These days, people have more devices connected to their home Wi-Fi than ever. TVs, game consoles, appliances, phones, computers, and more. Most homes are a pretty complex system of connected devices today, and here’s the thing about routers provided by your ISP: nine times out of ten, they are pretty cheap. This is hardware the company is handing out to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of customers. Giving everyone a cutting-edge router would cost way too much.

They aren’t as powerful, and that means they often struggle throughout the day. You may face sluggish response times on your devices if there are multiple doing bandwidth-heavy tasks at the same time. Just one person streaming a video could impact performance throughout the whole house. Newer routers, especially those with Wi-Fi 6 or 7, are designed for dense networks and tons of connected devices. They can handle dozens of connected clients and give them all the prioritized bandwidth they need.

This means buying your own router is likely to pay for itself within a year, and if you’re going to be spending the same amount of money overall anyway, why settle for a router that is inferior to what you could buy? Moreover, if you buy the latest router with the newest technology, even if new upgrades come out, it’ll probably still be perfectly viable for at least a few years, not becoming obsolete nearly as quickly.

Even if you buy a used router, it might still be a mroe cost-effective option than paying for the ISP’s router.

Earlier, I mentioned Wi-Fi 6 and 7. These are Wi-FI standards used to denote how advanced the Wi-Fi technology is. Right now, Wi-Fi 6 is probably the most common standard in Wi-Fi routers, but there are already some Wi-Fi 7 routers out there. Your ISP is almost certainly not going to provide you with a Wi-Fi 7 router, because that’s expensive when an ISP has to buy routers in bulk. You’re much more likely to get a router with Wi-Fi 6 or in some cases, even the older Wi-Fi 5 standard.

Now, it may not seem that bad to use an older protocol. Allegedly, Wi-Fi 5 routers can provide up to 3.5Gbps throughput, which should be more than enough for a lot of different things. However, real world speeds are usually lower than this alleged throughput, so you may still want Wi-Fi 6. Moreover, newer Wi-Fi standards come with more than just raw performance, they also have newer features.

For example, Wi-Fi 6 comes with OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), which allows those routers to ping multiple devices at the same time instead of relying on a request que. This can massively reduce the latency you experience compared to older Wi-Fi standards.

If you ever have a problem with your ISP-issued router, you will probably need to get help from them to fix it. In order for them to do that, they usually set up the CPE WAN Management Protocol so they can access the router remotely. Admittedly, this is pretty convenient when you need their help to fix some serious problem, but nevertheless, it is a potential security risk.

After all, this type of backdoor allows anyone who knows how to access it change settings, see connected devices, or monitor your activity. While it’s not very likely, a total stranger could theoretically do this and spy on you, and this is especially concerning since a lot of ISP routers use outdated security standards. Security standards grow over time much like Wi-Fi standards do, and today, the most used standard is WPA3.

But just like Wi-Fi standards, ISPs don’t always update their routers to the newest security standards. It can mean further training and complications for their technicians, and they just don’t have much of a financial incentive to do so, since most people will take their shoddy routers when getting new service anyway. If the router is running an older security standard, it can be even easier for bad actors to access that backdoor the ISP put in your device.

You may not be able to change All Settings on an ISP Router

While this may vary based on the exact provider, but many ISPs don’t want their customers messing around with the advanced settings of their loaned routers, since that could make remote troubleshooting more difficult. With a lot of ISP routers, the customer won’t be able to change anything other than the network name and password. Admittedly, this might not be an issue for most people who don’t want to mess around with more complicated settings anyway.

But if you’re the type of person who wants full access to their router and its provided network, such as network band selection or UPnP functionality, you’ll want to ditch the ISPs router and get your own. Aftermarket routers will let you change literally anything you want, from device specific parental controls to custom DNS. If you want flexibility, you’ll want your own personal router.

Firmware updates are very important. They are put out by the manufacturer of the router to patch fatal flaws, like holes in security or other performance issues. It’s like getting a security update for your laptop. However, unlike your personal computer, you don’t get to choose when an ISP router gets a firmware update. It’s completely up to the ISP, and they aren’t always acting with real urgency. It’s up to the ISP to test and approve a firmware update before it gets applied to your router.

This process can take weeks or sometimes even months, which is practically an eternity is the world of security exploits. In some cases, it may never happen at all. After all, the ISP could just choose not to push a new firmware update if they don’t want to. This could leave the router you are using vulnerable to all sorts of problems.

Naturally, this isn’t an issue if you buy your own router. With that, you’ll be able to apply a new firmware update whenever you see fit, instead of relying on some company that may be dragging its feet. There are plenty of reasons to ditch whatever router an ISP tries to give you and go buy your own instead.

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• Remove Viruses and Malware

Many people still wrestle with infected Windows PCs. If your computer is infected and isn’t working properly, you don’t have to pay someone else to fix it. The Geek Squad doesn’t have any magic tools — they use many of the standard antivirus tools you can use yourself.

To find an antivirus product that actually offers good protection, consult an antivirus test website and see how your antivirus of choice stacks up. If you don’t feel like doing all that research yourself, luckily we’ve done it for you.

Kaspersky and Bitdefender consistently rank in the top of both the AV-Test and AV-Comparatives rankings, and we’ve used both products with good results. They aren’t free, but most of the free antivirus out there is bundling extra nonsense or trying to redirect your search engine to their “secure” solution that isn’t really secure and just shows you more ads or spies on your shopping habits.

For a really deep infection, a good repair place may dig through your autostart entries and registry by hand and manually remove malware that isn’t being caught by tools. However, this can be time-consuming — and if the computer is already so infected, there’s no guarantee all the malware will be removed. In cases like this, they’ll often just reinstall Windows. You can do that yourself, too.

• Reinstall the Operating System

Some people think that computers become slower over time and eventually need to be replaced — it’s sad, but true. Other people may take the computer to a repair place when it starts slowing down. When dealing with a computer that’s become bogged down by startup programs and toolbars, a simple Windows reinstall is often the fastest, easiest solution.

This can also help if you’re experiencing other problems with your computer, such as file corruption or weird errors. While it’s often possible to troubleshoot these things by replacing corrupted files and bad drivers, it’s usually faster to just reset Windows back to its factory state.

Most new computers come with factory restore partitions, which you can access by pressing the correct key during the boot process (check your computer’s manual). You may also have CDs or DVDs you can restore your computer from. If you installed Windows yourself, you can use the Windows installation disc. On Windows 8, use the Refresh or Reset feature to easily reinstall Windows.

Be sure to back up your important files before doing this. Some places may back up your important files for you, while some may ask you to back them up ahead of time — that’s because they’ll just be reinstalling Windows for you.

• Remove Included Bloatware

If you’ve just purchased a new computer — or reset your old computer back to its factory default state — you’ll often find it packed full of useless software. Computer manufacturers are paid to include these programs, which slow your computer down (particularly during the startup process) and clutter your system tray.

Best Buy’s Geek Squad will charge you to remove this bloatware. Even Microsoft is getting in on the action — if you bring a Windows PC to a Microsoft store, they’ll remove the bloatware for $99.

Don’t fall for it: You don’t have to pay a dime to remove these preinstalled programs. There are three ways you can go about doing this:

• Use a program like PC Decrapifier. It will automatically scan your computer for bloatware and automatically uninstall it.
• Open the Uninstall a program control panel and manually uninstall each piece of bloatware, one-by-one. If you do this on a new computer, be sure not to uninstall any hardware drivers. Everything else should be fair game.
• Reinstall Windows. Many geeks like performing a fresh install of Windows on their new computers to start from a clean state. You’ll often have to download and install hardware drivers from your computer manufacturer’s website after the reinstall

Upgrade your RAM or Hard Drive

Some computer upgrades are particularly simple. Adding new RAM to your computer is a very simple process — as long as you buy the right RAM for your computer, installing it is will be easy (even in many laptops.) You can also upgrade your hard drive (or add a new hard drive) to increase the storage space you have available. This is a bit more complicated, as you’ll have to reinstall Windows or move your existing operating system over if you’re replacing the original hard drive, but it’s not too hard.

If you bought a laptop or pre-assembled desktop computer, you don’t need to take it to a repair place if it breaks. If it’s still under warranty, you can contact the manufacturer to RMA the computer and have them repair it. RMA stands for “return merchandise authorization” — you’ll need to tell the manufacturer’s service department your problem and receive an RMA number before mailing it to their service center.

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Corsair CX650M

As for storage, both SSDs and HDDs degrade over time, so while they can be an okay purchase if you find a good deal, you’re still risking losing all your data. That said, if the seller has checked the storage health, and it’s above ~95%, then it could be an okay purchase.

Now that you know what hardware is worth buying, it’s time to learn how to identify good deals. This step involves a bit of time and effort on your part, but trust me, every minute you spend learning about the current market prices will be well worth the savings in the end. Regardless of what component you’re planning on buying, you need to learn about the current market prices so that you can determine if the deal is worth the risk.

Start by setting your maximum budget for the component in question. Let’s say you have $400 to spend on a graphics card. First, learn a bit about the current offerings by NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel, then check how they stack up against the past two generations. For instance, AMD sells the RX 9060 XT 16GB for $349, and NVIDIA has the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB for $379. I’m skipping over the Intel B580 because it wouldn’t be a fair comparison given the card’s $250 MSRP.

Now, let’s see which older GPUs compare to the AMD RX 9060 XT 16GB and NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti 8GB in terms of performance and price. On the AMD side, the RX 7700 XT (~$370–$400 used) and RX 6800 XT (~$360–$390 used) are strong contenders. NVIDIA’s closest equivalent is the RTX 3080 (~$380–$420 used). I personally picked up a used RX 6800 XT for $330 before the RX 9000 Series launched, and I’ve been very happy with the value I got.

Performance can vary quite a bit between these cards due to factors like ray tracing capabilities and upscaling technologies. Also, the new cards currently cost well above MSRP, and used cards cost more than usual, too, due to high demand. These are just rough comparisons, so take them as general estimates.

If you were able to buy the new cards at MSRP, they could actually be a better deal than these used cards. You might sacrifice a bit of raw performance, but you’re getting a warranty, better long-term driver support, and additional features like AMD FSR 4 and NVIDIA Multi-Frame Generation, which can boost performance significantly.

However, since new cards are currently priced well above MSRP, if you need a GPU right now, a well-priced used card is likely the better choice.

This situation highlights how quickly market conditions can change—a principle that applies to all types of hardware, not just GPUs. Always do your own research based on current prices and trends. Compare benchmarks for the hardware within your budget, but don’t forget to factor in long-term driver support, reliability, and other features.

Where to buy and how to recognize Scams

The safest places to buy used computer parts are sites that sell refurbished goods, such as Micro Center, Amazon, and Newegg. While you’re unlikely to find the absolute lowest prices, it’s also much harder to get scammed. Many items are inspected, certified, and often include a warranty and return protection.

That said, if you’re looking for the best deals, you’re more likely to find them on general-purpose digital marketplaces like eBay or Facebook Marketplace. These platforms often include local listings, which let you save on shipping and inspect the item in person. Plus, with seller review systems in place, it’s easier to spot trustworthy listings and avoid scams. This is my preferred method for buying most things, especially expensive computer hardware.

The third option is specialized used computer hardware platforms like Jawa, Swappa, and even subreddits like HardwareSwap. These sites fall somewhere between the previous two options—potentially better prices than retailers, but with fewer protections and deals than digital marketplaces.

Regardless of the platform, stick to the more popular listings and sellers to avoid scammers. The old proverb of “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is” definitely holds true here. I’m not saying you should avoid the cheapest options on your site of choice, but be cautious. For example, if someone is selling a used RTX 4070 for $200 while most others list it at $400 or more, there’s a very good chance the card either doesn’t work or doesn’t even exist.

Once you contact the seller, if you find that they’re not answering your questions and are overly eager to sell you the item, be cautious. While there’s always the off chance they just need quick money, scammers often use this tactic to sell broken or stolen parts. They might say something like, “I have other buyers lined up, so if you don’t order now, someone else will take it!” Don’t fall for those tricks.

The most important step of all is to test the hardware in person. While not everyone will agree to these terms, and you might not always find the part you’re looking for locally, that’s okay. If you’re not in a rush, you can simply wait and keep an eye out for a local listing. I’ve bought and sold dozens of computer parts this way, having both had sellers test the hardware for me and tested hardware for my buyers.

Always meet in public, well-lit places when buying or selling used computer parts. Bring a friend if you can and trust your instincts—if something feels off, walk away. The best and safest way to test hardware is to bring your own test rig to a public space with accessible power outlets where you won’t be disturbed, such as a coworking space or library. You could also ask a local tech shop if they can help you test for a small fee.

Once your test rig is set up, first inspect the computer part for physical wear or damage like bent motherboard (or CPU) pins, then run a stress test and benchmark for at least 15 minutes while monitoring GPU and CPU temperatures. Run a few demanding games as well, since these can reveal issues like GPU artifacting or overheating.

Also, don’t forget that this is your opportunity to ask questions. Don’t be shy—ask about the part’s history and if it has any issues that they’re aware of. If it’s a GPU, ask if the card was used for mining and if the thermal paste and pads have been replaced.

If your only option is to have the computer part shipped to you, contact the seller and ask them for a quick video showing the computer part in action. Even better, ask them for a quick video call and have them run a stress test and some games with MSI Afterburner or the GPU’s overlay enabled.

Once you’ve finally brought the purchased computer part home, there are a few things that you should do. If it’s a dusty GPU or cooler, give it a thorough dusting and wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. If it’s a CPU, clean off the old thermal paste with rubbing alcohol. Next, add it to your PC if you’ve already bought the other components.

If it’s a motherboard or CPU, install the latest chipset drivers and consider updating the BIOS. If it’s a GPU, get the latest drivers. For storage, RAM, and fans, you generally don’t need to install anything, except RGB software if the components have RGB lighting.

Once everything is installed, I usually test the hardware thoroughly with stress tests and games one more time, especially if it’s a graphics card. For example, my friend bought the same graphics card from the same seller as me and only started experiencing problems under load during demanding games. He was able to get a replacement from the seller without issue, but if he hadn’t tested and reported the problem within a few days, the seller might have blamed him and refused the replacement.

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Create a Script to Send the Email

The first step is to write the script that sends an automatic email when someone signs in to a user account on your Windows 11 PC. This script contains your email account’s login details and the custom message that you receive when someone has signed to your PC.

This script stores your email password in plaintext. In theory, that is a security vulnerability if someone finds it and starts going through it. If you’re concerned about that security risk, you can create a throwaway email to use for this instead. That way there is no risk of someone gaining access to your real email.

To create the script, access Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Notepad, and launch the app. In a new document, type the following script:

# Email Settings
$smtpServer = "smtp.youremailprovider.com"
$smtpPort = "587"
$smtpUser = "yourname@youremailprovider.com"
$smtpPass = "youremailpassword"
$toEmail = "recipient@email.com"
$subject = "Login Alert on $env:COMPUTERNAME"
$body = "User $env:USERNAME has just logged in at $(Get-Date)."

# Send Email
$msg = New-Object System.Net.Mail.MailMessage $smtpUser, $toEmail, $subject, $body
$smtp = New-Object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer, $smtpPort)
$smtp.EnableSsl = $true
$smtp.Credentials = New-Object System.Net.NetworkCredential($smtpUser, $smtpPass)
$smtp.Send($msg)

In the script, in the Email Settings section, replace the SMTP settings with those that reflect your email account. You can get these details from Gmail, Outlook, or another email provider that you use. In case you’ve enabled two-factor authentication for your email account, you’ll have to create an app-specific password and use that instead in the SMTP settings section.

• After you’ve configured the settings in the script, save the script.
• From Notepad’s menu bar, select File > Save As.
• On the Save As window, choose the folder in which you want to save the file.
• Select the “Save as Type” drop-down menu and choose “All Files”
• Click the “File Name” field and type something like SendLoginEmail.ps1
•  Then, choose “Save”.

Your email script is ready, and you’ll now use Task Scheduler to run the script each time someone logs in to a user account on your PC.

• To do that, open Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Task Scheduler, and launch the utility. On the right pane, click “Create Task.”
• In the General tab, select the “Name” field and type a name for the task. This could be something like Login Email Alert.
• Turn on the “Run Whether User Is Logged On or Not” and “Run With Highest Privileges” options.
• From the top bar, open the “Triggers” tab. Click “New” to add a new trigger. Select the “Begin the Task” drop-down menu and choose “At Log On.”
• If you want to get an email alert when any user logs in to your PC, choose “Any User.” To only get an alert when someone logs in to a specific user account, enable “Specific User.” Then, click “Change User” and select the account.
• Open the “Actions” tab and click “New” to add a new action.
• Select the “Action” drop-down menu and choose “Start a Program”
• Select the “Program/Script” field and type powershell.exe.
• In the “Add Arguments (Optional)” field, type the following. Make sure to replace the script path with the path to the script you created earlier.

-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Scripts\SendLoginEmail.ps1"

• Select “OK,” enter your admin password, and save the task.

From now on, Windows 11 will automatically send you an email when someone logs in to your PC. In the future, if you don’t want to receive these alerts, right-click your task in Task Scheduler and choose “Delete”. To quickly find these emails in your inbox, you can set up a label. The script above uses “Login Alert on” as the subject line, which you can use to filter all these emails.

Hide the PowerShell Window on Startup

To send you an email alert when someone logs in to your PC, Windows 11 launches PowerShell for a brief moment. This means anyone logging in to your PC will see that window. If you’d like to hide the window, do the following.

Open Notepad and type the following. Make sure to replace the script path with your script’s path.

Set objShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
objShell.Run "powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ""C:\Scripts\SendLoginEmail.ps1""", 0, False

From Notepad’s menu bar, select File > Save As. Select the folder in which you want to save the script. Click the “Save as Type” drop-down menu and choose “All Files.” Click the “File Name” field and type SendLoginEmail.vbs. Then, choose “Save.”

Open Task Scheduler and edit your task. For the action, change “Program/Script” to wscript.exe. In the “Add Arguments (Optional)” field, type the following, replacing the path with your script’s path.

"C:\Scripts\SendLoginEmail.vbs"

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Linux has inherited much of its design philosophy from Unix, which was first developed at Bell Labs starting in the late 1960s. Back then, there were no personal computers. Computing was done on large mainframes or minicomputers. Computer operating systems were designed for professional, experienced users. Unix, especially, was considered “by programmers, for programmers.”

While there have been great strides to broaden the accessibility of Unix-like systems with friendlier user interfaces, the Linux terminal reflects its technical roots. Unlike in modern GUI environments, Linux shells don’t try to protect you from yourself. If you want to delete a file or modify it, even an important file, if you have the correct permissions, it will let you go straight ahead, even if it would damage the system.

If you delete a file in the terminal, you can’t get it back. It’s gone forever, unless you have a backup.

It’s also possible to make it so that you can’t log in, launch a terminal, or even boot the machine if you aren’t careful. You might be able to restore your system from backups if you made them. Or you might be able to fix it by booting into a USB stick. At the worst, you might have to reinstall your OS. A lot of things are fixable in Linux, but it’s better to spend time doing things you really want to do instead of fixing your machine.

You should be wary of running commands that can cause data loss.

The command you should be most careful with is rm, the command that deletes files in the terminal. As I mentioned earlier, when you delete something with rm, it’s gone forever. There’s no recycle bin or trash can, so you can’t undelete something you deleted by mistake, even if you made a typo.

Even worse, the OS can overwrite the physical location of the file on the drive, making recovery impossible. You could shell out for a data recovery service or try to recover it yourself, but the process will likely take a lot more time and/or money than it’s worth for a small file, so it’s best to use other means when you can.

The other command that can cause major data loss is dd. This command copies bits from one file to the other, but it’s been nicknamed “disk destroyer” for a very good reason. One thing that a lot of people mess up is the source and destination locations. If you mix them up, you can say goodbye to whatever was on that device.

You should also be wary of modifying system files. Linux depends on these for a lot of things, like connecting to the internet and booting Linux itself. If you modify something without knowing what you’re doing, or even make a typo, you can make it less secure, or worse, even unbootable.

The shell’s startup files can also make it impossible to launch a shell if you mess them up. That’s something that I learned the hard way. You can really mess up your system if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The first line of defense against any erroneous commands or editing is running as a regular user. I only run as a regular user as much as I can. The only times I run as root are when I actually do need to make system-wide changes, such as installing new software or making changes to the configuration files. When I need to do that, I run sudo or su, depending on what kind of system I’m using.

The file and user protections will help prevent any undesirable changes. For one thing, having to type “sudo” forces me to think about what I’m doing. I try to avoid making major changes when I’m tired or in a hurry.

When I know I’m doing something potentially risky, I slow down and try to think about what I’m doing. If I’m going to delete a file, I examine the command line to make sure it’s the right one. If I’m editing a system file, I make sure that I haven’t made any typos before I save in the editor and reboot.

These are things that I’ve learned from experience. I learned to be careful not on a Linux system, but on a DOS/Windows PC from my childhood. I was trying to get some old game that ran in CGA, with the yucky (RGB-based) magenta color scheme, to run in a different palette. I’d seen that I could go to the BIOS setup screen, and I could change system settings. I changed the video card settings. Somehow, I managed to clear all the BIOS settings and then save them. If you know anything about PCs, this is a bad thing. The system didn’t know what hardware it had anymore, since this was the pre-plug-and-play era. There were no serious hardware issues, and the system was eventually fixed, but my dad was pretty mad, and I had to play outside.

Since then, my approach to system management is a lot more conservative. I try to avoid making changes to the system unless I absolutely need to. I can understand the urge to customize if you’re new to Linux, but a lot of users seem to take an approach of fixing things that aren’t broken until they are, and then slump into some forum asking for help.

When I make changes to the shell startup files, such as Bash’s .bashrc or morely likely Zsh’s .zshrc, I have another terminal handy. I’ll test my changes in one terminal by running the source command to read in the changes:

source .zshrc

I then monitor this terminal for any error messages or anything that makes the terminal not run. I’ll use the other terminal as a “known good” terminal. I can undo any changes in this terminal window if I have to. This gives me peace of mind, since I use the terminal so frequently.

One thing that you should do is back up important files, no matter what system you’re running. When I make a change to a system file, I like to make a quick local backup of the known good state with a “.bak” extension:


cp example.conf example.conf.bak

If I make a mistake and I can still boot into the system, I can just copy it back over:


cp example.conf.bak example.conf

This will overwrite the modified file with the copy of the original.

Backing up anything you don’t want to lose is also a good idea, especially to external media or a network drive.

Rescuing a Broken System

If you do make a mistake, all is not lost. There are some things you can do. If you have backups, you can just restore them and get rid of the offending mistake or put back files you deleted by mistake. The only problem is that you have to commit to making backups.

You can also have bootable media handy, such as a USB key with your Linux install media. A lot of them have tools to run hardware diagnostics. Much of the time, you can mount your Linux hard drive or SSD and make changes from your boot media to restore your system to working order.

If you really broke your system, you can wipe it and reinstall Linux as a last resort. Shown above is the Debian recovery menu in the installation program. While these are good cures, I’ve found that prevention is much better. These things are like making disaster plans. You want to avoid needing to use them in the first place, but you’ll be glad you had the option.

I’ve found the best prevention is the message that you get when you run sudo for the first time. One of its admonishments is that you should “think before you type.” This is the lesson you should take when using the command line in Linux.

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The easiest way to free up RAM on Windows 11 is to close unwanted apps. All the running apps consume your RAM, leaving less RAM available for other programs. You can close your apps by simply clicking “X” in the app window’s top-right corner. If you want to see the apps using the most amount of RAM (so you only close those apps), launch Task Manager by right-clicking the Windows taskbar and selecting “Task Manager”.

In Task Manager, on the left, click “Processes.” On the right pane, in the Memory column, you’ll see each running app’s RAM usage. You can click this column’s title to sort the apps by their RAM usage. If you don’t see the Memory column, right-click an existing column and enable “Memory”.

Once you’ve found the unwanted apps using the most amount of RAM, close them how you normally would. If the apps refuse to close, right-click them in Task Manager and choose “End Task” to force-close them. Another way to free up available RAM space is by rebooting your computer. When you turn off your computer, your system clears all the contents stored on the RAM. The system begins to fill up RAM when you turn on your machine.

Before you reboot your machine, ensure you’ve saved any unsaved work in your apps. Then, open the Start Menu, click the Power icon, and select “Restart”.

If your RAM starts filling up as soon as you turn on your computer, one or more of the startup apps might be the culprit. These apps automatically launch on your PC’s boot and start consuming your machine resources, including RAM.

To fix that, review your startup apps list. Open Task Manager by right-clicking the Windows taskbar and choosing “Task Manager.” On the left, select “Startup Apps.” On the right, each app whose Status column says Enabled automatically opens on your computer’s boot. To prevent an app from automatically launching when you turn on your computer, right-click that app on the list and choose “Disable.” Do this for all the apps you don’t want automatically launching.

Find Memory Leaks with performance monitor

If your PC continues to run out of RAM, your system might be experiencing memory leak problems. In this case, use a built-in tool to detect those issues.

To do that, open the Run dialog box by pressing Windows+R. Type the following in the box and select “OK” or press Enter:

perfmon

In the left sidebar, navigate to Monitoring Tools > Performance Monitor. Click “Add” or press Ctrl+N and add Process > Private Bytes. Choose “OK.” Back on the main screen, check if an app’s memory usage keeps going but never down.

If the memory usage is high even though the app is in idle mode, the app likely has a memory leak. In this case, update the app if an update is available. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the app to see if that fixes the issue. If the problem persists, use an alternative to this app.

Some apps run in the background even when you aren’t using them. These apps might be eating into your RAM, causing your system to run out of RAM space. In this case, prevent these apps from functioning in the background.

To do that, launch Settings by pressing Windows+i. From the left sidebar, choose “Apps.” On the right pane, select “Installed Apps”. Find an app that runs in the background. Next to the app, click the three dots and choose “Advanced Options.” On the following screen, click the “Let This App Run in Background” drop-down menu and choose “Never”.

Repeat the above step for each app you don’t want to allow to run in your system’s background.

Windows 11 includes an Efficiency Mode that allows you to free up RAM without closing your apps. This mode prioritizes the RAM usage for your active apps. To enable that mode, launch Task Manager by right-clicking the Windows taskbar and choosing “Task Mananger.” Access the “Processes” tab and find the app you want to enable Efficiency Mode for. Right-click the app and choose “Efficiency Mode”.

Later, to turn off Efficiency Mode, right-click your app and select “Efficiency Mode”. Sometimes, malware or viruses that have infected your PC can use your RAM. This can cause a sudden spike in RAM usage, making less RAM space available for other apps to use. In this case, run a malware scan to find and remove any threats from your computer.

You can choose an antivirus of your choice or the built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus to do that. To use the latter, launch Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Windows Security, and open the app. Select “Virus & Threat Protection” in the app and choose “Scan Options”.

Enable the “Full Scan” option and choose “Scan Now”

Wait while Windows Security finds and removes any viruses and malware from your computer. When that’s done, restart your PC. Some programs use a lot of RAM, and you can switch to their lighter alternatives that use less RAM. This means you can get your tasks done while still keeping some RAM freed-up.

For example, Google Chrome is known to be resource-hungry. If this happens to be your primary web browser, you can switch to a lighter alternative like Mozilla Firefox. Similarly, if you use Adobe Photoshop, you can switch to an app like Paint.NET for basic photo editing. These alternatives use less RAM than their main programs.

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Excel’s CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS functions are like twins: their DNAs are very similar, but they’re separated by subtle differences. The same can be said for their syntaxes.

Here’s the syntax for CHOOSECOLS:

=CHOOSECOLS(a,b,c,…)

And here’s the syntax for CHOOSEROWS:

=CHOOSEROWS(a,b,c,…)

In both cases,

• a (required) is the original array that contains the columns (CHOOSECOLS) or rows (CHOOSEROWS) you want to extract,
• b (required) is the index number of the first column (CHOOSECOLS) or row (CHOOSEROWS) to be extracted,
• c (optional) represents the index numbers of any additional columns (CHOOSECOLS) or rows (CHOOSEROWS) to be extracted, each of which must be separated by commas.

If an index number represents a column or row in the center of the array (in other words, not the first or last column or row), adding extra columns or rows to the center of the array will change the indexed column or row.

You might be thinking that these functions sound very similar to the TAKE function. However, where TAKE lets you extract the first or last x columns or rows, or a single column or row from elsewhere in a named table, CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS let you extract any number of columns in any order from anywhere in your data.

Example 1: Extracting the First and Last Column or Row From a Table

I’ve already lost count of the number of times I’ve used CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS to extract the first and last column or row from a table. This is particularly handy if the first column or row is a header, and the last column or row contains totals.

To follow along as you read this guide, download a free copy of the Excel workbook used in the examples. After you click the link, you’ll find the download button in the top-right corner of your screen.

Imagine you’re an administrator for a local sports league, and you’re producing a report that summarizes the points scored by five teams across five games.

The first dataset you want to generate will tell you the total number of points scored overall by each team. To do this, in a blank cell, type:

=CHOOSECOLS(T_Games[#All],1,-1)

where

• CHOOSECOLS is the function you want to use, since you’re extracting the data from the Team and Total columns,
• T_Games is the name of the table where the array is stored, and [#All] tells Excel that you want to include the header and total rows in the result,
• 1 is the first column (in this case, the column named “Team”), and
• -1 is the last column (in this case, the column named “Total”)

and press Enter.

By default, CHOOSECOLS counts from left to right, and CHOOSEROWS counts from top to bottom. To reverse this, place the minus symbol (-) in front of the relevant index numbers. Here’s the result you get when you press Enter, and this data can be duplicated on another sheet in the same workbook, such as a dashboard tab, or copied and pasted as text in an email or Word document.

Now, even if more data is added, the result—including the Total row—updates accordingly.

You could also use the same method with unformatted tables by using direct cell references rather than structured references. However, if you add more rows to the right or columns to the bottom of your array, the formula won’t pick these up unless you change the cell references manually. Also, generally speaking, tables offer better tools and adaptability than unstructured cells.

The next report you want to generate will show the number of points scored in each game (rows 1 and 8).

So, in a blank cell, type:

=CHOOSEROWS(T_Games[#All],1,-1)

and press Enter. Remember that adding [#ALL] after the table name in the formula forces Excel to count the header and total rows when addressing the index numbers.

Example 2: Extracting Columns from more than one Range

Now, let’s say you have this spreadsheet, and your aim is to produce a list containing the total scores of each team across Leagues 1 (green), 2 (blue), and 3 (gray).

This time, you don’t want Excel to extract the column headers and row totals, since you’re going to nest the VSTACK function within the CHOOSECOLS formula to stack the three tables directly on top of each other. So, in cells I1 and J1, create the column headers manually.

How to Combine, Reshape, and Resize Arrays in Excel

=CHOOSECOLS(VSTACK(League_1,League_2,League_3),1,-1)

where

• CHOOSECOLS is the function you’ll use to extract columns,
• VSTACK lets you combine the results vertically,
• League_1,League_2,League3 are the names of the tables that represent the arrays, and the absence of [#ALL] after the table names tells Excel not to include the header and total rows in the result,
• 1 tells Excel to extract the first column (“Team”) from each array, and
• -1 tells Excel to extract the last column from each array (“Total”)

and press Enter.

At this point, you could go one step further and sort the result in descending order by typing:

=SORTBY(I2#,J2:J16,-1)

into cell L2, and pressing Enter.

So far, I’ve shown you the benefits of using CHOOSECOLS and CHOOSEROWS to extract the first and last columns and rows from an array. However, this time, I’ll show you how you can use CHOOSECOLS to extract other columns, and combine this with additional Excel tools to make your spreadsheet stand out.

This spreadsheet shows five teams’ scores over five games, including the total points scored in each game in the total row. Your aim here is to produce a result that shows each team’s score and the overall total in cells A11 to B15 for a game number you will enter into cell B9.

First, type a game number into cell B9, so that you have something to work with when you generate your CHOOSECOLS formula. Then, in cell A11, type:

=CHOOSECOLS(T_Scores[[#Data],[#Totals]],1,B9+1)

where

• CHOOSECOLS is the formula used to extract columns,
• T_Scores is the name of the table, and [[#Data],[#Totals]] tells Excel to include the data and the totals in the result, but not the header row,
• 1 represents the first column (“Totals”), and
• B9+1 tells Excel that the second index argument is represented by the value in cell B9, plus one. The reason you need to include +1 here is because the game numbers start in the second column of the table. As a result, typing 3 into cell B9 extracts the data from the fourth column of the table, which is game 3.

Although typing the game number into cell B9 works well, if you or someone else accidentally enter an invalid number, the CHOOSECOLS function will return a #VALUE error.

Excel returns a #VALUE error if any of the index numbers are zero or exceed the number of columns or rows in the array.

This is a good case for using data validation in cell B9 to create a drop-down list of the available game numbers. It beats typing in the same options 200 different times manually.

My preferred way to do this for a header row in an Excel table is to first select all the relevant cells, plus a few extra to allow for growth, and name the range in the name box in the top-left corner of the Excel window. Notice how I’ve not selected the column header “Team,” because I don’t want this to appear in the game drop-down list in cell B9.

• Next, select cell B9, and click the top half of the “Data Validation” button in the Data tab on the ribbon.
• Now, in the Data Validation dialog box, select “List” in the Allow field, make sure “Ignore Blank” is checked, type an equal symbol (=) followed by the name you just gave to the column header range, and click “OK.”

You can now click the drop-down arrow in cell B9 to select a valid game number, safe in the knowledge that even if you add extra columns to your table, CHOOSECOLS and the named range in data validation will work together to update the available options accordingly.

Finally, to visualize your data even further, select cells B11 to B15, and in the Home tab on the ribbon, click “Conditional Formatting,” hover over “Data Bars,” and choose a solid fill color.

As a result, not only have you extracted specific columns from your data using CHOOSECOLS, but you’ve also made the result dynamic by adding a drop-down list, and you’ve formatted the data to add visual clarity.

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Before we look at some examples of the AGGREGATE function in use, let’s see how it works. The AGGREGATE function has two syntaxes—one for references and one for arrays—though you don’t need to get yourself tied up in knots over which one you’re using, as Excel selects the relevant one depending on the arguments you input. You can see both syntaxes in use when I show you some examples soon.

The Reference Form Syntax

The syntax for the reference form of the AGGREGATE function is:

=AGGREGATE(a,b,c,d)

where

• a (required) is a number that represents the function you want to use in the calculation,
• b (required) is a number that defines what you want the calculation to ignore,
• c (required) is the range of cells on which the function will be applied, and
• d (optional) is the first of up to 252 additional arguments that specify further ranges.

The Array Form Syntax

On the other hand, if you’re working with arrays, the syntax is:

=AGGREGATE(a,b,c,d)

where

• a (required) is a number that represents the function you want to use in the calculation,
• b (required) is a number that defines what you want the calculation to ignore,
• c (required) is the array of values on which the function will be applied, and
• d is the second argument required by array functions like LARGE, SMALL, PERCENTILE.INC, and others.

Functions and Exclusions (Arguments a and b)

When entering arguments a and b in either syntax form above, you’ll have various options to choose from.

The table below shows the different functions you can use in the AGGREGATE calculation (argument a). Even though you might be tempted to type the function name, remember that this argument must be a number that represents the function you want to use. Functions 1 to 13 are for use with the reference form syntax, and functions 14 to 19 are for use with the array form syntax.

This table lists the numbers you can input to exclude certain values when creating your AGGREGATE formula (argument b):

Now, let’s look at some examples of how you can use the AGGREGATE function in real-world scenarios.

Example 1: Using AGGREGATE to ignore errors

This Excel spreadsheet contains a list of soccer players, the number of games they’ve played, the number of goals they’ve scored, and their game-per-goal ratios. Your aim is to work out the average game-per-goal ratio for all the players combined.

If you were to use the AVERAGE function alone by typing:

=AVERAGE(Player_Goals[Games per goal])

into cell C1, this would return an error, because the referenced range contains #DIV/0! errors.

Instead, using the AGGREGATE function gives you the option to ignore these errors and return the average for the remaining data. To do this, in cell C2, you need to type:

=AGGREGATE(1,6,Player_Goals[Games per goal])

where

• 1 (argument a) represents the AVERAGE function,
• 6 (argument b) tells Excel to ignore errors, and
• Player_Goals[Games per goal] is the reference.

An alternative way to achieve the same outcome would be to use the IFERROR function in column D to replace any errors with a blank value.

Example 2: Using AGGREGATE to Ignore Hidden Rows (Reference)

Using the same spreadsheet, your next target is to calculate the total number of goals the team has scored.

One way to display totals is to check “Total Row” in the Table Design tab on the ribbon, which places the totals at the bottom of the table. However, if you’re working with a large dataset, constantly scrolling down to see the totals could waste time. Instead, consider placing the totals at the top of the spreadsheet outside the formatted table, so that they’re always on display.

Specifically, you want to display two totals. The first is the overall total when you combine the goals scored by all players, but the second is the total of only the players showing in the table after you apply filters.

To calculate the overall total, in cell C1, type:

=SUM(Player_Goals[Goals scored])

Now, even after you apply a filter to one of the columns, such as displaying only the players who have played 15 games or more, the SUM formula you just applied still includes the rows that are filtered out.

This is where the AGGREATE function will save the day, as it allows your calculation to ignore rows that are filtered out. In fact, the AGGREGATE function would also work if you wanted to ignore rows you’ve hidden by right-clicking the row header and clicking “Hide.”

In cell C2, type:

=AGGREGATE(9,5,Player_Goals[Goals scored])

where

• 9 (argument a) represents the SUM function,
• 5 (argument b) tells Excel to ignore hidden rows, and
• Player_Goals[Goals scored] is the reference.

Now, notice that the result of this formula differs from the result of the SUM formula you used in cell C1, because it considers only the rows on display.

​​​​Example 3: Using AGGREGATE to Ignore Hidden Rows (Array)

Next, let’s say you wanted to list the two highest goal tallies for players who have played 20 games or fewer.

You could apply the filter first and then generate your formula, but for the purposes of this demonstration, let’s create the formula first.

In cell C1, type:

=AGGREGATE(14,5,Player_Goals[Goals scored],{1;2})

where

• 14 (argument a) represents the LARGE function,
• 5 (argument b) tells Excel to ignore hidden rows,
• Player_Goals[Goals scored] is the array of values, and
• {1;2} tells Excel that you want it to return the largest (1) and second-largest values (2) on separate rows (;).

When you press Enter, notice that the result is a spilled array covering cells C1 and C2 because you told Excel to return the top two values.

Now, filter the Games Played column to include only those players who have played 20 games or fewer, and see that the result of the AGGREGATE formula you entered earlier changes to ignore the hidden rows.

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To listen to music on your Windows 11 PC from a Bluetooth device, you’ll have to pair that device with your PC first. This is how your PC recognizes your device.

To do that, turn on Bluetooth on your device, like your iPhone or Android phone.

• On an iPhone, you’ll head into Settings > Bluetooth and turn on the “Bluetooth” toggle.
• On an Android phone, you’ll pull down twice from the top of the device screen and tap the “Bluetooth” tile.

On Windows 11, launch Settings by pressing Windows+i.

• From the left sidebar, choose “Bluetooth & Devices”
• On the right pane, enable “Bluetooth” if it isn’t already enabled
• Then, next to Devices, click “Add Device”

On the Add a Device window, select “Bluetooth.” Wait for your PC to detect your device. When the device appears on the list, click it to select it. When your PC says Your Device is Ready to Go!, click “Done” to close the window. Both your PC and your device are now paired.

To receive audio via Bluetooth on your Windows 11 PC, you’ll download Bluetooth Audio Receiver from the Microsoft Store. This is because Windows 11 doesn’t have a built-in feature that allows it to act as a Bluetooth speaker.

To get that app, launch Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Microsoft Store, and open the app. Click the search box at the top, type Bluetooth Audio Receiver, press Enter, and select that app on the list. Then, choose “Get” to download and install the app.

Open Windows Search again, type Bluetooth Audio Receiver, and select the app in the search results. On the app screen, select the device you want to receive audio from. This should be the device that you’ve paired with your PC earlier. After selecting the device, click the “Open Connection” button.

At the top of the device list, you’ll see a [Your Device Name] Connected message, which indicates your PC is ready to act as a Bluetooth speaker for your device.

On your device, launch a music app and start playing audio. You’ll find that the audio plays through your PC’s speakers. You can control the volume using your device’s volume control or by clicking the sound icon in your PC’s system tray and adjusting the volume level.

• When you want to stop listening to the music on your PC, access the Bluetooth Audio Receiver window and click the “Close Connection” button. Note that you don’t have to unpair your device.
• If you run into issues while trying to connect or play music on your Windows 11 PC, the following troubleshooting tips will help fix the problem.
• If you don’t see your Bluetooth device on the Add a Device window on your computer, your device is likely undiscoverable. In this case, access the pair screen on your device.

How to Troubleshoot Bluetooth Issues on Windows

• For example, on an Android phone, you’ll head into Settings > Connected Devices > Pair New Device and keep this screen open while performing the pairing process on your PC.
• If the connection is established, but your PC doesn’t play the audio, ensure you haven’t muted your PC’s speakers. To verify that, click the sound icon in your PC’s system tray and increase the volume.
• If you’re using headphones with your PC, right-click the sound icon and choose “Sound Settings.” On the open window, click “Choose Where to Play Sound” and select your headphones. This ensures your PC routes the audio to the correct output device.

If the audio breaks, ensure both your PC and your device are close to each other. This is because Bluetooth has a working range of 30 feet (10 meters). Outside of that, your devices can’t talk to each other. Also, make sure there are no obstacles between your PC and your device.

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When it comes to note-taking apps, there are several options to choose from, such as Notion, Evernote, and OneNote. While I’ve found each of these apps has its strengths, I eventually settled on Obsidian for myself, and I’ve been using for over a year now to store all my writing and journals. There are clear reasons for this.

Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or a writer, Obsidian can help with organizing information, capturing insights, and coming up with new ideas. The best feature for me is the ability to interconnect notes so that any note taken in the past can be reused and linked with newer topics, helping with remembering and retaining information. For example, if you were taking notes on Machine Learning, you could link previously learned math topics to maybe numerical computing or linear algebra.

I absolutely love Obsidian for both its functionality and visual interface. The app is built around the idea that notes should evolve over time—you start by jotting down thoughts, then gradually expand and refine them. This is made possible by a powerful set of features, such as bidirectional note linking, graph view, tagging, and note search.

These features are all designed with one primary goal: to help you take notes and easily expand upon them. For instance, with bidirectional linking, I can connect new notes to previously created ones, and then visualize these connections in the graph view. Tagging allows me to categorize my notes flexibly, without needing to organize them into specific folders. Finally, whenever I need to find notes on a particular topic, Obsidian’s search quickly locates them.

Furthermore, the app has a clean, distraction-free interface, making sure there is a simple onboarding experience for newcomers. Once you are accustomed to the app, you can explore a vast library of themes and plugins that further supercharge Obsidian.

Installing Obsidian

The three most popular ways to run Linux apps are Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage. While all three packaging formats achieve the same goal—making an app available to use—they differ in how the app runs at the OS level.

AppImage is a portable packaging format that lets users run applications without installing them on the system. It bundles all required dependencies, making it a self-contained and hassle-free way to run apps. It is quite simple to use AppImage, just download the file, run it, and delete it when no longer needed—much like Windows executables. Since AppImage doesn’t sandbox the app by default, it’s very important to download files from trusted sources.

To run Obsidian as an AppImage file, first go to obsidian.md, which is the official website for Obsidian. Download the AppImage file. Then right-click on the downloaded file and select Properties > Run as executable. Open the AppImage file and Obsidian will get loaded.

I am using Ubuntu, with GNOME desktop environment and Nautilus file browser. You might find the above settings located in a different place.

Another way to install apps on Linux is with Snap, a packaging format developed by Canonical, the company that maintains Ubuntu. Unlike AppImage, Snap installs apps on the system, so you also get seamless updates. Additionally, Snap apps run in a sandbox using AppArmor, restricting unauthorized access and offering better security.

To install Obsidian as a Snap, make sure you have Snap package manager installed. Then, type.

sudo snap install obsidian

Note that Snap might give you a warning about the obsidian package using “classic confinement.” In that case, you’ll need to add a –classic flag to the end of your command.

Then, the installation will start. Once completed, you will find Obsidian alongside other apps installed on your system.

Using Flatpak

To install Obsidian using Flatpak, first make sure you have Flatpak package manager installed. Type the following command to check. If Flatpak is already installed, you will see a version number displayed.

flatpak --version

Next, make sure you have added Flathub repository, which is the official app store for Flatpak.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Then search for Obsidian and install it using its Application ID.

flatpak install md.obsidian.Obsidian

Optimizing Obsidian

My experience with Obsidian has been positive so far. I have tested the app extensively on multiple devices and operating systems, including Ubuntu, Windows 11, macOS, and Android. Overall, it has been reliable and fast. But that doesn’t mean the Obsidian app doesn’t have any issues. I have read a few users complaining about the Obsidian app being sluggish on Linux.

The Issue with Electron Apps

Obsidian runs on Electron, a framework that lets developers create apps for multiple operating systems using web technologies, making developing apps easier. However, if you have several Electron-based apps (like Obsidian, Discord, VS Code) running at the same time, then each app will run its own instance of Chromium, which leads to higher memory and CPU usage compared to native apps. So, you might see Obsidian slowing down under heavy use or even when used normally, depending on your PC’s resources.

Performance issues in Obsidian can arise for various reasons, such as conflicts with community plugins or the installation of certain themes. While this isn’t very common, it is still possible. I have personally encountered instances where a theme made the app feel sluggish.

If you’re experiencing slowdowns in Obsidian, the first step is to disable community plugins, especially if you have live plugins installed (e.g., Dataview, Calendar, Canvas) that consume more resources than others.

• To disable them, go to Settings > Community Plugins > toggle Restricted Mode.

Themes or CSS customizations introduce animations, and some of these can also slow down the app. To get the best performance, I suggest using a lightweight theme or switching to the default theme.

• You can do this by navigating to Settings > Appearance > Themes
• In some cases, GPU-related issues can affect performance
• Try disabling hardware acceleration by going to Settings > Appearance > toggle Hardware Acceleration.

Finally, make sure there are no large files stored in your vault. If you do have large videos or even PDFs, that can slow down indexing and make the app sluggish. To prevent this, make sure to store large files outside the Obsidian vault.

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