Maintenance & Optimization Articles

How to Clean Your Nintendo Switch

Your Nintendo Switch is probably filthy. Since the Switch pulls double duty as a shared family console and a handheld gaming console, it has extra opportunity to get dirty fingers all over it. Here’s how to clean all ...

Eric Ravenscraft Jul 14th, 2017

How to Manage Partitions on Windows Without Downloading Any Other Software

There are tons of third-party partition managers for Windows, but did you know that Windows includes its own? Microsoft did a good job of hiding the Disk Management tool, but it’s there.

Walter Glenn Jul 13th, 2017

How to Shrink a VMware Virtual Machine and Free Up Disk Space

By default, VMware creates “growable” disks that grow larger in size as you add data. Unfortunately, they don’t automatically shrink when you remove data. You’ll need to clean up or compact your disk...

Chris Hoffman Jul 13th, 2017

Should You Shut Down, Sleep, or Hibernate Your Laptop?

Computers can sleep, hibernate, shut down, or, in some cases, use a hybrid sleep. Learn the differences and decide what’s right for your laptop.

Chris Hoffman Jul 10th, 2017

What File System Should I Use for My USB Drive?

It can be tough transporting your videos and music to every device you use. How do you know your Mac, Xbox, and Windows PC can read your files? Read on to find your perfect USB drive solution.

Walter Glenn Jul 10th, 2017

How to Benchmark Your Windows PC: 5 Free Benchmarking Tools

Whether you’re overclocking your computer, comparing different systems, or just bragging about your hardware, a benchmark quantifies your computer’s performance. Windows has a large ecosystem of useful benchmarking applic...

Chris Hoffman Jul 7th, 2017

How to Find Out Why Your Windows PC Crashed or Froze

Computers crash and freeze. Your Windows PC may have automatically rebooted itself, too. If so, it probably experienced a blue screen of death when you weren’t looking. The first step in troubleshooting is finding more ...

How to Quickly Check If Your Computer Can Run a PC Game

PC gaming isn’t quite as simple as console gaming. If you have a laptop with weak graphics hardware or an older PC, it’s important to check whether your computer can support a game before you spend your hard-earne...

How to Auto-Control Your PC’s Fans for Cool, Quiet Operation

A good set of fans can keep your computer from overheating, but they can also make your computer sound like a wind tunnel. Here’s how to control your PC’s fans for superior cooling when it’s working hard, a...

What Is the Process WindowServer, and Why Is It Running on My Mac?

While checking the Activity Monitor, you noticed something called WindowServer occasionally taking up a bunch of CPU power. Is this process safe?

Justin Pot Jun 28th, 2017

How to Shrink a VirtualBox Virtual Machine and Free Up Disk Space

By default, VirtualBox creates dynamic disks that grow over time as you add data. However, if you delete data from the virtual machine later, you’ll notice that the disk doesn’t automatically shrink. But you can m...

Eight Advanced RetroArch Features that Make Retro Gaming Great Again

RetroArch is the ultimate all-in-one emulator, compatible with every system you can imagine. From classic Nintendo consoles to arcade boxes and even the Playstation or Wii, RetroArch brings massive gaming collections under o...

What Is ReFS (the Resilient File System) on Windows?

Microsoft’s new ReFS file system was originally introduced on Windows Server 2012. It’s included on Windows 10, where it can only be used as part of the drive-pooling Storage Spaces feature. ReFS will be improved...

How to Clean and Renovate a Used Model M Keyboard

The venerable Model M, first manufactured by IBM in the 1980s (and then licensed and sold to other companies), enjoys a hallowed space in the hearts and minds of keyboard enthusiasts. Its relatively simple-but-durable bucklin...

What Is kernel_task, and Why Is It Running on My Mac?

So you found something called “kernel_task” in Activity Monitor, and you want to know what it is. Good news: it’s nothing nefarious. It’s actually your operating system.

Justin Pot Jun 22nd, 2017

How to Calibrate the Joy-Con Controllers On Your Nintendo Switch

For such a tiny package, the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con controllers sure pack a lot of complex sensors and input mechanisms. There’s an accelorometer, gyroscope, infrared camera, 20+ buttons, and two control sticks...

Eric Ravenscraft Jun 22nd, 2017

eMMC vs. SSD: Not All Solid-State Storage is Equal

Not all solid-state storage is as fast as an SSD. “eMMC” is the kind of flash storage you’ll find in cheap tablets and laptops. It’s slower and cheaper than a traditional SSD you’d find in more e...

The Four Best Free Tools to Analyze Hard Drive Space on Your Windows PC

When your hard drive starts to fill up, you don’t have to dig through File Explorer to see what’s using space. You can use a disk space analyzer to scan your drive (or just a single folder) and see exactly which f...

Chris Hoffman Jun 21st, 2017

How to Diagnose and Fix an Overheating Laptop

One of the most common issues with aging laptops is overheating, something many people aren’t sure how to fix. We’ll help you figure out what’s causing the heat and how to keep your notebook functioning at a lower tempe...

Are My Smarthome Devices Secure?

People often worry about keeping their computers, smartphones, and tablets secure from hackers and malware. But what about your smarthome devices? They can be just as susceptible as any other device on your network, even if i...

Six Ways the Amazon Echo Makes the Perfect Kitchen Companion

One of the best places to have an Amazon Echo in your house is in the kitchen, since a lot of people spend a good chunk of time in that area eating breakfast, preparing dinner, doing dishes, and more. Here are some great ways...

How to Make Alexa Understand You Better

Living in the future with an on-call voice assistant is great—except when she doesn’t understands your requests. Here are five simple things you can do to ensure that you spend more time enjoying Alexa and less ti...

Jason Fitzpatrick Jun 20th, 2017

Five Ways to Customize Android that iOS Still Can’t Match

Android is very customizable–many of its features are just defaults, and can be swapped out for third-party alternatives without any rooting required. When it comes to iOS, well…not so much....

How to Free Up Space On Your Nintendo Switch’s Internal Storage

The Nintendo Switch comes with a meager 32GB of storage. You can expand your storage with an SD card, but that’s still a pretty small amount of space on your console. Here are several ways you can clear up internal s...

Eric Ravenscraft Jun 20th, 2017

What Is “Systemless Root” on Android, and Why Is It Better?

Gaining root access on Android devices isn’t a new concept, but the way it is done has changed with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The new “systemless” root method can be a bit confusing at first, so we’re h...