How to forum: New Windows 7 PC, please help me get started on the right track

Use: Slimdrivers, glarys utilities, ccleaner and Norton Internet Security. Switch to a SSD as soon as you can.

My answer is in two parts.
Part 1 - I would not try/use Linux unless you are a tinker. Support is between Slim and none, and Slim left town. Drivers are an issue also. Linux applications do not run any faster on a Linux machine than a PC. There is almost nothing that exists for a Linux machine that is not available for a PC and in greater varieties. Linux machines are no more stable or safer than PCs. With three PC in my house, two on 24/7 I have not seen a BSOD in the past two years. Generally I boot them no more that once a month.

Part 2 - Of the three PC my wife's laptop is the only one that has a factory installed OS (Windows 7 home). I have deleted nothing from it with one exception. Whatever Dell installed is still there. I did remove the AV only because I have a Symantec multi-machine license. I made a recovery disk, added Flash, and Adobe Reader, MS Office and configured Outlook for mail. I had to configure the network connection. Lastly I turned on automatic updates for Adobe, Microsoft and weekly defragmentation. I do not run cclearner, any uninstallers, or registry cleaners.

Lastly, I have be involved with PCs since I bought a PC/XT in 1983, and been employeed in the software industry from 1967 to 2001.

by Iolo Technologies, LLC

Nuff said....

I've run Win7 64 since it came out. I've never had any lag or had to reinstall. Here's how I keep my quad core running like new.
1.Dust the inside monthly, don't forget the video card fan.

2. Maintenance programs: I run these programs: Windows Defender, AVG Free, CCleaner with CCEnhancer installed. (CCEnhancer allows CCleaner to clean even better.), DiskTrix Ultimate Defrag3 ($30)Does a great job of speeding up my system, Revo Uninstaller (even removes registry entries of programs i uninstall, and PC Pitstop's PCMatic which, with the subscription, cleans, optimizes, and updates the drivers on my system so I don't have to go hunting for each and every one of them. It also has a shield to protect you from programs accessing the web unknowingly. It even rates your system to other PCs around the world. Mine is the top 8%.

3.Like someone else mentioned, keep a router between you and the web.

4.Read EVERYTHING as you install games and other programs. Those toolbars and other crap will bog your system down. I use Revo after installing programs to see if anything was unknowingly installed along with my games or software of choice.

Good Luck!!!

I can offer up practical advice based upon my personal experiences and hope that it offers some insight.

1. Do not use your PC for any production work until you get it set up, secured and backed up.

2. Divide your Hard Drive up into partitions. Depending on your personal circumstances, I might suggest the following: One partition (C) for your programs and operating system. One partition for your production data (your everyday files). One partition for your audio (MP3) files, One partition for your video files, One partition for your Photos, and one partition for your work-space (downloads, virtual machines, temp files, etc.). You could keep all your media files in one partition, but if your PC has the hard drive space, why not keep them separate. In this manner you can easily back up one drive or the other a lot easier. At the very least, keep your data on a separate partition from your OS (Windows). In this manner, should you really get tangled up and you have to re-install the operating system, your data will be relatively safe. On my data drive, I store everything....Outlook files, data file, my favorites, etc. this also makes it really easy to just back up the data.

3. Install the programs which you want to have and get them set up the way that you like. This would include a good antivirus. Personally, I recommend Avast - it's always performed well for me. Also install a good backup program.

4. Perform as many Window's updates as necessary to get current.

5. Make sure all of your drivers are up to date.

6. Defragment your hard drive - preferably with a program which will also optimize your drive structure to operate as efficiently as possible.

7. Perform a full backup - not the Window's backup that just saves your personal info and files but a full disk image backup. Do 2 copies - just in case. This will be your fall-back. Should your hard drive and/or operating system become corrupt due to mechanical of viral failure, you can restore back to the beginning without having to re-install all of your programs, update your drivers and reset up all of your preferences.

8. If your case allows, install a hot swap bay. This $20 investment is well worth it. Want to do a backup? slip in an inexpensive internal drive, back up the drive you wish, pop out the drive and store it off-site. If your case does not allow for a internal hot-swap bay, get a USB 'toaster' which will perform the same functionality.

9. Have fun with your new PC

Ideally, before doing anything to this computer, make a bootable backup of its original state with Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image, etc. Save it for the life of the machine. This can be your "system restore disk" they used to give you. If you ever need to use it, you won't have the latest updates but at least you know you can always get the system back to the state in which it was originally delivered to you.

A powerful computer by today's standards. I have read all the replies and smile at the info; all
informative and sometimes redundant. I think of my first piece of advice given to me and no way demeaning > the KISS theory. > Keep it simple stupid. I repeat this because our brains can overload and then selective memory occurs. A simple anti-virus program (only one) two is too many, good security, your internet service provider (IPS) may provide this at a low cost per month and also will assist with setup and a modum; then explore. Enjoy your computer. Choose a help site and once chosen, use it when needed. Too many opinions can be more confusing. Good luck and enjoy.

That is a great system. Personally, I'd dump Windows first thing and install my favorite Linux distro (Mint)!

Seriously, I would look at Clonzilla and make a bit for bit backup of my hard drive right off before I did anything to my system. This goes for any OS in my opinion. Check out Clonzilla's website, it is relatively straight forward and easy to use. Now you have an exact copy of your hard drive on another physical drive should anything go wrong. Generally speaking, I do this complete bit for bit backup every time I make a major change to my system and every three months or so just to be sure. I also never keep more than two past copies either as this can take up a lot of space even with compression and you should only need your most recent copy anyway. Also, another good point to make is to make sure that you can restore from your back up. What good is it if you don't know the restore process?

If you have a broadband connection I'd also go with some sort of on-line backup such as Carbonite. Carbonite is only around $60 a year for unlimited storage and you can set it up to be automatic for pictures, documents, video, etc. I'd use something such as this for my incremental backup.

As others have mentioned, get a good antivirus/pc tuner/firewall application. There are many out there some better than others and some more costly than others. I would read the reviews (of course) and choose what you are comfortable with. Personally, I use ClamAV on my one and only Windows machine and the Windows included firewall as well as a firewall in my router/gateway (pfSense, which is another article entirely), and a healthy dose of common sense while I'm on-line. You can have all the safety net in the world installed on your PC, but the idiot with their fingers on the keyboard can bypass them all! Nothing can replace knowledge and common sense while on-line.

Lastly, I would most likely partition my hard drive differently than HP or any Windows computer straight from any manufacturer did. At the very least you should have a separate partition for your system and applications and another one for your data. I actually build my own systems and have two separate drives. Usually one small (80 gig) drive for the system and programs and another separate drive for data. Since you already have the system though I would at least create a separate data partition. There are a number of good partitioners out there. If you read about it and are not afraid of the open source route, then I would go with gparted. Otherwise, Partition Magic is a good option that I have had success with in the past.

Best of luck!

JD Skates

Optimize Windows 7 for better performance:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Optimize-Windows-7-for-better-performance

Here are some tips from our forum moderator John Wilkinson:

Copied and pasted from his forum post here:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=2950710#2950710

Performing regular maintenance

1.) Uninstall any unnecessary programs using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

2.) Delete any unnecessary files. CCleaner provides an easy, free way of quickly finding and deleting most of the unnecessary temporary and junk files on your computer, recovering disk space for future use.

3.) Run Disk Cleanup (press Windows + R and type in cleanmgr.exe) to remove additional files that are no longer necessary. This includes memory dumps and old System Restore points.

4.) Defragment the hard drive. Some may dispute the value of defragmentation, but I strongly recommend performing an analysis weekly and defragmenting if it is suggested. Doing so, as needed, will decrease the time needed to search for and open files on the slowest component of your computer.

5.) Perform a virus and spyware scan. Real-time protection is great, but a weekly scan of your hard drive is more or less necessary in a time when destruction of another persons data is considered recreation for some gifted, but misdirected, individuals.

6.) Backup your important files. I cannot stress this enough. The Windows Backup and Restore Center, available through the Control Panel, makes protecting your files easy, and the free Microsoft powertoy SyncToy gives those looking to backup just selected directories no excuse. Accidental deletions, malware, hardware failure, and theft demand such precautionary measures.

John

A lot more Windows 7 Tips and Guides from John can be found here:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=2950640

Have fun Eric, and enjoy that new PC of yours!
-Lee

1. Get a good anti-virus/anti-spyware program. there are alot of free onees (the best three are AVG 2011 free, Microsoft Security essentials and FortiClient Endpoint Security Standard) or u can go with some paid ones (recommend sophos as the best) if ur going down the paid route, I would also install malwarebytes pro.

2. get a good set of cleaning utilities. Ccleaner (registry cleaner and temp files remover) and Auslogics Disk Defrag are the best combos. Windows 7 can generate alot of temp files and get fragmented quickly, best to do some preventative maintenance here. windows cleaning utilities are not crap, but they're not good either. The two i recommend are much better. Auslogics disk defrag is about 5 times faster at analyzing and defragging a drive and ccleaner offers secure file deletion features whereas windows doesnt.

3. Update windows to its fullest along with office applications- remove all the language packs you dont need though if they come through like spanish, french e.t.c. dont set windows to automatically update or u will get every update even stuff you may not want like I.E 9 and some other updates that might mess up ur system. Set automatic updating to "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them"

4. use an imaging utility to take a comprehensive picture of the way the hard drive looks so that you can restore the system back at a future time. do this before adding any personal documents.

5. have a good, repetitive backup procedure. Dont go with automated backups thpough as there are several downsides. first you cant restore individual files and it will take longer because an automated program will usually compress the backup. Just go with the traditional copy and paste method. simple and then u will be able to restore individual files/folders if you need to.

6. everytime before you install things, create a system restore point incase it corrupts settings or drivers e.t.c.

7. Definetly think about hardwarte firewalls on routers, MAC address filtering e.t.c. Maybe even put an IDS/IPS system in place. Or maybe setup a server and attach ur win 7 workstation to a domain. for security.

8. heres a list of other softwar5e i recommend if you do any of the following.

imgburn (free) - free alternative to nero. can create ISO files allowing you to burn them to CD/DVD/BD.

paragon backup and recovery 2011 advanced (free)- used to create hard drive images incase of emergencies

7zip (free) compression utility, can also unpackage ISO files and other packaged file types. Compress Uncompresses twice as fast as windows Winzip

Free YoutubetoMP3Converter- does what the name says. Godd for downloading music as you can get pretty much anything from youtube

then you have your usual ones- adobe reader (go for 8 or 9, 10/X still has bugs in int for win 7), shockwave and player/ quicktime for windows (can be used to play some online movies flash player cant)

Camstudio 2.0 (free)- screen capture software that will record in AVI format what is happening on the screen.

Finally, Keepass password safe (both standard and pro are free) to keep all ur passwords secure in one location, protected by a user-inputted password, encrypted with AES-256.

You should also install these IMO indispensible free programs:
1. Secunia Personal Software Inspector - this will tell you whether you are have the latest security patches for many programs like Flash, Adobe Reader, Microsoft updates and many others and will keep you up-to-date on needed security patches. The latest version will apply the patches automatically, if you want to.
2. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware - supplements your regular anti-malware software and can help find and get rid of some pesky malware your AV program might not handle. Just remember to update it regularly
3. VLC media player - the best free media player and better than Windows Media Player
4. Revo Uninstaller - does a better job of cleaning up a program you want to remove than uninstalling via Windows Control Panel or using CCleaner.

The free versions of the Malwarebytes and Revo product are fine and you don't need the paid ones.

You will need an antivirus software, you can get Microsoft Security Essentials for free(Genuine windows only)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-nz/security_essentials/default.aspx

Configure Microsoft Security Essentials to check for definition updates before scheduled scanning
You will need to activate your copy of windows if you haven't done that yet, by default, your copy of windows is activated automatically after 3 days from the time that the operating system is installed,
Download and install all the important windows updates by going to start - control panel - windows update, if there are updates available, select the updates you want to install, and click ok.
Then click install updates.
You may be required to restart your computer after all the windows updates are being installed.
Turn automatic updates on, to do that, go to Start - Control Panel - Windows Update - Change Settings, from the drop down list, select 'Install updates automatically (Recommended)'

One thing I have learned the hard way, is not to use registry cleaning tools as a routine thing. They seem never to truly understand how you yourself use your computer.

Norton, System Mechanic, CCleaner and others offer these tools as part of their packages. They want to clean out unused, unneeded or erroneous registry settings. They want to defragment your registry. It sounds so tidy.
They suggest you let them run as a cleanup process on a regular schedule. I have often fallen for that in much the same way as I used to do for auto engine additives. But with worse results. At least if an additive screws up my engine, I still have my data.

Don't use them if your system is working fine. Ask yourself: Have I ever used a registry cleaner and said afterwards: "Wow! My system really rocks now!"

If anything, some new little glitch turns up in a day or so. An icon is missing. The utility that allows you to wirelessly connect to your external drive suddenly is no longer available. You name it.
Use the antivirus, the system cleaner, the defragger, the dewormer etc. But turn off the registry cleaner! Don't allow it to run automatically or you'll never know where that new little problem on your computer came from.

My advice: if your system has gotten rocky and it's the registry cleaner or a disk wipe- do the wipe. Kidding- but just barely.

1. I confess to having been a severe backup addict. I used to spend time and money to have the latest and best backup available to computer and mankind. I used to make sure that it was run daily and that I recycled the backups and media regularly. Also worried about off site and on site storage and a lot more. Overall, I probably spent over $10 a month on average just for backup media, software and much more than that in my valuable time. How much time? I guess around 15 hours a month.NO MORE!

I found my personal ultimate answer. Although it took me about 4 months to be absolutely sure. I even downloaded carbon copies of files just to make 100% sure. Guilt, after 25 years of backup worries, made me not trust any backup or plan. I found this little jewel when I saw it compared to all the others. I paid the annual charge which brought it down less than five bucks a month! The only concern I had with it was taking the first backup. It drove me nuts that the first backup took so long. I thought there was a problem. There wasn't. Now I do not even know when it runs.I still verify it about once a month now, just to make sure. It has never failed. I have cured that backup addiction. My personal family, friends and peers all use it. I tell them just compare it and then use the free service BEFORE you subscribe. I know it sounds like a commercial so I will not provide the link, just the name here.

Do your own homework: backblaze

2. Microsoft Security Essentials (free)

3. Another 10 year free favorite: WinPatrol (free)

4. Avira (free)

5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (free)

6. FileHippo Update Checker (free)

7. Secunia PSI (free)

8. Project Lasso (free)

9. GiveAwayOfTheDay (free and where you will often find free versions of real good stuff)

10. CCleaner (free)

11. Wise Disk Cleaner (free)

12. Wise Registry Cleaner (free)

Place all of the above and Windows Updates on automatic updating where possible.

Heres my recipe for setting up computers, which I've done quite a few with, ranging from the 6 computers that are in my family, to others that I've set up for relatives and close friends. Steps are in a purposeful order so be sure to follow the right order. Some people may disagree with some things, but I share this because I've perfected this order ever since XP's been out:

Step 1: Go to programs and features and remove any programs that you know you will not be using. Avoid any manufacturer programs such as HP update or anything like that.

Step 2: Download and install all the most recent drivers for your hardware, which is found on the manufacturers website. Especially important for your graphics card.

Step 3 (length varies on amount of software): Install all the programs you will be using, but also update any that are already installed. The order I typically go in: Antivirus (Nod32's my personal preference), Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 5 (and/or Google Chrome), Microsoft Office, The compatibility pack if its 2003 or older, Adobe Flash Player (most recent version for both browsers), Microsoft Silverlight (most recent version), Adobe Air, Adobe Shockwave, Adobe Reader, PrimoPDF (to send any document to this "virtual" printer which converts whatever you "print" to PDF), your photo editing software, 7zip (to handle zip files and to compress to one of the best space saving formats out there, 7z), alternative burning software (I use Nero) and basically anything else you think you'll use.

Step 4: This can go under step 2, but its important enough to have a separate step in my eyes. I'm a video guy, and want to make sure every format I use is able to be opened. Thus, I download the K-lite codec pack and VLC media Player. Also, if you own any Apple products, download and install latest itunes and quicktime player.

Step 5: Do all the windows updates. Which means open windows update and check to make sure they are all installed. This is one of the things that take the longest.

Step 6: Download, install, and run Advanced Systemcare, which is free on CNET. Some things to note, I wouldn't advise on any changes it recommends in regards to the windows services. Definitely uncheck those. From my experience, leaving them on automatic hasn't changed the performance of my machine at all. What this does is it cleans up the registry (which includes some additions to your registry that may have been added from installing all the stuff you did, hence the importance of the order), and does do some tweaks which I've noticed a significant difference on bootup and shutdown time. It also adds passive defense for common viruses, system optimization, etc. Once your done, change the preferences so that both the program and the performance monitor DOES NOT boot up at startup. The less that boots up during startup, the better. Because you can always open it later when you need it.

Step 7: Burn the recovery discs.

Keep your new machine clean. Dust and pet hair can really damage motherboards, processors, etc. so learn how to remove the side panel on your case and gently clean the components with compressed air such as Dust-off. Read the directions on the can before starting as compressed air products can cause damage if used incorrectly. I clean my computer every six to nine months. My case has a window so that I can actually see the "guts" and I know when it is cleaning time.

Defragment your hard drive on a regular basis. A fragmented hard drive will slow your computer down. I use the non free version of Diskeeper and I consider it to be some of the best money I spend on my computer. It just quietly runs in the background continuously defragmenting my hard drive without my having to do anything. I love it.

Use CCleaner (free) at least once a week. It takes very little time and really helps your computer's performance.

Install Autoruns (free) from Microsoft. A wonderful little application that allows you to see what is loading each time you turn on your computer (click on the "logon" tab and be prepared to turn a bunch of stuff off).

Most new computers come pre loaded with a bunch of programs often referred to as "bloatware". These are usually trial versions of programs for you to try and ultimately buy. In most cases there are free programs that will work just as well as the non free ones. Go through the installed programs list in the control panel and get rid of anything you don't want or need.

Make sure you have a good anti virus program ( I use Avast which is small, free and effective). I also use Malware Bytes (also free and effective).

Consider getting a router. They provide an extra layer of protection and they allow you to do wonderful things like use a Wii to watch Netflix movies on your tv. Just make sure that your new router is compatible with any equipment you might want use it with. I have a D-Link DIR-655 and I think it is great.

Consider adding a second hard drive to your system if you have an open bay. You can create a master slave relationship between them in order to store things like photos and music. If your master drive goes bad from mechanical causes your files are safe. That being said I still backup anything I don't want to lose on discs and/or an external hard drive. You cannot be too careful with files that are not replaceable.

Be wary if you use registry cleaning software. Some programs are just way too aggressive and can really screw things up. I speak from experience here. I no longer use anything other than CCLeaner or Uniblue. Most of the time I just use CCleaner.

A final thought. The internet (as you already know) is a great resource when you need help with your computer. I am in the over 60 category and had never touched a computer until about 10 years ago. I can now add and remove hardware and software, format my hard drive and solve almost all the problems I have encountered. I have learned the vast majority of what I know from using internet resources.

Good luck with your new computer!

First thing you need to do is return your computer. You have been sucked into the marking BS that more is better and even more has to be even better. You have bought way to much computer having no idea what you are doing. No novice needs 6 cores and 12 gigs of ram, ever.

For what you paid for this you could buy a brand new computer for the next three years and still have saved money. You can never future prood a computer. They will all become boat anchors. I own a very successful computer company and can tell you from 20+ years of building thousand, and I do mean thousands of computers that computers are a very bad investment.

I have repaired tens of thousands of computers many of them expensive so called super computers just like the one you bought. They are all bought by people who have no real knowledge of computers. I guarantee, you could not tell the difference in a correctly configured $400 computer and a $2000 one. All of the so called performance is not something you or I will ever notice in our day to day computer functions.

What ever you have over paid for today will be crap compared to what will be available for half the price next year and even cheaper and better the following one. Next year with Win 8 coming out you will see for the first time real options for very powerful tablets running a full OS. That is going to change computers as we know them.

A core 5 with 4 gigs of ram and mid range 460 will be plenty of computer for you. With the money you save you can buy a new one next year and probable the year after as well. By the way, the most often repaired brand of computer I work on is HP.

PING is a Linux based boot disc, but is the best backup program you can use and also FREE!

You can also find a similar program to partition your drive much faster and easier than the one in Windows (and very helpful should you not be able to get into Windows to format drives). This is called GPartEd.

What I REALLY recommend is using these tools to format your drive and reinstall Windows clean without all the extra software that you will never use. You could even wipe out the restore partition if you are confident enough you wont need it.

The most important thing is that you perform a few BASIC backups. One before you do much else, one after you update Windows and put your MOST IMPORTANT programs on, etc.

With PING, you can name them anything (I would use CLEAN for the first, and dates for the rest 07022011). When you back up in PING, you can save to another partition, right in the root folder then it will be much easier to find come restore time. It helps a bit to name your partitions in Windows also (like C="Windows" D="Programs" E="Backups") PING will create a folder with the name you gave it. I'm guessing you already have a few partitions or made some with GPartEd so pick one that has 100GB or more so you can save a couple of backups. Use uncompressed as it will backup and restore much faster (we're talking 10 minutes per 20GB which is not long at all). Once you have your backups on that partition, COPY THEM TO AN EXTERNAL DRIVE. That way, you are all set even if your hard drive fails altogether.

Once you have that done, then go onto your basic maintanence. I like to use CCleaner, Tuneup Utilities, and Microsoft Security Essentials. I would go as far as to say if you do anything at all make sure you have the latest versions of those.

It sounds like you have a very nice computer, but after using Windows 7-64 I had found that there are some improvments long overdue in this software.
If you install a program like "Deep Care", a one botton touch will automatically do a very complete meintanence of your system. Windows have many of the same utilities included, but scattered all over the place, it really needs to make them easier to use so we don't need to add extra software to our systems.
And there is the anoying fact that it can't remember the size and position on your screen of each individual window that you previosly open, something that was possible in previous versions of Windows. My poor mouse is getting dizzy form going around so much. What were they thinking!!
A program that keeps needed drivers up to date will be nice too.
And last but not least, I miss Outlook Express sooo much.
But lets be reasonable, people that write code have to eat too.

...desk, power her up and install the pre-installed O.S. of Win. Home Premium 64bit Edition. Then, go immediately online via Internet Explorer 8 for connecting to your machine's manufacturer's web-site and, support, drivers and other software, input the model of the machine you own. Download and flash the latest Bios for this motherboard, then, all of the Driver software updates available.

Second, reboot the system, make sure to install the Service Pack 1 of Windows 7 H.P. 64bit Edition. Do all the important and recommended Windows updates(will prompt you to restart the machine up for completing the installation and reconfiguring of the O.S. = do so). Now, you can do the security updates and the optional available updates-upgrades(mainly newer Device Drivers for all the internal hardware units that composes the whole machine).

Third, download and install your cable broadband's Hi-Speed Internet Provider's choice of a good and reliable suite of online surfing's antivirus, firewall, spyware + malware, privacy + parental control's programs.

Fourth, go online again for IObit.com's awesome computer maintenance suite of program and, download + install Advance SystemCare 4.0.1, Smart Defrag 2.1, Malware Fighter 1.0. These are excellent and proven software(not a fan based only type of development software = professionally done and thoroughly tested before official release). These are fully available free of charge or, you can always choose to buy online their professional digital copy of them(entirely of your choice). I personally do not buy any of them = judge that I do not really need more fancying in utility software.

Fifth, run A.S.C.'s full scan on default-recommended settings + auto. fix all. Now, run Smart Defrag to do a full defragmentation and Optimization of your Hard-Drive's filing contents.

There, you should be fully ready to use your machine at your own convenience and pleasure. Enjoy 21st century computing!