--- title: Northampton Computer Repair | Q&A | Serges LaRiviere description: Ask-A-Techi will answer all of your PC or Computer questions. Our aim is to demystify and simplify computer technology for the lay person… --- ## [Northampton Computer Repair](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/) 413-341-3571 12 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060 # Ask-A-Techie, Where you can have all of your questions answered. ## Serges LaRiviere ### Recent Posts ## [What is a USB Flash Drive?](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/237132/what-is-a-usb-flash-drive) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Sat, Nov 17, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/237132/what-is-a-usb-flash-drive) Hi Techie, You have posted about backups before and made reference to USB flash drives. I have heard about these before, but am not familiar. Are they similar to jump drives and thumb drives? Thanks, Susan   [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/237132/what-is-a-usb-flash-drive) 1 Comment [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/237132/what-is-a-usb-flash-drive#comments-listing) ## [Which is better, Cable or DSL?](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140804/Which-is-better-Cable-or-DSL) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Fri, Apr 20, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140804/Which-is-better-Cable-or-DSL) Techie, I’ve been searching around for a new internet service provider since I moved into the Pioneer Valley.  What is going to be a good choice for getting high-speed internet?  [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140804/Which-is-better-Cable-or-DSL) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140804/Which-is-better-Cable-or-DSL#comments-listing) Tags: [dsl](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/dsl), [online safety](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/online-safety), [cable](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/cable), [ISP](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/isp), [internet service provider](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/internet-service-provider), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [PC Tips'n'tricks](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips39n39tricks), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips), [Speed up my computer](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/speed-up-my-computer) ## [Pros and Cons of External Hard Drives](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140839/pros-and-cons-of-external-hard-drives) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Tue, Apr 03, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140839/pros-and-cons-of-external-hard-drives) Dear Techie, What are the main upside and downsides to using an external hard drive versus a hard drive installed in your computer? —Driven   [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140839/pros-and-cons-of-external-hard-drives) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140839/pros-and-cons-of-external-hard-drives#comments-listing) Tags: [HDD](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/hdd), [external hard drives](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/external-hard-drives), [flash drives](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/flash-drives), [SSD](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ssd), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC Tips'n'tricks](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips39n39tricks), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips) ## [Is Windows 8 a good thing?](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140845/Is-Windows-8-a-good-thing) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Sat, Mar 10, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140845/Is-Windows-8-a-good-thing) Dear Techie, I have been hearing about Windows 8 being the next big thing from Microsoft.  From what has been said so far, it sounds like Windows 8 has a lot of change in store.  I remember how difficult some things were when I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista.  What things are changing? Sincerely. User who wishes Windows was “pane-free” [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140845/Is-Windows-8-a-good-thing) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140845/Is-Windows-8-a-good-thing#comments-listing) Tags: [OS reviews](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/os-reviews), [Windows 8 good or bad](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-8-good-or-bad), [Operating System](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/operating-system), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips), [Windows 8](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-8) ## [What does “Delete” really do?](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140848/what-does-delete-really-do) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Sat, Feb 25, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](http://portals/166626/images/AskATechieIcon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140848/what-does-delete-really-do) Dear Techie, I work from home and as a result end up with a lot of things on my hard drive that I want to securely delete.  I know that when I “delete” something it goes to my Recycle Bin.  How do I make sure that when I get rid of something it cannot be brought back? Thanks, D. Liet [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140848/what-does-delete-really-do) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140848/what-does-delete-really-do#comments-listing) Tags: [PC Fix](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-fix), [Protection](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/protection), [privacy](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/privacy), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [Security](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/security) ## [Disk Cleanup](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140852/Disk-Cleanup) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Sat, Feb 11, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140852/Disk-Cleanup) Dear Techie I have an older computer that keeps saying my disk space is low.  I haven’t installed anything on my computer that takes up space.  What should I do?Thanks,   Spaced Out [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140852/Disk-Cleanup) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140852/Disk-Cleanup#comments-listing) Tags: [Low Disk Space](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/low-disk-space), [temporary Files](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/temporary-files), [PC Fix](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-fix), [Protection](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/protection), [privacy](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/privacy), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips), [Security](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/security), [Speed up my computer](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/speed-up-my-computer) ## [Ask-A-Techie: Virus Alert](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140854/Ask-A-Techie-Virus-Alert) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Sat, Jan 28, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140854/Ask-A-Techie-Virus-Alert) Hi Techie, My computer started doing some strange things in the past few days and I think I have a virus.  I was online and an error message came up saying I had a virus infection, so I clicked the button and it started to scan my computer.  It says I have over 9000 viruses on my computer.  How did this happen?   I have an antivirus program, isn’t that supposed to stop the viruses?  The program that detected the viruses isn’t even my normal anti-virus, I don’t know how it got there, but at least it was able to detect those viruses.  It wants me to enter a credit card number to pay for a full version of the software.  Only then will it remove all the viruses.  What should I do? Panicked and Infected *Panicked,* [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140854/Ask-A-Techie-Virus-Alert) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140854/Ask-A-Techie-Virus-Alert#comments-listing) Tags: [Virus removal](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/virus-removal), [Viruses](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/viruses), [Scams](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/scams), [PC Fix](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-fix), [Fake Antivirus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/fake-antivirus), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [Security](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/security) ## [Ask-a-Techie: Autoplay](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140856/Ask-a-Techie-Autoplay) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Wed, Jan 18, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Heya Techie, Every time I put a CD or DVD into my media player program pops up.  How can I stop this from happening?  I want to be able to select what program opens what file. Thanks, Otto-matically Annoyed [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140856/Ask-a-Techie-Autoplay) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140856/Ask-a-Techie-Autoplay#comments-listing) Tags: [Disable Autoplay](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/disable-autoplay), [Operating System](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/operating-system), [PC Tips & Tricks](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips-tricks), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips), [Security](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/security), [Windows Tweaks](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tweaks) ## [Ask-A-Techie: Gmail Backups](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140858/Ask-A-Techie-Gmail-Backups) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Fri, Jan 13, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140858/Ask-A-Techie-Gmail-Backups) Hi Techie, I use [Gmail](http://mail.google.com) for all my email for both home and business.  I know they have backups of everything I write and send but I know that I should have backups myself just in case.  Looking around Gmail, I can’t seem to find any way I can save and backup my years of email, what can I do? GoogleWorrier [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140858/Ask-A-Techie-Gmail-Backups) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140858/Ask-A-Techie-Gmail-Backups#comments-listing) Tags: [Protection](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/protection), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [email](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/email), [Windows Tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/windows-tips), [Data Backup](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/data-backup) ## [Ask-A-Techie: Pop-up Madness](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140859/Ask-A-Techie-Pop-up-Madness) Posted by [Serges LaRiviere](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere) on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [![](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-18376551-png/images/askatechieicon-150x150.png) ](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140859/Ask-A-Techie-Pop-up-Madness) Dear Techie, I switched over from using Internet Explorer about a few years ago to Mozilla Firefox hearing that Firefox has less pop-ups.  As time went on, I started to notice that pop-ups were still happening, and they have gotten worse.  How can I stop this from happening? [Read More](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140859/Ask-A-Techie-Pop-up-Madness) 0 Comments [Click here to read/write comments](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/bid/140859/Ask-A-Techie-Pop-up-Madness#comments-listing) Tags: [Stop Pop-ups](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/stop-pop-ups), [AdBlockPlus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/adblockplus), [Pop-up Ads](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pop-up-ads), [Scams](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/scams), [PC Fix](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-fix), [Fake Antivirus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/fake-antivirus), [Ask-a-techie](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/ask-a-techie), [PC tips](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/pc-tips), [Security](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/topic/security) [All posts](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/all) [Next](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/ask-a-techie/author/serges-lariviere/page/2) # Ask-A-Techie ## your question here ## Our Most Popular Posts © 2016 Northampton Computer Repair