If your laptop’s hard drive has ever failed or if you’ve lost your cell phone, you know that losing photos is not a good feeling. Having a backup of your memories in at least one – but two is better! – storage locations can keep your photos secure.

Here’s three of our favorite places to organize your photos:

1. On your computer. Create an easy-to-access folder on your computer to save your photos. You can even create subfolders to organize by important dates or events.

2. External cloud storage. Cloud storage is easy to use and allows you to share photos with family and friends. Popular programs include Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and Nextcloud.

3. External hard drive. Saving your photos, videos, and more to an external hard drive helps to save space on your computer, plus they’re portable.

Get even more tips on how to save and organize your photos in this article: How To Best Organize Photos On Your Computer

As always, you can get in touch with HP SmartFriend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we can help you with your “how to” questions for any registered device, no matter the brand.

Chances are, your smartphone is equipped with Bluetooth technology, which makes connecting to your computer easy and wire free. While Bluetooth is convenient, sometimes you might run into kinks during the initial setup or after updating your phone or computer. Follow these helpful steps to get it working successfully.

1. Check your computer for Bluetooth capability
2. Make sure your phone’s Bluetooth is on and Airplane mode is not activated
3. From your PC, click Start > Settings > Devices
4. Choose Bluetooth and other Devices
5. If Bluetooth isn’t toggled to On, turn it On
6. Select Add Bluetooth or other device and follow the directions for pairing
7. You may be prompted to enter a code to confirm your phone has permission to be paired
8. Follow any on-screen instructions on your phone and computer to finish the process

For more useful tips on connecting your phone and computer, including sharing your phone screen on your computer, check out this article: How to Connect to Computer.

As always, you can get in touch with HP SmartFriend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we can help you with any registered device, no matter the brand.

For even more insight on blocking spam texts, check out our detailed article How To Block Spam Texts.

1. Filter unknown senders. Set up your phone to not receive text messages from unknown senders. Keep in mind, you might miss a text from someone you know if you don’t have their number saved.
2. Use your wireless carrier’s anti-spam text tool. With a phone plan upgrade, your carrier will filter spam texts and calls for you.
3. Use a spam text blocking app. Purchase an app in the AppStore or Google Play that will eliminate nearly all those unwanted text messages and phone calls.
4. Block spam numbers natively. You can simply block the individual spam numbers in your phone’s settings without having to download any apps.
5. Don’t reply to or engage with SMS spam. Never click a link in a spam text or respond to a spam text.
6. Put your number in the Do Not Call Registry. Visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register to add your number to the federal Do Not Call Registry.
7. Report spam text messages. Remember that spam text messages are illegal, so depending on your phone, you can report them by clicking on the message or conversation and following the steps that appear on your phone.

For even more insight on blocking spam texts, check out our detailed article How To Block Spam Texts.

As always, you can get in touch with HP SmartFriend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and we can help you with any registered device, no matter the brand.

You press the power button on your laptop... and nothing happens. There are few more frustrating technological hiccups than when your laptop won’t turn on. But here are a few quick ways to assess what’s wrong and potentially fix it easily:

1. Check the power supply and battery
   To test if the power supply is the issue, completely remove your laptop battery. Then, plug your laptop into a functioning outlet. Be sure to confirm the outlet is functioning properly by plugging another device into it. If you can power on your laptop without the battery installed, the issue isn’t the power supply, it’s your battery. You’ll need to buy a new one but, in the meantime, you can simply use AC power only.
2. Diagnose screen issues
   If your laptop starts up but there isn’t an image, the LCD panel could be broken. But if your laptop is an older model, it might make more sense to simply replace your entire laptop.
3. Remove all devices from your laptop
   If you have left a memory card, DVD, or USB drive in your notebook, this could be a reason why your laptop doesn’t power on. It might be getting stuck because the BIOS may be trying to boot from a removable storage device. Remove all USB drives and other devices and try to boot up your computer.
4. Boot in safe mode
   If your HP laptop won’t turn on you might still be able to get your laptop working in safe mode. Safe mode allows you to uninstall new programs or drivers that could be affecting your laptop. It also allows you to create a new user account if your original account has been corrupted.
5. Check hardware
   The last step when diagnosing power issues is to check your hardware. If you’ve recently installed hardware like a new RAM kit, that could be the cause of your boot issues. Remove and reinstall your new hardware and try to boot again.

Diagnose, repair, or replace
If you find that your laptop won’t turn on, don’t panic. It’s likely a power supply issue that you can troubleshoot and fix. Even if it’s a more complicated issue, there are still budget-friendly ways to test and assess the problem. And if nothing works, a new computer may be the answer to solving your technology woes.

Here are three simple steps you can follow to protect your personal information online and make sure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

1. Create strong passwords
   When you create passwords, don’t include any personal information, such as a birthday or a name closely associated with you (like a relative or spouse). In fact, you should not use any words or phrases in your password that are personally tied to you. Instead, choose a combination of upper-case and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters to make your passwords more difficult to figure out in the event of a data breach. You should also update your passwords periodically, at a minimum either annually or semi-annually.
2. Limit what you share on social media
   Recent social media data breaches have exposed the personal data of hundreds of millions of users. Once this data is exposed, hackers and cybercriminals can use data like phone numbers, full names, location targeting, email accounts, and biographical information to commit fraud and identity theft. Limiting what you share and post is a key step in making sure that both companies and cybercriminals don’t have access to your personal info. This keeps more of your data private and reduces the possibility of that information falling into the wrong hands.
3. Never share your Social Security number
   You should always be skeptical if any online business needs your Social Security number to complete a transaction. If the wrong person gets your Social Security number and steals your identity, they have the potential to obtain your medical records, file fraudulent tax returns, and apply for a loan in your name. That’s why it’s better to never share your SSN on any publicly accessible website, over email, or in an instant message.