Top tips


Top tips

  Welcome to We Are Geek’s series of completely random computer tips, presented in no particular order. Whether you’ve just bought a PC running Windows 10 and 11, or you’ve been using your machine for a while, there are bound to be things you didn’t know you could do.

Acton W3 PC computer laptop repairs

Remote support

Most of my work is now remote It’s now even even to offer tech support remotely. Clients are more familier with the technolgy. It allows for more clients to be helped, because there is less time spent travelling between sites. Remote support is a great option for many computer issues, and means there’s one less […]


Rugged hard drives – military grade

Military grade hard drive – safer storage?     I really like the idea of these rugged hard drives – even though I could be reducing number of data recovery jobs I do. Most of of us could do with sturdy and high-functioning portable hard drive, especially those who prone to dropping their external hard […]

Rugged hard drives - Military-grade hard drive

U installing software

Uninstall programs – top tips

Uninstall programs the easy way   There are many reasons why you may need to remove or uninstall programs from your PC from time to time. Some programs may not work properly, or you may simply want to remove some old programs in order to free up some extra space on your hard disk. Windows […]


Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

How to use keyboard shortcuts by WeAreGeek.uk   Using keyboard shortcuts can greatly increase your productivity, reduce repetitive strain, and help keep you focused. For example, highlighting text with the keyboard and pressing Ctrl + C is much faster than taking your hand from the keyboard, highlighting the text using the mouse, clicking copy from […]

Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know

Shortcuts in Windows 8.1

Create Desktop Shortcuts in Windows 8.1 and 10

Desktop shortcuts – easy get to an item you use regularly Instead of using File Explorer to navigate through the computer’s folders to find files in your computer, you can create a desktop shortcut that allows you to quickly open or access files, folders or programs. A desktop shortcut is an icon on your Desktop […]


Plusnet – multi-award winning broadband provider

Plusnet. Hurrah! You may have seen the Plusnet ads. They’re a Sheffield-based broadband and phone provider, selling services to homes and businesses across the UK. They’ve got award winning service, with 24/7, 365 days a year help from a UK customer support centre. But what you may not know is that they are owned BT. […]

Plusnet

YouTube: get higher resolution

YouTube HD: Set default video to higher quality

YouTube HD for the masses   For all but a few the best YouTube video on our machines is 1080p. To get a vague idea of what this means in resolution terms, most TVs provide 1080p inputs. To give you the best viewing experience possible on your computer, YouTube adjusts the quality of your video […]


Laptop battery life: squeeze out the power

Laptop battery life – power to the people! Everyone at some point suffers from a dead or dying battery. Here are our tips for squeezing out the last few drops of power from your battery before your laptop completely runs out of power.   laptop battery life – tips to extend battery life immediately   […]

Laptop with battery image

Disc clean-up

Clear drive space on your PC

    Cleaning out your PC on a regular basis creates drive space and helps it run better / faster. One of the easiest ways to clean up files you no longer need is by using Disk Clean-up. Applies to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Previous versions of Windows also have Disc Clean-up: Start / […]


LibreOffice – Free Office software

LibreOffice offers a powerful suite of office applications and is a great alternative to Microsoft Office. With laudable principles, nothing to pay and no ads, there’s no reason not to give it a try. LibreOffice is an open source project which includes six word-processing programs. It’s compatible with nearly all Microsoft documents. Tens of millions […]

LibreOffice logo

Slug beating a slow PC

Quicker start – reduce the number of programs running at startup

  Slow PC? Does it take too long to boot (or to ‘to startup’), it’s probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. Reducing this is easy, and it will make your PC launch noticeably faster and lighter upon first load. To change the items running at startup, go to Run using […]


Make Windows 8.1 more like Windows 7

  Haven’t got quite used to Windows 8? Update to 8.1 (it’s free!). This is usually straight forward, but if you struggle, please contact us. Make sure you run Windows update several times to install the most up-to-date stuff for Windows. If you haven’t already got Windows 8.1, download and install it from the Microsoft […]

Windows 8.1 dilogue box - boot to desktop

Example of cleartype to make PC screen text easier to read

Help reduce eye strain with ClearType

  How to make my screen easier to read? ClearType is a Microsoft tool that improves the readability of the text on your LCD screen. So if you feel the text isn’t displaying sharply, use ClearType. The tool will take you through a series of screens, much like an eye exam, to help you achieve […]


Private browsing – hide on-line activity

  Use private browsing – the uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer. Or viewing embarrassing cat videos on YouTube. Or porn – not that anyone does that on the internet. Private browsing just hides on your machine your […]

Private or incognito browing

How to Use the Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7 and 8

  We’ve all been in a situation when your PC is doing something it isn’t supposed to do. When you call someone for help, they often respond “that’s not possible.” With the built-in Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) feature you can show them that not only is it possible, it is actually happening. Problem Steps Recorder […]

problem steps recorder image