Before Windows PCs are suitable for daily usage, they require significant tweaking. Here’s what you should install, what you should remove, and how to ensure the security of your new investment.
Have you lately purchased a new computer? I wish I could tell you that you are set to go, but no computer is ideal right out of the box; Windows-based PCs in particular require some tweaking before they are suitable for regular use.
You must secure your new system and add your own settings to make it uniquely yours. You should remove certain programs from the drive right away and add other software right away. We’ll guide you through the process if you’re new to Windows or haven’t set up a new computer in a while. Your list of things to do is considerably shorter if your new child is a Mac.
First, get going.
Following the basic setup of power, monitor, keyboard, and mouse (if applicable), Windows will prompt you to configure a number of settings, including language, time zone, clock, and calendar. You will be forced to make a login by Microsoft, ideally by creating a new account or logging in with an already-existing one. One benefit of using the account is that it allows you to synchronize your settings and backgrounds across all of your Windows computers. It connects your computer to the cloud.
That might not be what you want. Thus, think about making a local account instead. While installing Windows, it’s not as simple as it should be, but the trick is to disconnect from the internet. Additionally, you might want to set up numerous PC accounts for your family members or children. You can set that up at any moment; you’re not required to do it right now.
Open up the System.
Usually, well-known system vendors install software directly from the manufacturer on their consumer PCs. Numerous terms are used to refer to these “extras”: shovelware, bloatware, bundleware, begware, and, possibly most accurately, crapware. This is due to the fact that a great deal of it is useless garbage.
Installers put it in under the pretense of assisting you, but their primary motivation is to profit from the developers of the software. There is still a long way to go, but the big system designers are attempting to minimize the amount of unnecessary software (or at least ensure that it doesn’t show up everywhere on your machine). On a consumer system purchased at retail, you can almost always count on finding additional pre-loaded software; on a commercial system, this is less likely.
This is the method for removing crapware from your computer, however for a fresh PC, it just means this: If it has a lot of unnecessary software installed, try using the built-in Windows Reset utility to restore the system to its original state. With the possible exception of Microsoft-supplied content, which you may delete for the most part, it should be free of all frills.~~ Trialware is a limited-time trial version of software that you might genuinely desire; don’t confuse it with crapware. If it’s a free trial of a reliable security product, it might be worthwhile to keep, which brings us to.
Get the latest updates.
After a successful boot up, your computer will eventually notify you that there are Windows updates available. This should happen within five minutes. Seize those updates. Use Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update to search for them. Depending on when Windows was installed on the PC, you can be behind. It’s possible that you have a lot of updates—big updates—to download. Give this process time to finish. Move on, watch an Adam Sandler movie, and eat some leftovers. This will take some time, and the Sandler movie will appear to go on forever.
Launch Windows Update once more after the downloads are finished. Updates tend to become updates at this point. It should be enough three times. You ought to have a perfectly clean Windows system by now.If updates are becoming too frequent, postpone them for seven days. or designate specific times for updates to occur, such as at night or on the weekends.
Turn on the shields.
It’s really worth the money to keep viruses off of your computer. Among the well-known brands in our Editors’ Choice security packages right now are Norton 360 Deluxe and Bitdefender Internet Security. In addition to anti-malware technologies, each one also has firewalls, anti-spam tools, and parental controls to monitor and regulate children’s internet behavior.
Even if you choose not to pay, protection is still necessary. There are several good free antivirus apps available. Right now, we advise using Vast One Essential.
Even while Microsoft Defender, the antivirus program included with Windows, has advanced significantly in recent years, it is still preferable to use a third-party program that offers more features. (Windows Defender becomes inactive upon installing a third-party antivirus software; it reactivates only upon detecting the absence of any other antivirus software. Multiple antivirus software installations aren’t necessarily beneficial for Windows.)
In the past, personal firewall software was essential for safeguarding your computer against unauthorized online access. One might even be included in a security suite. Having said that, these days you don’t actually need an additional firewall. The Windows built-in utility and the firewall that’s probably operating on your home networking router work together to do this.
Organize Your Recuperation.
In the past, some techies chose to reinstall an operating system after something disastrous happened to Windows. Windows 10 and 11 do not allow you to accomplish it. To start afresh, you’ll utilize the Recovery tool instead. In order to rapidly recover everything in the event of a calamity, make a backup of your flawless Windows system straight away.
Here’s how to make a recovery drive that you may use later, along with instructions for doing a full restoration using that drive. Windows will prompt you to use a local drive partition or an external USB drive for backup, depending on the system. Writeable DVDs should be inserted if you’re retro. (provided you have a disc drive).
In the event that Windows won’t boot up, it can also assist you in creating a System Image, which can help you restore your original system. To locate it, open Windows Explorer and type Control Panel\System and Security\Backup and Restore (Windows 7)—yes, Windows 7, don’t be alarmed. Creating an image is similar to taking a picture of your present setup, thus we advise you to do it as soon as your new PC is delivered. Although using the backup as a foundation would speed up recovery considerably, it won’t restore your apps and future files.
Move Files
Using the Windows Easy Transfer tool, Windows used to make it easy to transfer files from your old computer to the new one. However, Windows 10 and 11 do not support it, so Microsoft advises using PCmover Express from Laplink. The $19.95 commercial version is required to transfer your previous programs over, but you can utilize the free version.
If you have a lot of files, you can employ the traditional method of using a sneakernet: copy the contents from your old PC to a USB drive and then transfer them to your new system. Using your home network to transmit files is a better option.
Having all of your old PC files backed up to a cloud storage and file-sharing service, such as Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive (which is an Editors’ Choice and integrated with Windows), or IDrive (PCMag’s Editors’ Choice), is the simplest approach, though. Run it on every PC to create a backup of all your files, then install the service on the new machine to see all of your files from all of your devices. After installing it and transferring files, your file backup system is ready to start. It’s win-win.
Select a Better Web Browser.
You shouldn’t settle for the web browser of your choosing. Forget about Internet Explorer altogether, at the very least.
Edge is the default web browser that comes pre-installed on Windows. Actually, Microsoft says that too many things need that you have at least one browser open, thus you are unable to uninstall Edge. Since Edge and Google Chrome share the same underlying technology, you can utilize Google Chrome extensions in addition to knowing that websites will probably display as intended. Although 65.5% of users install Chrome, you can always install it yourself; yet, Firefox is the industry leader in terms of extensibility and standard support.
Organize Your Programs.
What software is most essential for your needs is not something we can tell you. Broadly speaking, a PC cannot be considered complete until it has an office suite, a web browser, and a photo-editing program. Almost any software you could require has a free counterpart available, and a large number of them are web-based, so you can use them directly in your browser. Check out The Best Free Software for our list of free favorites.
Examine the Program Files folder on the C: disk of your former Windows computer if you wish to keep the configuration from when you last used it. List the programs that are offered there. Additionally, you should sync all of your correspondence, including direct messages and emails, using the same login credentials and settings.
You should also think about using a password manager to assist you remember the hundreds of login credentials you’ll need to access various online and PC services, as well as a VPN to protect your internet traffic.
A specific number of machines can only run a given piece of software. For instance, iTunes limits the number of PCs on which you may play tracks you’ve purchased online to five (and you really have to switch to a music streaming service). In any case, if you won’t be utilizing the program on your old computer again, be sure it has been de-authorized.
Time for Tune-Up
Windows runs remarkably quickly on the correct hardware, but any system’s performance may be improved with a few modifications. In the past, employing third-party tune-up software for Windows might be very beneficial. While there are still plenty that provide one-click optimization, none of them are very revolutionary these days.
There are many of built-in tools in Windows 10 and 11 that you may use to optimize them. All they lack is the option to click once. The finest options are covered in detail in How to Tune Up Your Windows 10 PC for Free. This includes configuring which apps run at startup, utilizing the disk defragmenter, and more. It also involves making extra drive space available.
Additionally, we offer 12 Hardware-Based Tips to Accelerate Windows, which include upgrading to a solid-state drive if you haven’t already, and adding as much RAM as possible.
The best performance advice could be to go to Settings and search for “adjust appearance.” Select the “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows” pop-up option. Disable shadows, fades, animations, and other effects under Visual Effects. anything you don’t need. Windows will seem less attractive, but it will run a little bit faster.
Examine Additional Hardware.
Purchasing a new computer is an ideal chance to evaluate the peripheral gear that came with your previous one. Give it some thought before connecting devices from your outdated Windows 7 computer to that sleek Windows 11 setup. With all the photos you shoot on your phone, do you really need that old flatbed scanner? Low-capacity portable hard drives, outdated USB hubs, and inkjet printers might all likely benefit from an upgrade, if not a complete disposal.
Updating old hardware on a new PC requires the most recent drivers, which are the programs that enable peripherals to function properly with Windows. It is wise to look for the most recent drivers if you are connecting outdated gear, even if Windows detects it and everything appears to be in order. To help with it, you can use a program like DriverPack Solution or Iobit Driver Booster.
Not all new things are inherently beneficial. You should be suspicious of the mouse and keyboard that came with your new desktop PC system. It’s not common for PC manufacturers to offer incredibly well-made or ergonomic input devices. Instead, have a look at some of our selection of the best mechanical or wireless keyboards. If you are a newbie to working from home, you should think about investing in an ergonomic keyboard and mouse, even if your new computer is a laptop that you hardly use. Later on, your wrists will appreciate it.
Make sure to register everything.
When the time comes to ask for help—which it will—you will be more likely to be recognized if you register your PC with the manufacturer and the software and peripherals with their individual authors. However, doing so is no guarantee of excellent technical support. Knowing when you bought or received the product is often crucial to getting a vendor to honor a warranty. Being enrolled makes sense in the event of a recall—you don’t want to be the only person on the street carrying a laptop battery that could burst into flames.
Additionally, since the extended warranty from the reseller is usually not worth it, it makes sense to buy your new PC using a credit card that has its own extended warranty option.
Online registration is a rather simple process. If you don’t want your name to appear on as many mailing lists as possible, you may either deselect this option when registering or create a unique email address that will allow you to filter these lists. Users of Gmail, for instance, can add a random period to the beginning of their address (your.name@gmail.com), and messages sent to the account will still reach it; but, you can filter messages sent to it into designated folders.
How to Handle Your Old Computer…
Your ancient PC undoubtedly has some useful applications still. Transform it into a new item, such as a Linux workstation! a server at home! a hotspot!), donate it to a charitable organization, or recycle it (if you still have faith in recyclers). Many choices exist; we’ve included a few in our list of 15 Fantastic Uses for an Old PC.
Whatever you do, make sure the hard drive is clean before transferring it. Before recycling the old PC, at the very least, format the drive(s). Perform a complete factory reset to return it to its original, factory settings if you’re shipping it with Windows 10 installed. If you’re particularly paranoid, formatting won’t guarantee that all of the old data on a drive is permanently lost. The process can take hours, but specialized programs like Darik’s Boot and Nuke or Active@ KillDisk – Hard Drive Eraser will do it for free.
The Swiss cheese alternative is always available: drill holes through it while driving to the workshop. Even for your data, bullet holes will serve the same purpose, but that’s overkill.
