I’m getting a new computer. I need instructions on setting it up CORRECTLY

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As the title says I want to know how to set up my Windows PC.  I am fairly computer stupid.  I know how to use it.  I do not know how to install Win 10 Pro 21H2 SAFELY & SECURELY.  I want my computer to be ONLY MY computer.  Are there sep-by-step instructions, written by Susan or somebody at her level of expertise, that I can print out and follow to install & set up my PC.  And with safe programs to use.

I want Windows 10 Pro 21H2.  Can I trust Microsoft for an unpolluted version of that?

Currently I do use InControl. And I use CCleaner.  And oddly I always find Edge & Internet Explorer have cookies, yet I have NEVER used either one.  I’d prefer neither of them even existed on my PC at all  IF there is a way to COMPLETELY uninstall those, I’d like to know.  I only use Firefox. I have Nord VPN & NordPass.  I do use Word & Excel, I do not have the 365 thang

I see “some settings are controlled by your organization” What Organization??  I have no idea why I see that or what that means.

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This will be of help to get started on the right foot.. Guide by Susan April 2023 attached.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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opti1

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You want Windows 10 22H2 btw, not 21H2.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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TechTango

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If it’s a new computer it will come with W11. I don’t think you can downgrade to W10.
Again, 22H2 is recommended.

Make sure you have all your license details for Office so you can reinstall it. You need to uninstall it from the old computer first.
Make sure you have an image backup of your old machine before uninstalling Office, just in case.  🙂

CCleaner likes to advertise how good it is by telling you all the “bad stuff” it has removed. I think it’s easier to not use CCleaner and set your browser to delete cookies etc when you close it.

Settings controlled by your organization means you have edited the registry to manage Windows, most likely by using InControl. This is a good thing!

cheers, Paul

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My brother bought a computer (a laptop) with Win 11 on it, and he hated it. He was annoyed that it made him set up a MS account (he did not know the trick) and the floating start button, so he downgraded it to 10. As far as I know, it is working fine (no activation nags or anything like that). I have never used that PC myself, but I have seen him use it with an external display (so I can see the screen), and I don’t see anything unusual about it.

I would have advised him to keep 11 and just change the bits he doesn’t like, but he didn’t ask. He is not big on changing things like I am… he doesn’t like to change the default settings, so it probably would not have worked. (Default OS, though, no problem!)

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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Ascaris wrote:

floating start button

Floating?

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I had to set up a new computer for one of my parents.  With Windows 10, you could pause updates up to 35 days out but in advanced settings you could select the exact date to resume updates from a drop-down.  It seems to have been dumbed down in Windows 11 to pausing for 1/2/3 etc weeks.  Do you happen to know why Microsoft removed the granularity of options?

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I’m not sure if this is the same for Win 11, but it’s easy to check the using the Group Policy Editor.  Just search the start menu for GPE.

For Windows 10 Pro, the updates can set to notify the user, but not download/install until the user clicks download.  It’s in the Group Policy.

Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update/Configure Automatic Updates
Set as #2 = Notify before downloading and installing any updates.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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You are correct. The “Select a date” setting has been removed from Windows Update in Win11. You can only Pause updates in weekly increments now.

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Download and run WUMgr.
Select “disable automatic updates” on the “Auto Update” tab and reboot.
Now you can use WUMgr to perform the updates – see the KB.
You can always re-enable updates later.

cheers, Paul

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TechTango

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If it is a new machine it may come with BitLocker preconfigured and the disk encrypted.
See this thread for further details.

cheers, Paul

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In the past we have used Laplink’s PCmover to move applications, files, and settings from a retiring Windows computer to new PC.

It has always worked for us.

If you go with the app. make sure that you go with PCmover Ultimate with an Ethernet cable. You will need the cable to connect the two computers together.

It is available from NewEgg, BestBuy, Microsoft Store, etc.

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TechTango

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You will have to setup Windows before using LapLink.

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Downgrading to Windows 10 works (i.e. the Win 11 license will activate Win 10) but it requires a clean install (i.e. you won’t be able to keep any of the other software that comes preinstalled on the new PC.)

How to downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10 (there’s a catch)

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Paul T

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