How-To Geek

If you dual-boot Windows and Linux, you've probably run into this issue before. You boot into Windows to get some work done, open File Explorer to grab a file from your Linux drive, and the drive just isn't there. It's plugged in, it's healthy, and Windows even acknowledges it in Disk Management—but the actual files are nowhere to be found.

If the movies have taught us anything, it's that the best way to protect your home from burglars when you're on vacation is to accidentally leave your young son behind. Since this is generally frowned upon, the next best option is to use the Presence Simulation component in Home Assistant, which can convincingly make your home look lived in while you're away.

Ryobi makes over 350 tools you'll love, but if you're a new homeowner or simply on a budget, certain tools are must-buys. If you already have a cordless drill and a few other items, here are six more Ryobi tools worth adding to your collection.

While many features on your Pixel phone, exclusive or not, are enabled by default, a good chunk aren't. Worse still, some handy features are not only disabled by default but also buried under a deluge of menus and rarely mentioned in Pixel promo materials, in true Google fashion.

I have many PCs in my home. Most run Windows, some run macOS, and a few run Linux, but the common thread across them all is that I typically end up on a Logitech wireless keyboard. The exception is when I'm sitting down for a longer writing session, where I prefer to use a mechanical keyboard. That's not because it's the fanciest keyboard I own. It's because it's easy, familiar, and already sitting where I need it. For a long time, I treated it like any other keyboard: press the keys, maybe use a few media controls, and move on.

Some smart home devices that demand a premium price tag, whether that’s in service of features you depend on, reliability, or to guarantee safety. Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to save money too.

On the one hand, it's truly impressive that Windows is backwards compatible with software that stretches back decades. In theory, you could run some apps meant for Windows 95 on Windows 11. But, backward compatibility isn't free, and it's debatable whether enough Windows users need this level of backward compatibility to justify the downsides.

The Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 is a feature-rich smart thermostat that can serve as a hub for other smart home devices. I love the concept, but the project fails at fundamentals that make it hard for me to recommend.

The average new-vehicle transaction price is hovering at or near $50,000 today, the highest it’s ever been in the automotive industry. It seems the days of ultra-affordable cars have passed, and even a six-figure salary may not leave enough margin when factoring in the total cost of vehicle ownership.

I have used Samsung DeX as a PC replacement for much of the past two years. In the process, I learned a lot both to love and not love about Samsung's Android-based desktop. Here are some of the more exciting aspects I wish I had known about sooner.

If you've used a Windows computer, you've likely encountered the NTFS, exFAT, and FAT32 file systems, even if you didn't know it.

When Acura introduced the first MDX in late 2000, it changed what buyers expected from a luxury SUV. Before it arrived, most three-row SUVs were built on truck frames, which made them capable off-road and for towing, but a bit rough on the commute at times. The MDX was different with its car-based unibody platform, which gave it a quieter, smoother ride without sacrificing space for seven passengers.

Even if you have a private DNS set on your router, your Android phone may not be using it. It all comes down to a single setting on your phone. While there isn't a perfect solution to this conflict, resolving it is relatively straightforward and will allow your phone and router to play nice with each other.

Have you ever wondered what those little blinking lights on your router actually mean? I'll admit that I haven't given them much thought until not too long ago. The general rule of thumb is that if they're all lit up in green, everything's fine, so what else is there to think about?

Performance enthusiasts have long argued that the best driver's cars need to send power to the rear wheels. Front-wheel-drive vehicles, no matter how powerful, are often dismissed as compromised alternatives that can't match the balance, engagement, and outright pace of traditional sports cars. Yet a handful of modern performance machines continue to challenge that thinking, proving that clever engineering can sometimes overcome conventional wisdom.

Unless you're typing in IP addresses by hand, every single time you visit a website, you perform a DNS lookup first. By default, your network probably points to a public DNS server, like your ISP's server, Google's 8.8.8.8, or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1. They're convenient and fast, but it also means that a third-party gets an unredacted view of the websites you visit.

It's possible to connect Home Assistant to AI services such as Claude. Depending on the connector you use, your AI chatbot can not only read information about your smart home but also write automations, build dashboards, turn things on and off, and more. I'd seen plenty of people rave about it, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Beach season comes early in Florida, and when I started taking inventory of our usual beach gear, I realized we were missing something we use all the time: a decent portable Bluetooth speaker. I could have just bought a new Bluetooth speaker and been done with it, but I wasn't in a rush. I figured I'd keep an eye out and see what turned up.

When Android was fresh and new, it was desperate for someone to take home screens seriously. That person was Federico Carnales, and his app was LauncherPro. It quickly became the darling child of the Android world, but it disappeared just as fast.

Smart bulbs were the first smart home devices I ever bought, and it didn't take long before they started causing complaints in my home. While smart bulbs can be very useful, allowing you to control your lights remotely or with automations, they have some glaring issues that can cause a lot of frustration. Thankfully, a cheap NFC tag was enough to solve the most annoying problems.