In my work with both residential and commercial clients from Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan and the Redlands I am often able to have to set up new installation for Microsoft Windows. This can be due to the customer purchasing a brand newly purchased Windows 10 computer and needing assistance with setting the system to meet their needs. But, most often, it is due to a reinstall of Windows or after upgrading the hard drive to a Solid State Drive (SSD). Reinstallation of Windows often becomes necessary because of the corruption of the drive, or after a failed Windows update.
In this blog, I’ll go over some of the fundamental steps to get the Microsoft Windows computer up and running. This can be applicable to a brand new computer is being turned to for the very first time or for an upgrade of Windows for an older PC. From my experience, these steps should be applicable to most users.
We hope you appreciate these seven steps especially if you’ve recently bought a brand new Windows desktop or laptop computer.
1. Register Your User Account
After you have launched Windows to the very first time you’re taken through a series of steps with Cortana. It will set the keyboard layout and your region and connecting to a network, and finally creating your account. There are a variety of ways for logging into your Windows PC, however the standard is to sign in with an account with a Microsoft account.
It is necessary to input your username and email to the Microsoft account. If you’ve set up two-factor authentication on your account you’ll also be required input a password to login. There is also the possibility to create a password that can be used for future logins rather than making use of your password.
Once you’ve added your account, you’ll be asked to select the privacy settings of your device, customize the Windows experience, choose whether you’d prefer to use your Android phone on your computer or not, choose whether you’d like to save your data using OneDrive or sign up for a no-cost trial for Microsoft 365, and select which Cortana app you’d like to use to help you accomplish your goals. When you’ve completed the various screens, you’ll get presented with the new Windows desktop in the beginning.
2. Create an System Restore point
System Restore is an extremely beneficial feature in Microsoft Windows and it surprises me to learn that it’s not removed by default following the installing Windows. System Restore is designed to ensure the security and integrity of the damage caused by a Windows installation. It creates snapshots of Windows registry and system files Windows registry. It saves them in restore point. In the event of an install failure or data corruption happens, System Restore can then be used to bring the Windows PC to operational condition without having to reinstall Windows. It can repair it’s Windows environment by returning to the settings and files that were saved at this restore point.
Before beginning to modify your computer make sure you make an initial System restore point. This means that at the very minimum should something go wrong, you will be able to return to the previous state without having to do your installation process of Windows completely. To accomplish this, simply click the Windows start button, begin typing Create and select Create an restore point whenever it is deemed to be the best match. After that, turn protection off, select the disk space that you’d prefer to dedicate to System Restore and make your initial restore point.
3. Update Drivers for Devices
It is essential to keep your system up-to-date and it’s possible that some hardware device drivers aren’t installed or require to be up-to-date. There are many methods available to do this, but my personal preference is to utilize an application known as Snappy Driver Installer. Through this application it is easy to update all your device drivers with a single use of the program. If you feel any difficulties to update drivers for devices, you can contact to Laptop Repair Near Me for help.
4. Set up Microsoft Office 365, Google Chrome, Adobe Reader & a Security Product
The system you’ve purchased or the choices you made in the initial setup process, Microsoft Office 365 may already be installed on your system. If not, it’s best to install and download it now as long as you are using the Office 365 license. You may also already have an older version of Microsoft Office which you’d like to install. Another option is to install one of the productivity suites like Apache OpenOffice.
When it comes to web browsing, as far as it is concerned, each user has distinct preferences. You can continue using Microsoft Edge which is the built-in browser that comes with Windows 10, and which is an excellent choice since the it was introduced with Chrome. Chromium version. My personal preference is Google Chrome and so I typically start installing it earlier during the process. Another one of my favorites option is Mozilla Firefox.
Based on my observation, the majority of users utilize Adobe Reader as their application that they prefer to open PDF files. You can also make use of Microsoft Edge for this purpose in which case you don’t have to install any other application. It is also possible to install a commercial alternative product.
In terms of security the different types of people will have different preferences and it’s dependent on you. Personally, I consider security software to be non-essential as Windows 10 includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus However, if already have a valid license for an antivirus product then you must install it right now.
5. Create Your default apps
After installing the software programs in the earlier section, it’s essential to set them up as your default apps for your you want to use. To do this, simply hit the Windows start button, then start typing def, and then select the default apps option when it appears as the most suitable match. On the screen that appears, you can alter the default email application to Microsoft Outlook (if desired) and your browser of choice to Google Chrome. Click on Set defaults for each application, select Adobe Acrobat DC, click Manage and make sure you have Adobe Acrobat DC is set as the default option for .pdf.
6. Install Your Printer
A majority of people require the use of a printer or scanner. These can be set up at this point. It is recommended to download the necessary driver and application from the website of the manufacturer to ensure the most current software is used.
7. Copy Files Over From Previous Windows Installation
This last step could or could not be necessary dependent on the requirements of your. If you’ve installed Windows using the exact drive previously, then your data and folders are easily transferred to Windows.old to Windows.old directory on the boot drive. If you’re on the other side you’ve set up a new computer and installing it to brand new SSD or hard drive then you’ll need to copy the files over from the hard drive that was previously used. I’d typically connect the old hard drive to the computer with an USB enclosure and transfer the files directly, however, other methods are also available.