What do you like to give to your computer?

Awright. So, I can't post in the off-topic thread, so I'm posting for two reasons - one, I'm kinda curious what people do to customize their laptops. Me, I usually leave mine kind of spartan, but give'em interesting names and implied attributes to make up for it. Weird, eh? Anyway, do folks generally enjoy adding extra stuff to their laptops? What sort?

More importantly, I wrote in this thread asking for advice on a desktop replacement. Turns out it just shipped in - and despite still being in the process of reformatting/reinstalling/moving files... Wow. I've been literally blown away with how good a bargain this was for all the cool stuff she does. I wanted to write a big thank you to everyone who posted - yeah, it's a little sappy, but I figure that people don't get enough of that. I know if more people posted feedback on my textwalls, I'd be pretty thrilled, bwahahaha!...

So seriously. Thanks. And what do people do to properly celebrate the arrival of a new comp into their household? I'm all about the bonfires and dancing, myself!

 

lol ... bonfires and dancing sounds fun. When I get a new computer I need to add all the programs I normally use and add all my music and download new movies, tv shows, music etc. I love getting a new computer!

 

it takes a while to customize and familiarize myself with a new computer, i don't have time for the bonfire and dancing. then again, i don't buy new computers too often.

 

Wipe it clean, do a fresh install of my OS, install my Antivirus, change my background, load on my files and programs and I'm good to go.

As far as celebration goes, I like to sit and stare while it loads everything. look over every square inch and go through whatever came in the box. Not too much of a celebration, more of a ritual I suppose.

 

I take my new comp out of the box, hold it high above my head, let out an echoing roar, then throw it to the ground......if it boots it is worthy to be my computer

 

Besides all the stuff with moving over your files and installing security programs etc...

I always download a benchmark, run it on my old computer and my new one.

And then bask in the glory that my new computer is X marks better than my old one, before realizing I have no idea what that means and then just start using it .

 

Sylvie - Bonfires and dancing are fun!.. And what better way to celebrate a new computer than something completely unrelated but about as enjoyable? The crisp new feeling is part of the fun though, I'll admit.

Cenix - Aw, I empathize. Well, you don't have to have a new computer to start up a celebration! Maybe you can find the time to start a little bonfire, sometime.

Tree_Burner - the consumate professional, I see! That's about as a good as any celebration we can have; if it works well, that's good as any wild revelry. Given that most of the stuff I move is the same as yours, I reckon it's that competent attitude that makes that ritual so effective - as opposed to when I try to be efficient, it just kinda backfires, ha!

NeRo - Now you're playing with power!.. Seriously, this is the best stress test I've ever heard of.

Nar0 - Hey, as long as it's better, that's cause enough for dancing and throwing confetti into the air! Failing that, maybe some good coffee. Anyway, I'll finish by adding that apparently celebration is kinda premature on my part. Derherher. And that's why you always work... Before ya play.

*YEEEEAAAA*

 

For some reason, I don't feel that a laptop is really mine until I've taken it on a trip (by air). The feeling of using it in the airport, passing through security, and on the plane increases the depth of my connection to it. Sadly, my Lenovo was late for my previous flight by a week, so it'll need to wait until the end of September for the next one.

 

After doing a clean install of windows & my favorite programs, I usually find a way to scratch or dent my new laptop. It's the way I can tell which one is mine. I'll also try to show my wife how everything is so much cooler on the NEW one, which just bores her to tears.

 

HA! my GF is the same way. I tell her about Processors and RAM and she almost always falls asleep. haha.

 

I like it. Show that computer who's boss.

 

Regular dustings and cleanings.

 

i generally take it apart completly then i really feel that it's mine

 

Me I will add some stuff to my notebook first of all a backlit keyboard and after some other hardware parts like SSD,better GPU and like so..but for the design part i will add a nice skin with Ducati Corse (I'm a big fan of this ) and probably in the near future I will add this..hope

 

Q: What do you like to give to your computer?
A: I would like to give my computer a longer life

 

Unsatisfying and brutal pain for it to endure.

 

I name it. Then I use it.

 

Lol, +1

I've only bought two computers in my life thus far (Toshiba Satellite L505 and now a Thinkpad W520), so I don't really have a "routine" yet.

When I bought the Toshiba, I used IE to download Firefox, then Revo Uninstaller to get rid of the bloat. Then installed AVG Free and MBAM, followed by my programs. Before this laptop I kept all my data on my 8GB flash drive, so there wasn't much file movement involved. Lasted nearly two years (June 2009 to late May 2011) before AC plug broke, and the laptop refused to take a charge anymore .

After what seems like ages (9 days) from ordering, my Thinkpad arrived and I did the same as above, minus the flash drive (lost it on a trip) and installed MSE instead of AVG (I dumped it last year). Then I waited for my RAM and my SSD to arrive before I installed it into the laptop, using ABR (Activation Backup and Restore) to install a clean Win7 Pro OS using these instructions. Once my hard drive dock arrived, I used the stock HDD from the Thinkpad as my mass storage drive, moving all my songs (and the iTunes media folder), video, and program installs/games to it, followed my encrypting part of it with TrueCrypt (hiding files such as my activation key and cert, serial keys, etc). Then I updated my BIOS to get TurboBoost to work and updated my audio driver (to get Skype working).

After setting up a computer, I simply keep up with Windows Update/AV updates, and only update drivers/BIOS when needed.

**Also, I give my computer stupid names as well >.<. I'm a huge Ace Combat fan, so I base manes around that. The Toshiba was named Strigon, and now my Thinkpad has taken the name (though I might change it to "Strigon II" or something similar instead). I currently use "Agiaion" for the name of the file server I run at home (before that, it was an unused family desktop collecting dust, and "Aigaion" was given to my car instead >.<).

 

When I get a new computer, I open it, drool, then read the manuals as a bedtime story.