Whats the first thing you do?

What are the first ten things you do to a new computer when you get it? What settings do you change within the operating system? What programs do you install? etc. Just trying to get a feel for things that are important. Thanks for your help!

 

I get rid of all the crapware that comes with some new laptops and eventually I do a clean install of the operating system.

As far as programs: Chrome, Itunes, AIM, etc.

IMO don't worry about it too much and try to enjoy the new laptop. I'm sure you would rather spend the first hours of the laptop doing enjoyable things. Not reinstalling the OS.

 

Are there any settings in windows 7 that make a big difference and are worth changing?

 

Make the rescue disks most manufacturers leave on the HDD including the driver disk. You may need it later and if not you are only out some time and several DVD's. If you need the drivers or other data and have not made the disks you are stuck.

 

These.

Other than that there is not much on my side of things - just the common apps that the other computers in the office use.

 

7 comes pretty optimized for good performance, so you won't need to make changes to it "right out of the box". There are plenty of tips and tweaks, but none are necessary to a well-functioning system.

 

1. Input my Intel ssd w/ my stuff already set up.
2. Install that laptop's specific drivers.
3. PLAY

 

make backup disks.... reinstall fresh copy of windows, install latest drivers from various venders (ati, nvidia, intel) instead of using the laptop's "official" support site, lastly install steam and batterybar.... profit

 

A bit tongue in cheek...

First, I buy the laptop
Second, I sit and admire it from all angles for a while!
Third, I clean install Win 7 (at least that is what I did in the recent past - also because I buy machines without any OS. I buy the OS from a retail outlet. I could buy the OEM version, but I don't. I've had my fingers burnt on this a number of times)
Fourth, I install the various drivers and updates that Win 7 collects
Fifth, I install the ThinkPad utilities - some, but not all (I can provide a list if necessary)
Sixth, I install MSE
Seventh, I download Chrome and Opera
Eighth, I install Office (in my case, Office 2010)
Nineth, I install the various programs that I need and which are on a USB stick.
Tenth, I install all my file from an external device
Eleventh, I install my customized wall papers etc.
Twelfth, I download MalawareBytes, update it and run it.
Thirteenth, I run a full scan with MSE
Fourteenth, I do a full shutdown and startup (just to see if anything out of the ordinary is happening)
Fifteenth, I then continue to admire the machine from various points of view.

Cheers!

 

Check for defects, stress test to the limit. Make sure everything seems to be working satisfactorily.

As for the Operating System(s) that's IMHO very much dependent on what the person using it wants and not everybody wants the same thing.

 

Total Agreement here, except I install a good image program ( Marcium, Paragon) OR Acronis if you are rich
Then make an out of box image on external hard drive, then test that the image is restorable. If image is viable, Store offsite. (handy when you go to sell it as I am about to with my ASUS)
Install MSE .

 

Disable UAC

 

Cool thanks for the helpful posts! Any know of a guide for how to clean install windows?

 

That is a very dangerous advice unless you machine is an island or you don't use administrative right account for day to day use.

not all virus are catcheable by anti-virus programs and frequently used programs like IE, flash, acrobat all had holes in the past that allowed virus to slip in.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/428068-legal-windows-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

 

1. HDDScan the built-in hard drive for speed and bad sectors
2. Create recovery image
3. Calibrate the display so it passes this simple test
4. Disable "Smooth edges of screen fonts" (if I stay with Windows). That thing makes black vertical lines on a white background generate color ghosting (I can post a photo if anyone doubts it, or you can just display " iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|||||||||iiiiiiiiii" with black on white).

 

Remove all ugly stickers. Do I want to show everyone I have a W7 and a Core i5? No way. That's just lame.
On a second thought, I'd keep it if I was 14.

Make recovery discs, or rather ISO, since some manufacturers allow this now.
Reinstall Windows with ISO's from MSDN or similar source, install drivers.

I always keep my personal files on a second partition, even on a single HDD computer. This is NOT because of performance reasons, it's just very convenient to separate personal files from system files.

There's more than one way to do this, but the easiest and fastest is to select the folders you want in C:\Users\Mats\ while holding down Ctrl, then right-click-drag-and-drop them on the new location, then pick "move" in the pop up window.

The settings in the registry gets changed automatically. I put them directly into D:\, but if you have more than one account on the computer you should of course put them in separate folders. Appdata is the only folder I don't move.
After doing this, I can format C:, or reinstall the system image, whenever I want.

Classic Shell is a must have for me in Windows 7 (and Vista).
It brings back the up button in Explorer, but can also give a full, classic path in the address bar, and classic folder tree.
During install you can also choose to install a Classic Start Menu, but I've never done it because I'm not interested in that.

WinSetupFromUSB is the best tool for copying Windows ISO's to USB memory, although there's a chance you might get lost in all the options, so let me do it simple for you:
1 - Do a quick format of your USB memory in Explorer (NTFS).
2 - Start WinSetupFromUSB, add your ISO of choice.
3 - During the boot countdown, pick the right choice.
Unetbootin is another choice, but it doesn't always play nice with XP or 2003 (use FAT 32 if it doesn't work, helps sometimes). For anything newer it's a very good tool.
Both these works with modified ISO's (think vlite), unlike MS official tool. They work with many other bootable ISO's like Linux etc.

( NT 6.x fast installer is useful if you want to install Windows on a USB drive. Just don't try this on a regular USB-memory.. :lol: I did, and after five hours, Windows 7 was still starting up.)

Check out Scheduled Tasks, I found more than a couple of useless tasks there in W7. I'm not sure if it made much of a difference, but it feels like my laptop got a bit quicker after I disabled some of them. Go through the list, I'm sure you find something meaningless.

When all programs are installed, have a look at what's autostarting, probably it's just too much. Just disable the ones that doesn't need to autostart like automatic updaters for your printer.. whatever, and then you make a system image of C:\. Set up automatic backup for D:\.

 

how people can invest so much time and effort to build such solutions instead of just learning how to use the new stuff effectively is simply beyond me... whatever..


for installing vista/win7 on usb sticks, there is even a nice little tool from microsoft. nothing special needed anyways. a few diskpart parameters, and then copying the cd data out of the iso/dvd

 

Here:

Microsoft Store: Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool Help

 

Yeah, how strange, some people do things different than you. Weird.

That's just a matter of taste, if you're asking me. It's easier to click on the same button every time you want to go up, instead of picking the right crumb. Besides, CS allows you to use both if you want to.
Don't underestimate Classic Shell based on what I wrote, it got loads of settings.

If you read my post you also saw that I mentioned it, and what drawbacks it has. It doesn't work with modified ISO's, and AFAIK it doesn't work with older versions of Windows.

 

calm down folks! we are here to enjoy our passion, the computer issues.

These are the things I do all the time when I got I new computer

Make recovery discs
download the lattes drives for the computer
I clean as much I can all the crapware or I install a new fresh OS
Upgrade all the drives
install my favorite antivirus program (avast)
install my favorite unzip program (winrar)
install my back-up- synchronize program (SyncBack)
install the resize picture program (Image Resizer Powertoy)
Install CCleaner program

Now from here, I start to install all the programs I need to do my work or pleasure

Regards

as a recommendation try to get an external HD, and save or synchronize all your important files on the external HD

Regards

 

Here's something worth trying if you don't have a retail ISO:

Be aware that there's no guarantee that you'll get this result. For instance, using the recovery discs in a Sony i5 didn't change anything at all for me.

 

First thing is always a clean install. There is nothing better. Make sure you have easy access to be able to download your drivers. Dell is pretty good about providing these, so it makes the re-installation process a breeze.

 

If yours a HP and recently launched

Recovery Disk or create a factory image externally.
Copy swsetup folder, backup keys.
Complete System Information Printout ( This makes grabbing latest drivers a breeze, if you know how to read it.
Compare against the NBR HP Driver Thread for the particular model - Check for matching or supporting ids for each driver.
Play with factory settings for a week for defects, update for any problems. Check if fixed, until none found during. Can install new software to test as well.
Reinstall with factory image, use latest drivers again for problems. and Software Set.
No problems for a couple of days, Install Clean Install, use working latest drivers and essential software set. Test. Once working and satisfactory, Create system image

....
....

Short version: Trial and Error ... Finish, Reinstall until you like it.

 

Remove the crap hdd and/or memory they give you and install my own. Do a fresh install. That's about it.

 

Clean install....

 

I make a backup of the factory install.
Wipe HD clean and reinstall win 7
Move all the apps under start menu that dont have a folder into a folder called default. this shrinks the start menu program list considerably
turn off start menu history
move trash to bottom right corner
remove flower icon from user account

install newest Adobe Reader (free)
install Flash (free)
install 7 zip (free)
install VLC player (free)
install Firefox (free)
install Battery bar (free)
install VC++ Express (free)
install Codeblocks (free)

make backup
-Done-

all important files are not on the C install drive but on D archive drive. so i can reinstall all i like and never have to worry about writing over or erasing my files

generally i dont keep much of anything on my C drive with the exception of a c++ compiler and IDE.

 

Is there an easy way to get all the drivers your computer needs after a clean install or do you have to download each one individually?

 

Download them and put them in some external storage device before the clean install??

 

Is there a program that could do all this for me? It seems a lot easier to just uninstall the crap you don't want instead of doing a clean install

 

Yes, it definitely is easier to just uninstall the stuff you don't want. However, OEMs tend to customize the hell out of the OS and a lot of stuff that I've seen over the years tends to bork Windows upon uninstalling.

You might not see problems immediately. But, over time you start to notice things and then...BAM!...it hits you hard during that crucial moment. Trust me. A clean install is harder, but it saves you headaches down the road. Life isn't easy. Don't take the easy way out. That just leads to an untimely demise. In Window's case, an untimely reinstall.

 

I don't really have a problem with doing a clean install and spending the time to do so, its just that I don't understand that much about computers and making sure the drivers are all there seems like the biggest problem.

 

Several notable tweaks I make to Windows: I turn off all "slow" animations, such as the minimize/maximize application, sliding effects, etc. I also use RegEdit to decrease the hover delays for the Show Desktop button on the Win7 taskbar and the other taskbar items/windows. What can I say, I love efficiency

 

OK here is my story
I was thinking abt getting a new laptop for myself for like 8 months and was saving for it....
And one day i was just checking out stuff from a electronics/computer store and i saw this powerful laptop with a ridiculously cheap pricetag..and brought it the very next day evening...and carried it home...
Well... i first i did was i just stared at it for like 5 minutes and enjoyed its beauty....maybe thats because it was my first laptop which i brought with my own hard earned cash...
2. Then i charged the battery for like 3 hours (as instructed by the salesman)
3. Checked all the features bundled with it like wifi, bluetooth and the touch sensitive media buttons...
4. Next day i removed almost all the bloatware that came with it....and installed all softwares and started to customize it according to my needs...
5. Then i went online to know more abt laptops and i landed on this wonderful website....
BTW all these events took place before 3 years...LOL

 

OMG who changed the true and awesome signature i had before....

 

Where are they on my computer? Where are the files located? And how do I know if I backed up all of them?

 

the easiest way is to go to the manufacturers website. look up the laptop model and go to the driver section. there should be a list of drivers there that you can download. In windows alot of stuff seems to work by default. sound works. many times the net even works. its things like the video driver that you end up needing.

 

I follow a few ''steps'', it actually starts with step0;
0: test pc/laptop for defects (stress test, use all ports etc.)
1: burn recovery disks (just to be sure)
2: reinstall OS
3: update to latest drivers
4: install my favorite soft (just to name a few; notepad++, firefox, foobar2000, picasa3, vmware workstation, daemon tools, avast antivirus, dropbox, media player classic home cinema, teracopy, adobe reader, ultramon)
5: finetune the OS itself (disable unnecessary services, disable hibernate, shrink pagefile).

 

ok I found them on Sager's site, Does it matter where i download them to? is there a certain way of installing them?

 

First thing I do is get rid of crap ware. 2nd thing is load up an antivirus app like windows security essentials, with latest windows updates 3rd. The last step is loading all the apps I use, like WoW and Ms office.

 

First things ill be doing when ibget my new notebook tomorrow:
-replacing/upgrading RAM and hard drive
-getting rid of poopware
-installing necessary drivers
-and installing GAMES! It feels like its been forever since I gamed on a pc

 

Slapyou: Can you please check how much GB is used after the first boot, and also how much you'll free up by uninstalling?

Remember that even if you uninstall everything you don't like, the actual install will take up a lot of space.
My earlier example of a HP 210 netbook had 55 GB of the HDD occupied, including recovery partition.

A fresh install of W7 32 bit is 7.5 GB, and making a system image of that would use less, but let's say it's the same just to make it easy.

This means that the untouched HP uses 55 - 7.5 x 2 = 40 GB more than a clean install with included system image.

The question is, of those 40 GB, how much can you easily uninstall in Windows?
I'd say it's less than half, but since I never tried, I'm not sure.

Reinstalling is much easier than most people seem to think. Just remember to burn the recovery discs first.

 

When a new computer comes in I do the following:

- Switch the computer on to make sure it works first!
- Take note of the OS Serial/Activation for reference and Device Manager for any required drivers. Download the required drivers on to a USB stick to save time.
- Upgrade the hardware such as the RAM and Hard Drives, perform stability tests to make sure its OK.
- Have Windows 7 Pro + SP1 ready and load the latest SATA drivers before installing the OS. (Clean Install)
- Tweak the interface such as the taskbar.
- Install the necessary drivers and updates.
- Install applications that I need.
- Perform some OS tweaks (i.e. MSConfig/Services)
- Ermmm… finish off with a cute desktop wallpaper! (^ω^)

 

Got a new one yesterday, this is what I did:

• Downloaded wireless drivers, popped them onto a USB drive.
• Re-partitioned HDD, so I have a drive for my DATA
• Wiped existing W7 installation
• Re-installed fresh copy of W7 without junkware
• Installed wireless drivers, and away I go!!