[PULLY]

If you had a brand new computer what would you do now that you didnt do when yours was new? What are some good ideas to make a new computer run smoother and wiser with less complications down the line?

[Stoner]

Hi PULLY.

Good suggestion, imo, with a new computer or fresh install of the OS is to install as many of the security apps, and the software you normally use, upgrade anything that needs upgrading, especially security......and then take a drive image of it.
Reinstalling a drive image is often faster than repairing a hosed system and you won't have the nagging suspicion you missed undetected malware .
If it's a hardware malfunction , like a drive failure, you're facing, that drive image will save you countless hours reinstalling everything.

I also think saving all data or anything in your My Documents folder, on a different partition is wise.
Also anything you value, to be saved in the first place, ought to be backed up to a CD, DVD or separate hard drive.


I do turn services off that I know are not going to be used, but if you don't understand what their functions are, it's best not to change their properties till you do.
( been there done that )

I also think an uninterruptable power source with a surge protector is a wise investment.

Don't let your kids surf the internet on it.....they go places you wouldn't/shouldn't .....that seem to crap up a machine with malware _

[JohnWill]

Run the PC Decrapifier and remove all the junk and trialware the manufacturer installs on it.

[brandonbr]

1) I would definitely re-install the OS right off the back

2) Create a folder where I would save drivers that I have installed

3) Add enough RAM so that your computer is still up to date 3 years from now

4) Keep an external hard drive for backups of your information, especially music

5) Do not setup any programs to startup upon startup of the OS

[JohnWill]

It's not necessary to reinstall the O/S, and most commercial machines don't come with media anyway. You just get recovery disks, which will just set it back to factory default configuration, hardly a step forward.

[aarhus2004]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

Run the PC Decrapifier and remove all the junk and trialware the manufacturer installs on it.

Seems to be a lot of demand. Try here - I just d/loaded it. (US Mirror)

Ben.

Edit: Although WinMe downloaded it fine it cannot be executed. The Softpedia site erroneously suggests it is for "All Windows" clearly it is not.

[cwwozniak]

Originally Posted by JohnWill

You just get recovery disks,

Many new computers do not even come with recovery disks. Recovery is done by running a utility that is typically on separate partition on the hard drive. The partition may or may not be hidden. If you are lucky, the utility gives you the option of burning your own set of recovery discs.

The recovery utility on the hard drive is nice except if it gets wiped out by a virus or the hard drive fails. If the recovery utility does not give you the option of making discs, you may want to contact the manufacturer about getting a set of recovery discs. You may have to pay a relatively small price for the discs as compared to buying a full version of Windows later on.

[Stoner]

I've even gone to the trouble to do a drive image of that hidden partition and burn it to a dvd.
The one thing I wondered about was how to reproduce that partition in a new hard drive.
It's shown as a 'Fat 32 .......EISA configuration'.
How is that format reproduced on a new drive?

[JohnWill]

If you get a new PC and want to make sure you can recreate it, here's what I do.

I turn on the PC, boot Acronis True Image from the CD, and make a complete physical disk image file. This includes both the boot partition and the recovery partition. Then I use the utility included to create the recovery disks as my second backup. After that, I start hacking at the installation to customize it for my needs. At several points in the process, I make additional TI images of the boot partition as checkpoints in case something goes horribly amiss in the update process.