Seven simple steps for setting up Windows 7

Topic

New Reply

	TOP STORY[/size][/font] Seven simple steps for setting up Windows 7[/size]
	By Woody Leonhard When you’re the designated alpha geek for your family, friends — and maybe the office, too — you know certain duties come with the territory. One of those duties is setting up new PCs. Here’s my quick-and-easy checklist of tasks to do it right.[/size]

---

The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/2011/01/27/01 (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

[/tr][/tbl]

Reply | Quote

Replies

Being a computer tech for 31 years now, I do have the deepest respect for anyone taking the time to write articles in an attempt to help others with computer problems or potential computer problems, but….
I have to say after reading that entire article, it was absolutely no help to me at all and totally ignored most of the basic steps I use when setting up Windows 7 for my friends and customers.
Nice try Woody, but “NO CIGAR”.

Cheers Mate!
The Doctor

Reply | Quote

Also, regarding the seven steps, I thought the article was very good. It echos many of the steps I take when setting up windows 7 for other users. I go a little beyond. I make a temporary image, wipe off all the trial ware, delete the recovery partitions. Then I repartition the drive so that Windows 7 gets about 50gb of a 500 gb drive. I make several other partitions. The second partition(s) are reserved for data or media. I save one partition at the end with 30-50gb of space. I use Acronis to make an image of C. I move the User to the D drive. That moves all of the desktop clutter to D. So if C, or Windows 7, or “the war zone” gets trashed, I can reimage from Acronis quickly, and no data is lost. I use Acronis because it compresses and can also convert to a VHD if you want to make a virtual machine.

I have noticed that many single partitioned drives might have several gigabytes of stuff on their desktop, and that is usually not backed up.

It is insane not to partition these new large drives and leave Windows comingled with user data.

Reply | Quote

Sometimes I get so upset with PC Pitstop. In this article is a program you recommend. “PC Decrapifier (download page), a remarkable, free-for-personal-use utility” and again, you have to pay for the program. It would not let me run it without a key. If free is free you should not need a key. It did analyze my PC and there was only 3 problems and those were with programs that crash on occasion. I didn’t even know they were crashing, never had any problem with them. Every thing else was excellent and above world wide norm. My point is, don’t recommend a program as being free that will only analyze but if you want it fixed you have to purchase. Still love PCPitstop.

Reply | Quote

Sometimes I get so upset with PC Pitstop. In this article is a program you recommend. “PC Decrapifier (download page), a remarkable, free-for-personal-use utility” and again, you have to pay for the program. It would not let me run it without a key. If free is free you should not need a key. It did analyze my PC and there was only 3 problems and those were with programs that crash on occasion. I didn’t even know they were crashing, never had any problem with them. Every thing else was excellent and above world wide norm. My point is, don’t recommend a program as being free that will only analyze but if you want it fixed you have to purchase. Still love PCPitstop.

That is odd to hear. I tried decrapifier it worked fine for me without my having to pay for it. Or, did it ask for you to buy it when you went to remove something?:unsure:

When I ran it, I did not find anything I wanted to remove, so I did not go any further.

Reply | Quote

Also, regarding the seven steps, I thought the article was very good. It echos many of the steps I take when setting up windows 7 for other users. I go a little beyond. I make a temporary image, wipe off all the trial ware, delete the recovery partitions. Then I repartition the drive so that Windows 7 gets about 50gb of a 500 gb drive. I make several other partitions. The second partition(s) are reserved for data or media. I save one partition at the end with 30-50gb of space. I use Acronis to make an image of C. I move the User to the D drive. That moves all of the desktop clutter to D. So if C, or Windows 7, or “the war zone” gets trashed, I can reimage from Acronis quickly, and no data is lost. I use Acronis because it compresses and can also convert to a VHD if you want to make a virtual machine.

I have noticed that many single partitioned drives might have several gigabytes of stuff on their desktop, and that is usually not backed up.

It is insane not to partition these new large drives and leave Windows comingled with user data.

I agree with Dave: I create a system restore point as soon as I have installed Windows; I then delete all the trialware and any other programs I don’t need and create another System Restore Point. I also do a System Image at that point so that I can always revert the system to that exact point (since Restore points do not last forever).

If the disk is not already partitioned, I then partition it and move the user account(s) to the D drive, as Dave does so that personal data files do not get deleted when the owner wishes to re-install (do a clean install of) Windows. I also move the Windows Live Mail Store folder to My Documents on D drive for the same reason! Then I create a Windows backup schedule.

But one thing that people often forget to do before re-installing Windows is to export their Windows Live Mail Contacts and WLM email accounts! I got caught out with that the first time I did a clean install and it is so annoying to find that you’ve lost all your contacts and have to manually input all your email account settings again! Fortunately, if you have a Windows Live account and have synchronised your contact list to that, you can always import it back into WLM. But I also try to keep my Windows Contacts up to date, just to be on the safe side! LOL

Reply | Quote

Your list is reasonably close to what I do. I also to repartitioning similar to what Dave Leippe described. I was somewhat surprised that you didn’t mention anti-malware of any sort.

It is nice to finally see someone suggesting regular backups as part of initial setup.

Reply | Quote

PS. I completely DISAGREE with Woody’s view that Microsoft Security Essentials is very effective because my computer got infected when I was using it! And yes, MS’s security updates and MSE’s updates were both always up-to-date. So I started using Norton Internet Security 2010 and am now using NIS 2011 and it is excellent these days! It doesn’t slow your sytem down or tie up everything including your recycle bin like it used to. And it now has it’s own built-in Password Keeper too, which automatically saves new logins and logs you in when you are signed in to it!

Reply | Quote

Dropbox in itself worked fine, but but it slowed down my wife’s computer at boot and shutdown, and froze (is the term still in vogue?) IE, Firefox and the latter’s add-on Cool Previews window, every time, on one of mine. Uninstalling the programme returned things to normal.

Reply | Quote