How to help new user set up new PC to avoid problems later?

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Need a good book or other good resource to give to an older lady who has bought a new PC. Would probably be a good idea for any new user too!

the goal is to set it up right before it is used to facilitate recovery from problems and scumware. also to have a routine method to back up and keep data secure.

This would be for a win8.1 laptop.

Need something to identify ALL the things that should be done FIRST before using it.

If forced to enter info to set up the pc WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING especially any passwords but including all options selected.

Examples, image the original disk before installing anything else.
then make a a back up recovery CD type disk or memory stick.

back up the registry before every install.

set up security: for example norton and mbam suite; microsoft firewall etc.
are other programs useful too? anything better ?

remember this lady may not be so cautious as you are when she clicks on things. the goal is to prevent problems as much as to be able to fix them later.

have two external usb HDs that she alternates attaching and backing up her data to.

anyway, that is the sort of info i am looking for to give to her.
is there a book that covers such things?
or one really good web site or tutorial that does it ??

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Hi,

Found some really good articles here:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2c2817%2c2337551%2c00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2108245/the-right-way-to-set-up-a-new-pc.html
http://www.computershopper.com/feature/13-essential-steps-set-up-your-new-pc

Is this what you’re looking for?

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thanks

yes that is the type of info we need for her

i was hoping to find a book with it all in one place
but i may have to settle for printing out the articles to assemble some instructions

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There are some books available, like the Windows for Dummies series, but they do not include the level of fine detail you seem to require, here. I suggest looking for web articles or YouTube videos. They tend to be a lot more comprehensive as, for instance, they do not have space restrictions. Also, these types of General Windows books usually have to cover multiple topics, thereby leaving less room for a comprehensive setup tutorial. Perhaps, such a book exists, I’m not too sure, but until someone here suggests such a book, I think you’re better off sticking to online tutorials.

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thanks

we were hoping for a specific dummies type book that was strictly on all the things to set up a new pc to avoid and be able to fix problems in the future

copying and editing all the articles in that other post plus a couple more google has found would certainly be a full book aimed strictly at preventing problems and simplifying fixes when they happen

unfortunately too many of the articles assume other experience and knowledge which makes them not very useful for the type of person that would need such information for setting up a pc

if win8 were not going to die a well deserved death real soon now then i might consider pulling it all together for the lady and then publishing it as a book. but win 9 should be out and win8 will go the way of win 2 4 and vista and all the other even numbered versions that seem to be more test marketing to see what the market will accept before ms does the real system

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thanks

yes that is the type of info we need for her

i was hoping to find a book with it all in one place
but i may have to settle for printing out the articles to assemble some instructions

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I intend to buy a new Desktop PC before the end of 2014 or at the latest in January 2015.

I am not a computer expert, but am not a novice either.

I think that “points” on How to Set Up a New PC could be useful for all.

I have not searched for it, but it seems that Windows Secrets should have already covered this subject?

If not, now would be a good time – especially with the upcoming release of Windows “9” and the fact that Windows XP is no longer supported. Both of those & the upcoming XMas Holidays should lead to new PC purchases by many.

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there is a lot scattered around the web on many sites

i have assembled a lot of them
not sure if all are good ideas
nor whether i have the sequence right

here is a draft of the notes so far

comments welcome

NEW PC SETUP CHECKLIST
(with specific items for win 8 )

open box verify contents vs instructions

set up time language timezone etc
bypass all passwords !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you sign in to Windows with a local account, you can choose not to enter a password. You do not have to set your account up to an email account. A password is not required if you set up as a local account.
Use AutoLogon.exe and enter your username/password:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963905.aspx
when you try to change your password enter your current password and then in the box of the new password dont type nothing just press enter and then enter again,

create restore point

create factory restore/emergency boot”disk” or memory stick
create password reset “disk” on memory stick for win 8

document everything – passwords settings etc
serial numbers guarantees yada yada

image disk

set up security
norton or avg free
mbam suite
Ad-Aware, and Spybot as secondary, on-demand scanners.
You should also consider installing VirusTotal Uploader (http://www.virustotal.com). This lets you right-mouse-click a file to have it sent to VirusTotal where it will be analyzed by more than 40 virus engines.

kill flash!!
group policy editor or via IE

tweak settings
delete the lock screen using group policy editor gpedit.msc
set admin tools to show
hide useless aps
turn off adaptive screen brightness
turn off all power saving nonsense
boot to desktop and skip metro in taskbar and nav properties
turn off live tiles – right click – select off
create control panel on desktop

clean out crapware
slimcomputer
pc decrapifier
revo uninstaller

get network running
do all updates
version
drivers
bios/uefi

transfer files from old pcs
establish a regular back up process
needs work here
at least TWO usb hds offline
alternate connect and copy all data from your one data folder
disconnect and keep offline to avoid infection or worse
set up a good naming and CM method to keep track of all your stuff

get new browser – firefox

install programs
word processing
skype
google
email client

register warranty etc

check ninite.com for usual add ones to start

document config with belarc advisor

make current restore point
make current image disk

I intend to buy a new Desktop PC before the end of 2014 or at the latest in January 2015.

I am not a computer expert, but am not a novice either.

I think that “points” on How to Set Up a New PC could be useful for all.

I have not searched for it, but it seems that Windows Secrets should have already covered this subject?

If not, now would be a good time – especially with the upcoming release of Windows “9” and the fact that Windows XP is no longer supported. Both of those & the upcoming XMas Holidays should lead to new PC purchases by many.

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Normally I don’t like to “toot my own horn” but at least some of what you ask for is in the article “Set-Up Job” that I recommend to my customers when they have to buy a new computer. I have to warn, in that article I do not cover backups.
The trick is knowing what to remove and why and what to leave; and that varies from brand to brand and from series to series of machines.
This is a time proven way to have somebody begin with a “clean” machine.

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For Windows 8.1, try the Windows 8.1 Field Guide (590 pages, PDF or e-book for $2) by Paul Thurrott and a.n.other.

It has plenty on the basics of setting up, so you could extract or print just those pages that seemed relevant.

Bruce

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‘Finding it all in a single place’ is unlikely, and since you have a computer to work with it makes sense to accumulate ideas from many sources over time (then publish your own book). The technology is constantly changing, and it is very easy to pick up tips that improvements have made obsolete or that are the computing equivalent of old wives’ tales, as may apply to any of my own ideas. Here are a few to add to the list.

I want to contain the installation, so I will first partition, or shrink from within Windows, the drive to a size of about 110 GB. That is ample space for an initial installation with a comfortable amount of data, and it keeps it below the 120 GB of a small SSD, in case I want to clone it to that. If I leave some unallocated space after that partition, I can expand it at any time, but containing the installation will avoid the nuisance of having unmovable files written to the middle of a very large hard drive. You can even start with a partition suitable for a 64 GB installation – that is fine for Windows and Office and more, and after cloning then increase the available space to add more to the installation.

I must install Office before installing other programs, because other programs’ plug-ins for Office won’t get installed if Office isn’t present.

Windows’ native capabilities haven’t been satisfactory for most users in past, but they are improving and increasing in number. They can be handy during setup, and using them for a period lets me decide whether or not I really need third-party software for certain purposes.

I want to get a few of my most-used programs operational early in the game. If I am able to use the computer for a few familiar tasks then I will have some incentive to work with it instead of wondering if I should have bought it. It will also help me adapt to the new computer, and to have the computer stabilize my programs through usage.

Personalization can be lengthy or short, depending on whether or not I am importing settings from another computer and whether or not this is a new version of Office. Overall, it is perpetual, but if setting up for someone else I have to remember that it is his or her preferences that matter, not my own.
Office 2013 does not come with a convenient collection of pre-installed templates as 2010 did – they are free but I have to download them, which means that occasionally go template shopping at the relevant MS address. Even a search on ‘Blank’ will yield a number of templates. Any new version of Office means that my prized personal or legacy templates will be dismissed as ‘incompatible’, but it would be helpful if someone gave advice on how to make them compatible.

Bundled software doesn’t bother me, but I wish the different laptop manufacturers would include a keyboarding tutorial for each and every machine they sell, all of which seem to have different keyboard layouts with features that users are expected to learn on their own.

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