wikiHow wikiHow Staff: Our first question here is, how do you know if your RAM is faulty? Spike Baron: Several ways. The computer won't boot is one--with an error message. And another one would be a blue screen, BSOD [inaudible] happen. Those are the two major things that happen. Issues like that. wikiHow Staff: Okay. Gotcha, gotcha. Let's see, how much RAM can you add to your PC? And how do you know how much RAM you're going to need? Spike Baron: Every motherboard has a limit and you have to go to the manufacturer of the motherboard or computer manufacturer, and they will tell you the maximum amount allotted for that particular device. wikiHow Staff: Okay, and how do you know how much RAM you might need for--maybe you're not sure or someone's upgrading their computer? Spike Baron: Well, RAM is like money. You can never have too much. Basically, anything over 16 gigabytes is usually, for a normal desktop user is [inaudible]. Up to 16 gigabytes, you're--actually, eight gigabytes is the sweet spot. Whereas if you're just a normal user, search the net, and do maybe a little picture editing, music editing, that's perfect for you. If you were going to be doing AutoCAD or 3D modeling, then you'd want to get a [inaudible] or 32 gigabytes, if you can support it. wikiHow Staff: Okay, great. What happens if you disable hardware acceleration? And when or why might you need to do that? Spike Baron: It depends on the application. If you're doing like, if you're playing a DVD movie, it possibly would need hardware acceleration, things like that. In other words, the more in demand the hardware, you'd want to increase the acceleration. Most everyday users wouldn't come across this. wikiHow Staff: Okay. How do you make a wireless bluetooth mouse discoverable, usually? Spike Baron: If you have bluetooth in your computer, your control panel or--should be a bluetooth icon in your task tray. And you can start that and choose to-- What's the word? It searches for a bluetooth broadcast from a device. Yeah. wikiHow Staff: Okay, let's see. Do computer monitors need to be calibrated? Spike Baron: On the last question--it's a pair. We want to start pairing the broadcast signal to the bluetooth device. wikiHow Staff: All right. And so yeah, the other question is, do monitors need to be calibrated? Spike Baron: Not usually. It depends on the user itself. Mainly out of the box, they work very well. They have a specific resolution, but you can tweak it on the controls of the monitor [inaudible]. wikiHow Staff: Okay, okay, great. How can you access another computer on your network when using a Mac? Spike Baron: Whether it's a Mac or it's a PC, it doesn't really matter. If you're going Mac to Mac, it should show up on a Mac in your network if you have file sharing turned on. If you're on a PC, you can go to the toolbar to Go and then Server Settings, and you can type in SMB colon, forward slash, forward slash, computer name. And it should find it. wikiHow Staff: Okay, awesome. Is it possible to fix a stuck pixel on a display? Spike Baron: That usually means that that section of the monitor's screen is corrupted. wikiHow Staff: No, I'm sorry. Sorry, I can't--I really couldn't understand you on that last one or is-- Spike Baron: Okay. That means the monitor itself, that section of it, is damaged. It cannot be fixed, unless you want to replace the screen. wikiHow Staff: Okay, okay. Great. Yeah, I heard that fine. In your opinion, what's the best way to backup an iPhone? Spike Baron: Well, you go to iTunes and you choose Backup. wikiHow Staff: Yeah, okay. How would you reset an admin password on a Mac? Spike Baron: You restart the computer and hold down the R key, which brings you to the recovery section. And you have a choice of reinstalling the OS or Disk Management or you can go into Terminal. And when you go into Terminal, you just go in there and choose a password reset like--the computer has reset options. wikiHow Staff: Okay. So if someone's selling a computer, what would be the correct way to wipe it before selling it? Spike Baron: Well, reassign the OS is the best way. If you really want more value, as far as price, if you sell it with an operating system installed, you want to just wipe it. There are many other categories. You can use something like aDOD wipe. There are various ones and basically just wipe the ones and zeros to the drive, which is military grade wiping. KillDisk is a good one, for such software. It's unnecessary for just home users and if you're not a home user, it's just better to reinstall the operating system and have nothing added to it. wikiHow Staff: Okay, great. If someone has an old laptop, where should they dispose of it? Spike Baron: Many places like Best Buy, Staples, have recycling days, like once a month, where you're putting electronics in and they'll dispose of them for you. There are--also bigger cities have recycling centers that allow you to recycle electronics [inaudible]. wikiHow Staff: Okay, for someone who's trying to get a new iPhone, what would you say is the major difference between getting a refurbished and a new iPhone? Spike Baron: Price. But mainly refurbished is going to be--there is no guarantee [phone ringing] like three months guarantee that it's going to work, so after that short warranty period, then you can [inaudible]. Whereas a brand new one, everyone wants the [phone ringing]. But the refurbished one would be much cheaper. wikiHow Staff: Right. Okay. Let's see. Okay, I also had this question. I already asked you how [phone ringing] how to know if a RAM is faulty [phone ringing]. Let's see, is it a different question to ask, how do I check my physical memory? Spike Baron: By checking, what do you mean? How much do you have? wikiHow Staff: Let's see. Oh, I think--you know what this is about? This is about [different phone ringing]-- Spike Baron: What is it about? wikiHow Staff: Yeah, I believe this is about checking how much physical memory you have installed on a Windows computer. Spike Baron: Okay. You go to--on Windows 10 would be This PC or on the [spray noise] there would be a computer. And it lists the properties of the computer, the version of the operating system, and the amount of RAM you have installed. wikiHow Staff: Okay. And let's see here, I think I've got one more. This is a question about--is it possible to share your PC's internet with your phone? Spike Baron: It's usually done the other way around. But yes, you can do that. It's called tethering. Usually, if you have a laptop, you're out on the road, and you don't have an internet connection, if you have the tethering plan through your provider, you can choose to tether the internet connection from your phone to your laptop. And cell phones don't need that because they have cell towers that can connect to the internet. Page