How to: Fixing a laptop battery plugged in but not charging

 Battery on your laptop plugged in and not charging?

It can be frustrating.....always being plugged into a wall socket for something that is clearly meant to be mobile. Sometimes it can be a Windows update that's the culprit and not the battery itself.

Depending on usage the average laptop battery lasts between 6-8hrs, on a full charge.
But if you have a new battery you bought last year, and your unable to charge your battery at all, follow these steps.


1. Open the Device Manager by searching for it or right-clicking the Start button and selecting Device Manager.

2. Click Batteries on the list to expand it and you should see two items: Microsoft AC Adapter and Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery.

3. Right-click on each item and choose Uninstall device.
(Don't worry.... the battery will automatically be reinstalled when you restart your laptop.)

4. Shut down your laptop and unplug the power cable from your laptop.

5. If your laptop has a removable battery, remove it.

6. Wait 30 seconds for the motherboard to discharge. 

7. Put the battery back in if you removed it.

8. Plug in your laptop.

9. Power on your laptop.

10. Click the battery icon in the system tray and you should see that your laptop is plugged in and charging

Tech News: LGs TV goes from a flat screen to curved

One of the "cool" factors you could show off in your house is having a TV morph from a flat screen to a curved TV with a press of a button.
The South Korean TV manufacture LG has just the screen for you.

At CES2020 it showed off a 4K OLED TV which morphed from a flat screen to curved in just a few seconds.

The display relies on bendable OLED which is a fairly new technology. This is the same technology that Samsung uses in their displays for the Galaxy Fold phone.

These types of screens use OLED ‘Organic Light Emitting Diode”. 

They’ve gained popularity because of the simplicity of the construction, superior image and most of all their flexibility. And as opposed to standard LED screens they don’t require a back light either.

These characteristics make OLED a superior choice for displays for TVs, smart phones and tablets. 

It’s safe to say that OLEDs will be replacing standard LEDs in the near future.

For more information on OLED technology check out 

https://www.oled-info.com/oled-introduction



Ninite - Install multiple free software versions with one click

Don't want to hassle with downloading the latest browser, online storage, messaging and antivirus, and spending forever with installing that software on your PC?

Ninite is an excellent solution for downloading and installing multiple free programs in one single click.

It allows users to make a selection from a list of applications and bundles the selection into a single installer package.

Applications are installed from their respective official websites, ensuring you receive the latest official versions. Any adware that is optional on downloading is ignored and blocked by Ninite, using the option to deselect the adware or suspicious extensions during the installation process.

On the Ninite webpage, you select the software you need by the checkboxes and then click the custom Ninite installer at the bottom of the page.

From there the Ninite installer will download the programs you selected and you're free for other jobs.

One of the biggest benefits of Ninite is it downloads programs from their official websites, automatically checking their digital signatures or hash values to ensure they haven’t been tampered with.

It works entirely in the background, skipping any questions, ignoring prompts to reboot your PC, and automatically installing 64-bit applications on a 64-bit PC. 

Ninite works with Windows 7, 8 and 10

Tech News: How hackers are breaking into Ring security cameras

Hackers have created dedicated software for breaking into Ring security cameras, according to posts on hacking forums reviewed by Motherboard (Tech Site). The camera company is owned by Amazon, which has hundreds of partnerships with police departments around the country.

An incident that occured Wednesday in Desoto County Tennesee, found a mother of an 8 year old extreemly shaken after finding the Ring security camera was hacked into and the hacker spoke through the device's speakers with one of the children.

Local news agency WMC5 shows the video (courtesy of the family) what the hacker would have seen: A view of the entire room from where the camera is installed in a far corner, looking down on their beds and dressers while they play. The hacker is heard playing the song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" through the device's speakers, and when one of the daughters, who is eight years old, stops and asks who's there, the hacker says, "It's Santa. It's your best friend."
Their camera now sits disconnected on their kitchen counter.

Owners of Ring security cameras in Mississippi, Georgia, Florida and Texas have reported incidents where hackers tormented families with racial slurs, encouraged children into destructive behavior and demanded a ransom in Bitcoin.

A few security measures to consider:
Like most IP security cameras, Ring cameras rely on your homes wireless internet connection. However this is easy to hack into as most logins,usernames and passwords are very weak. It's recommended to change the login info to stronger username and passwords.

For increased security make your home Wi-Fi so it's not visible to others. For your security camera apps (which are downloadable to your iPhone or Android phone) ensure Two Factor authorization. This incorporates having the app send a text with a code you enter during the login procedure on the camera app.

Windows 7 support is ending - Now what do you do? UPGRADE TO WINDOWS 10!

Microsoft has announced it's "End Of Life Support" for Windows 7

The full message reads:

So it's recommended you upgrade to Windows 10, but the free offer to upgrade to Windows 10 actually expired July 29, 2016.

Does that means your plans are awash? 
No....not quite.



There is STILL a way to get Windows 10 for free for those who have Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.

Along with Windows 10 November update, Microsoft has changed the Windows 10 installer to accept Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 product activation keys.
Yea!!! :-) ;-D

So....first off you need to determine your product key for your current version of Windows. To do this you need a product key finder. A good one is Magic Jelly Bean - https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

1. Install and run the key finder program.
2. Write your Windows product key..... you're going to need this later after installing Windows 10
3. **BACKUP YOUR DOCUMENTS, PHOTOS, PICS, DOWNLOADS...ETC to an external drive or USB
4. Create Windows 10 installation media if you don’t already have it lying around. 
You can do this with Microsoft’s Windows 10 media creation tool at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 . 
Select “Create installation media for another PC” and the tool will offer to create a bootable USB flash drive or burn a bootable DVD.
5. Insert the installation media (USB or DVD) into the computer you want to upgrade, reboot, and boot from the installation media. Install Windows 10 normally following the steps provided.

  *** You can perform an upgrade installation that keeps your existing files or a clean installation that wipes your system drive.

6. During the installation of Windows 10, you'll be prompted to enter a product key. At this screen you have the option of entering the key from Windows 7 or 8 or you can Just click "I don't have a product key" and enter it later.

7.After you’ve installed Windows 10, head to Settings > Update & Security > Activation and you should see that your PC has a digital license.

If you didn’t enter a key during the installation process, you can enter a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 key right in this window when you’re asked to provide a Windows 10 key. Windows will check in with Microsoft’s servers and give your PC a digital license for Windows 10.

And that's it! 
If you ever need to reinstall Windows 10, go thru the same process and use the same key.

You can also sign in to your new PC with a Microsoft account and that key will be associated with your Microsoft account, making it easy to reactivate your digital license if you ever need to reinstall Windows 10 later.