How-To Geek

Reinstalling Windows is sometimes unavoidable. I’ve done it plenty of times when a system was truly beyond saving. But it is also one of the most disruptive fixes you can choose. You lose time reinstalling apps, reconfiguring settings, and chasing down little tweaks you forgot you ever made. In many cases, Windows is not actually broken beyond repair. It is just confused, partially corrupted, or stuck after a failed update.

Ubuntu has long been the face of Linux. For many of us, it was the first distro that we ever tried. But sometimes you outgrow your first love. That's what happened to me and Ubuntu. Here are five key reasons I decided to move on.

Many people say they would switch to Linux if it weren't for the lack of some Windows-exclusive apps. In my case, it’s the opposite. There are quite a few Linux-only apps that I love, and more are popping up now than at any time in recent memory. Whenever I use anything other than Linux, these are the apps that I miss.

USB-C is finally making its way into everything, and I'm all for it. It's no longer just a cable for phones and laptops. There are all sorts of wild things you can power with a USB-C cable, and I recently bought three items that I never knew I needed.

Are you in the market for an ice maker? Even if not, you should be. It’s all too easy to see how quickly ice can disappear from the ice trays during a meal or get-together, and it’s not exactly easy to replace it.

Throughout the 2010s, The Hunger Games dominated pop culture, as Suzanne Collins' dystopian tale of teens forced to fight to the death for entertainment made the leap to the big screen and became one of the most successful movie adaptations of a book.

Sporty sedans are perfect for gearheads who still need a bit of practicality. They pack powerful engines, handle corners with confidence, and still have room for four people plus a decent trunk.

If an old Samsung Galaxy phone is collecting dust in your drawer, or you have just switched to a new phone and don't know what to do with your old faithful Galaxy, here are eight ways to repurpose it.

Your inbox is about to look a lot different. Google has slowly trickled out some Gemini tools to Gmail, but the floodgates are being opened. AI Overviews, proofreading, and a fully AI Inbox are coming to Gmail starting today.

If you just got a NAS (Network Attached Storage), you probably noticed the number of settings can be overwhelming. There are a few basic settings I think of as essential for enabling when I set up a new NAS.

I used to think a 50MB Excel file meant I had a lot of data. I was wrong. It actually meant my workbook was a cluttered mess of hidden caches and ghost data. I managed to reclaim my storage and speed by cutting that file down to 2MB. Here's how.

Japanese brands like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru have a rock-solid reputation for reliability—but that usually comes with playing it safe. Most of the time, that means sensible cars that won’t surprise you, for better or worse.

The free and open-source smart home platform, Home Assistant, just released another major update. Home Assistant 2026.1 has some helpful improvements to the dashboards, new service integrations, and a pile of bug fixes to enjoy.

The first DVD I ever bought was a copy of Akira. I bought it from a store, and it wasn't cheap! However, it turns out that what I bought was a bootleg, and based on what I know today, it should've been obvious.

Your NAS is probably one of the most expensive pieces of equipment you own, and it's storing hundreds of gigabytes of memories and valuable files.

Even as automakers push toward electrification, there’s still plenty of value to be found in well-executed hybrid cars, and one Japanese model stands out as one of 2026’s smartest buys. It combines quick, responsive performance with impressive fuel efficiency, making it an ideal choice for drivers who want both excitement and everyday savings without paying a premium price.

T-Mobile has just announced a new, limited-time family plan called Better Value, which promises premium features at a lower monthly cost than its current offerings. However, the company has included some very specific caveats for existing customers who want to jump aboard.

Having used and written about Android phones for the better part of the past decade, I've seen a fair share of features vanish from phones. Some of these features are best left in the past, but there are some that I would love to see again.

We're on the ground floor at CES 2026, the annual consumer electronics show that sets the stage for a new year in technology. As always, there's no shortage of great products and concepts at CES, but here are our favorites of 2026.

Have you used up every HDMI port on your TV and now have no room left for another gaming console, PC, or streaming box? No biggie. You don't need to hunt for a new TV with extra HDMI ports; any of the devices listed below will do the trick.