriving at a given TBW. If you go with a reputable manufacturer, like Samsung or Intel, and choose a

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How to shutdown laptop during Windows 11 or Windows 10 initial setup (Set Up Windows)

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Question: I reset a laptop (Lenovo X1 Carbon G6) using Windows 10 and I want to ship it to a new owner in a pristine condition where it will let them set up Windows 10 to their liking. However, after I booted it to test that it booted okay, I am now at the initial Windows let’s start with region setup screen and I cannot shut down 🙁 Can you tell me how to turn off my PC during the

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