7 things you should do when you buy a new windows computer

7 things you should do when you buy a new windows computer


Take snapshot of labels on the back 
Write down critical numbers: serial, model, windows license
Register: websites, logins, phone numbers
write down computer login userids/passwords
Order recovery media from the manufacturer

uninstall software you don't want
Download any new updates

Buy a couple of empty dvds
Buy a highspeed usb drive with lot of space (300mb or more)
Get a permanent marker

Create a system image on the usb drive
Create a repair DVD


Buy a couple of empty dvds
Buy a highspeed usb drive with lot of space (300mb or more)
Get a permanent marker
Get labels

you will need these to create the necessary things for restoring your pc as things are BOUND to go wrong in a few months or a year or two or 4. 


Serial number
model number
windows license number
any phone numbers listed

I use gmail. 


write down websites
write down phone numbers
write down login ids and passwords


manufacturers website name
account email
account userid
account password

these days manufacturers are not shipping these. This should be a punishable crime. But again many punishable crimes go unpunished.

Go a head and order repair media for your computer. this may be a number of cds, or a dvd, or a usb drive.

this may cost 30 to 40 dollars. I think it is worth the peace of mind.

You may not know on day one what is required or what is not. That is ok. You can do a bigger system purge later. But you can quickly see the obvious ones that you can spot and uninstall them.

Go ahead and get the new updates.

manufacturers typically ship norton or mcafee preloaded for a month. I have especially bad experience with norton.

I have installed bitdefender at 30 dollars a year. This is the first time I am trying. 


Install the new anti-virus first
then uninstall the norton


it is in my face all the time
they continue to bill me even when I don't use it
it is hard to keep track of automatic renewals
helpdesk is peripherally helpful
they lost touch with the customer


seem cheap
I coulnd find a free one
(Some money is better than cheap to promote growth!!)
Rated relatively high


mixed
install is nice enough to trigger norton de-install
fairly not-in-yourface
but has some problems logging into their account as they use flash
ok so far
I will report later how it is working
they claim i can use it for 3 pcs. I have yet to try this.


their website
userid/password
mail these to your email along with other information for keeps


You have uninstalled unwanted stuff
you have the windows updates
you have the right antivirus

This is a good time to take a copy of your system. 


Connect your large usb drive
Go to backup and restore in control panel
Select create a system image
choose  your usb drive
it may take about 30 minutes to create this image


it may take sometime to locate this
It will not delete anything else on your usb drive
It creates its own root level sub directory 
The sub directory has another subdirectory based on your pc name
You can rename this pc-name sub directory later for keeping multiple images

The program didnt ask me in what directory on the usb drive i need to save the system image. This gave me the impression that the program may be using all the usb drive and may even format it!!!

I am reporting here that it doesn't. So if there is a poor soul like me searching before invoking the system image, then breath easy and let it do its thing.

You may want a drive that is about 300 to 500G byes.

you will need this disk to recover from the system image if all else fails. So use a DVD media to create this. Same backup and restore that you have used for system image has a link to create this. 


power cables
repair disks
usb drives


serial number
model number
license number

manufacturer website
userid
password

anti-virus website
userid
password

computer userid
password

labeled repair disk
lableed usb drive

As you install new software like microsoft office, take a system image again.

it is a bit by bit copy of your entire hard drive!!

Once you have a system image you can put the new hard drive like an SSD in and just recover the system image to load it with everything you have.

If all else fails you reboot your machine with these media. This will reformat your hard drive and reinstall to the factory settings.

for me it came in 4 cds and it took me 3 hours to fully bring it back.

Just to keep things moving in windows 8 it is no longer system repair disk but drive

Just like the repair disk, this can be created from any working windows installation.

And also it may have to be a dedicated one as all data on it will be deleted...

taking a system image in windows 8

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So here are some instructions for system image for windows 8

windows 8 multiple drives and system image

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windows 8 system image fails with another process using the drive

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windows 8 system image fails

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Windows 7 File recovery program that is used to create the system image also allows you to create a system repair disc


System repair disc
System repair drive
System image
Manufacturer like: Lenovo OneyKey Recovery tool

In the end, a users luck is such that, none of these will work when this $300.00 computer fails with a wonderful virus. This got be easiery than thin.

Just provide a red button that says RESET.....


Locate/Keep a copy of the user manual for the computer
  (As this might tell you how to change memory etc)
Locate recovery screens to understand without actually doing it.
Setup parental controls through OpenDNS
Setup your 4G phone as a hotspot for your computer


serial number
model number
license number

manufacturer website
userid
password

anti-virus website
userid
password

computer userid
password

labeled system repair disk
labeled system image usb drive
labeled system backup usb drive

An online copy/pdf of the user manual
Locate recovery screens to understand without actually doing it.
Setup parental controls through OpenDNS
Setup your 4G phone as a hotspot for your computer


Uninstall unwanted software
turn on windows defender or equiv
install office
install chrome
get latest updates
open a windows office document and test it

Can you boot from a system repair drive in windows 8

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It is more than 15 minutes and it is barely half way. Is it because of usb 2.0 or something like that? wonder?

What is System restore and Push Button Reset in windows

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Looks like here is how windows 8 is expected to work for recovery needs

PC Reset, which returns the PC/device to its factory-fresh condition

PC Refresh, in which your documents, music, photos and other data files are retained but Windows is reinstalled

Here is a video from Microsoft on this

It baffles me why it took 30 years for microsoft even to address this???????

what is the meaning of turn on system protection in windows 8?

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push button reset on or off?

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windows 8 push button reset on or off?

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Here is a little bit more detail on this stuff

Can't believe it took me all day so far and it might take few more days before I understand this....

windows 8 system recovery drive and push button restore

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Here is how to create and what you can do with a recovery drive


you can boot from
refresh
reset
etc.

Prerequisites for push button restart to work in windows 8

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Here are some answers for this

A preloaded recovery partition on the PC, configured by the OEM.

Recovery media provided by the OEM.

Installation media, such as a Windows 8 DVD or USB flash drive.

windows 8 and system image and reset

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Here is a bit of discussion on this

This is an explicit link to create and use a recovery drive in windows 8

Now you can boot the Windows 8 USB recovery drive and perform a refresh, reset, system restore, system image recovery, and an automatic repair. 


refresh, 
reset, 
system restore, 
system image recovery, 
and an automatic repair

windows 8 password recovery

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Read this article

In windows 8 and on use the task manager to see what startup programs are taking more time and disable them

there may be a vendor supplied system information analyzer that shows bench marks of meory, cpu, disk etc

use windows defender and remove the external virus vendor programs as they seem to hog the machine during startup and even later


Lenovo Soluton center
System
System information


Base score; 4.7
Processor: 6.3
RAM: 5.9
Graphics: 4.7
Gaming: 6.1
primary disk: 5.9

this is based on a 4G ram, AMD a6 4 cores

keen to see when I put in 16G and see if that moves this one way or the other