WINDOWS 7 - INSTALL, SET-UP, & CUSTOMIZE
Contents
1. The default settings are mostly OK In the Advanced settings box make sure these boxes are set as follows 1 Check the following boxes M Always show menus M Display the full path In the title bar Classic Theme only Hidden files and folders Show Hidden files folders and drives O Hide extensions for known file types then click lt Apply gt Un check this one Mi Hide protected operating system files M Show Drive Letters Show encrypted or compressed NTFS Folders amp files in color 2 Click the Apply button at the bottom 34 START MENU a WINDOWS UPDATE ICON Find the Windows Update Icon Start gt All Programs Hold down the Shift key while you right click on the Icon Click on Pin to Start Menu COMMAND PROMPT ICON 1 Find the Command Prompt Icon in Start gt All Programs gt Accessories Right click on the Icon amp select Pin to Start Menu 2 Right click on the new Command Prompt Icon in the Main Start Menu then click Properties gt Shortcut tab gt Advanced button and check the box for I Run as Administrator lt OK gt lt OK gt CUSTOMIZE START MENU Right click the Start button gt Properties gt Start Menu tab gt Customize button 1 DISABLE HIGHLIGHT NEWLY INSTALLED PROGRAMS Scroll down the list and uncheck the box for O Highlight newly installed programs 2 ADD RUN BOX Add the Run command box to the Start Menu Scroll do2. Control Panel gt System gt Device Manager Look to make sure there are no devices with exclamation marks question marks or X s If so fix all these issues before continuing 19 NETWORK If not already connected connect to the Network now You must be on the internet to continue 20 ACTIVATE WINDOWS 7 Control Panel gt System Scroll to the bottom of the window It will tell you if Windows has been Activated or not Activate now if the install looks good 21 INITIALIZE INTERNET EXPLORER Open IE8 9 10 11 and go through the first use questions 22 WINDOWS UPDATE a Is SERVICE PACK 1 installed Right click Computer gt Properties gt Windows Edition area If it is not installed then go to my WINDOWS 7 SP1 INSTALL GUIDE If it is already on continue b Run Windows Update manually Control Panel gt Windows Update c Configure the Windows Update Settings 1 Under Get updates for Microsoft Products click Find out more Then check I agree amp click Install 2 Click Change Settings on the left Make sure all boxes are checked click lt OK gt to save amp exit d Run Check for updates and keep re running until no more Important Updates are found e Install Optional updates by clicking View available updates Click to check the box for each one you want to install then click the lt Install gt button Page 2 of 10 WINDOWS 7 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE 23 WEI
3. Control Panel gt User Accounts gt Manage another Account Select your main user account and click Change your account type Select Standard user and click Change account type b Test all UTILITY Programs User Programs and Antimalware Programs and make sure they all open OK as a Standard user f necessary customize any start Icons to Run as Administrator c Rerun Spybot S amp D immunization to catch all new users 47 ADDITIONAL STANDARD USERS as needed a From the Administrator Account manually create any additional desired Standard user accounts b Repeat steps 27 through 43 for all items that apply to multiple Users Make sure to set the AutoPlay Visual properties amp Mouse properties Also initialize IE Firefox and your Office Suite for each user Also repeat the complete Testing section for each user c Be sure to set up Windows Mail or Thunderbird e mail for each User 48 EVENT VIEWER Review the Event Viewer logs amp resolve any errors found Right click Computer gt Manage gt Event Viewer gt Windows Logs Check both the System logs and Application logs for errors amp fix them 49 DEFRAG Computer gt rigth click Drive C gt Properties gt Tools gt Defragment now or simply Search for defrag a SSD Solid State Drives should never be defragged If your system properly recognizes an SSD it will not even show up in the Scheduled Defrag window If is does uncheck it
4. Settings button gt Advanced tab Under Virtual Memory click lt Change gt a If you only have one hard drive make sure the box is checked for i Automatically manage paging file size for all drives This is the default b If you have a second physical hard drive see my Speed Up Windows 7 checklist for tips 13 WINDOWS FIREWALL Make sure the Windows Firewall is turned on Control Panel gt System and Security gt Windows Firewall 14 AUTOMATIC UPDATES TURN OFF Control Panel gt Windows Update gt Change Settings For now select Never check for updates 15 REMOVE ANY UNNECESSARY PROGRAMS TRIALS amp FEATURES a Control Panel gt Programs and Features Remove all unwanted programs including all Trial versions of MICROSOFT OFFICE McAfee Norton AOL etc NOTE If you are going to migrate to Thunderbird Mail from Outlook from an old PC do not remove the Microsoft Office Trial until Thunderbird has been set up 16 POWER PLAN Control Panel gt Power Options a CHOOSE A PRELIMINARY POWER PLAN FOR THE INSTALL Set the Power Plan to High Performance Customize the detailed settings by clicking Change Plan settings so that the PC never Sleeps or Hibernates during the install 17 CREATE A RESTORE POINT Now is the time to create a Restore Point Control Panel gt System gt Advanced system settings gt System Protection tab gt Create 18 DEVICE MANAGER amp HARDWARE DRIVERS
5. b Defrag Schedule Note By default Windows 7 defrags the C Drive on a weekly schedule Wednesdays at 0100 AM You can set the Automatic Defrag schedule as desired Both the day amp time and which drives 50 POWER SETTINGS a CHOOSE A FINAL POWER PLAN Control Panel gt Power Options 1 For Desktops set the Power Plan to High Performance I recommend choosing High Performance for Laptops as well unless you run a lot on batteries 2 Customize the detailed settings by clicking Change Plan settings Set the When to turn off the display actions and When the computer sleeps actions as desired b CHOOSE BUTTON FUNCTIONS Verify the Power Button action is set to Shutdown c LAPTOPS ONLY 1 Make sure the Battery Power Icon set to always display in the Taskbar Notification area Control Panel gt Power Options Then go to Right click Taskbar gt Properties gt Taskbar Customize 2 BATTERY TEST Set the Power Plan to NEVER turn off the Display or Put the PC to sleep Control Panel gt Power Options Then run it and see how long the battery lasts Record the time on the Service History header sheet Page 9 of 10 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 3 Verify the Close Lid actions and Adjust the display brightness actions are set as desired SCREENSAVER SETTINGS Control Panel gt Personalization a Choose a Screensaver style and
6. 7 Use your Recovery DVD s or your Win 7 Install DVD NOTE To use a Window 7 Upgrade Disk to do a clean install see this tutorial http www winsupersite com article windows 7 clean install windows 7 with upgrade media aspx If asked select the language English o 2 At the Where do you want to install Windows screen 1 If you want to format the drive click Drive Options Advanced f not Windows 7 will save your old installation in a folder called Windows old This folder wastes space but can be deleted later 2 If you have a Chipset Drivers CD click Load driver and specify the drive where it is located User Account Name Although the Account you create during the install will be an Administrator authority account be sure to name this first User Account with the user name you want for daily use NOTE Later you will change this account to a Standard User Account after you have created an Admin User User Account WARNING Never name a User Account Administrator since there is already a hidden user account with that name as part of Windows 7 Q d Computer Name Choose something useful like the make and model number DELL XPS8100 e If asked un check the box that says O Automatically activate Windows when I m online then enter the Product Key You should wait until all hardware is recognized and running under Windows 7 before activating it f At the Windows Update Options Win
7. ASSESSMENT Get the WEI values of the PC Control Panel gt System gt Performance Information amp tools Click Rate this computer or Re run the assessment Base Score 24 EASY TRANSFER TOOL If you are migrating from an XP PC now is the time to run this tool to create all your Standard User User Accounts including all Data settings and customizations a WARNINGS 1 Be sure to do an image backup of the new install before running this tool in case things go awry 2 See the Tips on running this Tool in my Windows 7 document called MIGRATE OR UPGRADE FROM VISTA OR XP 25 UTILITY amp MISC PROGRAMS INSTALL a NINITE Installer 1 From an Administrator Account go to www ninite com and select the following programs then download and run the custom installer Note You can close the browser while Ninite is running O Firefox O Thunderbird O Flash FF O Flash IE O JAVA O Adobe Reader O MSE O MalwareBytes AntiMalware O SpyBot S amp D O SuperAntiSpyware O CDBurnerXP O1 Revo Uninstaller O OPEN OFFICE optional O SKYPE optional O Quicktime iTunes optional 2 When Ninite it is done verify the results before closing Ninite Fix any problems before continuing NOTE The Ninite Program Installer window says Finished when it is done installing Do not minimize the window or disturb or shutdown the PC until you are sure Ninite is done b manualy i install these utilities O BELARC ADVISOR O CCLEANER O CRYSTAL DISK INFO O
8. Control Panel gt Windows Update gt Change settings Configure to Install Updates automatically Also be sure to check the boxes for i Give me recommended updates and M Allow all users to install updates If the owner wants any of this different they can change it SYSTEM PROTECTION SYSTEM RESTORE Control Panel gt System gt System Protection a CLEAR THE SYSTEM RESTORE HISTORY Highlight Drive C then click Configure then Delete b MONITOR DRIVE C ONLY Make sure System Restore is only monitoring Drive C c SETA RESTORE POINT This a good time to create a Windows Restore Point Click Create USER ACCOUNT SECURITY Make sure that all user accounts are Standard except for the on Admin PC User Account which should be Administrator PRINTER SOFTWARE amp DRIVERS Only if you are on site and the printers are available WARNING Do not connect your printer until instructed by the install wizard a Be sure to download and install all the latest Software and drivers from your Printer manufacturer s website Do not use the software CD shipped with the printer b If you have multiple printers be sure to select which printer is to be the Default printer for each User c From each printer s Properties Window send a Test Page to the printer and see if it comes out OK Make sure the CD DVD Drive is empty before powering down the PC Page 10 of 10
9. a save format of Microsoft Word 97 2000 XP 40 E MAIL SET UP a ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT NOTE NEVER set up e mail in an Administrator Authority User Account E mail should be set up only in a Standard User Account for security b WINDOWS LIVE MAIL or OUTLOOK 2007 2010 Windows Live Mail replaces Outlook Express think Thunderbird is better but if you must use Windows Live Mail or Outlook use these tips from Microsoft 1 For tips on moving your Outlook Express Account into Windows Live Mail look in my WINDOWS 7 TIPS sheet under the WINDOWS LIVE MAIL Page 6 of 10 C WINDOWS 7 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE THUNDERBIRD If desired by the user set it up for e mail NOTE NEVER set up e mail on the Admin User account E mail should be run only in a Standard User Acct 1 Restore mail Settings Address books and Mail Messages if backups are available use MOZBACKUP to save and restore all the mail and settings 2 If there are no backups from a previous system manually configure the e mail setup for Thunderbird See my THUNDERBIRD SETUP STEP BY STEP for full instructions 41 SECURITY amp ANTI MALWARE PROTECTION a b d e BROWSER SECURITY O WOT Verify the WOT add on is installed for all browsers and all Users O SPYBOT S amp D Update and immunize O SANDBOXIE Set up and test SANDBOXIE for all Users ANTI MALWARE PROGRAM ICONS Run as Administrator Click Properties
10. it will connect to a network and access the internet q WEBCAM If the PC has a built in webcam open the program for it and test it Page 8 of 10 WINDOWS 7 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE 44 CLEAN TEMP FILES COOKIES ETC Do a or b not both a TFC Close all programs and run the Temp File Cleaner utility This will auto reboot MB b CCLEANER SCAN Verify the latest version of CCleaner is installed Set up amp configure CCleaner Run File Clean then for each User run file clean again FILES cleaned MB 45 CREATE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR USER ACCOUNT a This is the account you will use only for Program installs and other administrator tasks and should be named something like Admin yourname This user account should be a Administrator user Account not a Standard User Account and you should give it a password From the Administrator Account go to Control Panel gt User Accounts gt Manage another account gt Create a new account WARNING Never change any Account Name If you do the C Users lt Your Username gt Folder name will not change and will not match your new username Plan ahead b Repeat steps 27 through 43 for all items that apply to multiple Users Make sure to set up the AutoPlay Visual properties amp Mouse properties Also initialize IE Firefox and your Office Suite 46 MAIN USER ACCOUNT CHANGE TO STANDARD USER a From the Admin account go to
11. HD TUNE O SANDBOXIE O SECUNIA PSI O SPEEDFAN 0 Cates STARTER O TEAMVIEWER QS O TFC O ULTRA FILE SEARCH LITE 26 OFFICE SUITE INSTALLATION Do this from an Administrator Account a MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 2010 2013 from CD DVD 1 ACTIVATE Microsoft Office Office should automatically Activate when you enter in the Product Key or when you first open the program 2 Run WINDOWS UPDATE several times to get all the Office Updates 3 If Powerpoint is not included you need to either download and install the POWERPOINT VIEWER 2007 from support microsoft com b OPEN OFFICE or LIBRE OFFICE are good free alternatives to Microsoft Office 27 LCD BRIGHTNESS Laptops only Control Panel gt Power Options Click Show additional Plans then Power Plan At the bottom of this screen where you set the default LCD brightness if you are on a laptop This should only need to be done once 28 LOG IN TO THE DESIRED USER ACCOUNT If this is the first time through this sheet skip this step and continue setting up the main User Account NOTE Do all the following steps EACH User Account 29 DISPLAY and DESKTOP SET UP Control Panel gt Personalization a MISC SETTINGS 1 OPTIMIZE DISPLAY SETTINGS Control Panel gt Personalization gt Display gt Adjust resolution gt Advanced Settings gt Monitor tab a MONITOR TYPE Make sure the Monitor Type matches your Display If it is only identified as Generic Default or Standard yo
12. HD TUNE drive benchmark speed test on all hard drives MB sec 3 Run CRYSTAL DISK INFO and make sure all hard drive status show as Good SECUNIA PSI SCAN Run a full scan http secunia com software_inspector See the Secunia Overview in my UTILITY PROGRAMS sheet Issues found 1 Make sure Secunia is configured to auto start on boot and to autoupdate 2 Resolve all insecure and end of life issues before continuing ANTIMALWARE SCANS 1 MSE or PREFERRED ANTI VIRUS Verify Real time protection is on and a scheduled scan is set up Do updates then run a Full Scan 2 MBAM SCAN MalwareBytes AntiMalware Do updates then run a full scan on all drives 3 SAS SCAN SuperAntiSpyware Do updates then run a full scan on all drives 4 SPYBOT S amp D Do updates then run a full scan 5 ESET Online Scan Run a full scan including archives SPEEDFAN Benchmark PC Temperatures With Prime 95 or some other program running to push CPU near 100 Resolve all issues before continuing Page 7 of 10 43 TESTING Do these for EACH User Account a APPLICATION PROGRAMS Do the following checks for every installed Program and each user 1 Make sure that each Program opens OK and initialize or customize it as necessary 2 If you have restored any USER DATA to this PC from another PC verify that the user data files are accessible from the Program to which they are related again check for each User b SOUNDS 1 Check that th
13. IMPROVE YOUR DISPLAY READABILITY for details on Schemes amp Advanced appearance settings 4 TRANSPARENCY Windows 7 Aero only Control Panel gt Personalization gt Window color If running Windows 7 Aero you can turn off Transparency at this time if desired uncheck O Enable transparency Click lt OK gt to exit Note If you are not running an Aero theme the Transparency option will not be presented 5 CLEARTYPE If you are using an LCD monitor you should turn on ClearType Control Panel gt Personalization gt Display gt Adjust ClearType text Check the box MI Turn on ClearType click Next then follow the instructions for ClearType Tuning 6 IMPROVE DISPLAY READABILITY Right click on Desktop gt Personalize gt Window Color If you want to customize various visual items to improve the readability of the display this is the time to do it For details see my IMPROVE YOUR DISPLAY READABILITY sheet for Windows 7 7 DESKTOP BACKGROUND IMAGE Control Panel gt Personalization gt Desktop Background Browse and choose a background Click lt OK gt to exit 8 SCREEN SAVER Control Panel gt Personalization gt Screen Saver Set up your Screen Saver settings All newer Monitors have a Power Saver feature making a Screen Saver unnecessary suggest that you set the Screen Saver to None Then go to Power Plan Control Panel gt System and Security gt Power Options select Choose w
14. Make sure the desired default program opens properly j QUICKTIME TEST Play a video file O MOV Use either a regular mov file or an h 264 mov file The default MOV file player usually WMP 12 or QUICKTIME is k PDF Test Default PDF Reader cccceceseceeccceecceeceeeeneeeneeeaeees Default Reader 1 FIREFOX TESTS FF 32 bit only 1 FLASH TEST Play a youtube video FULL SCREEN www youtube com trailers 2 JAVA 32 TEST Go to www java com en download installed jsp 3 PDF Open a PDF in Browser TEST www samplepdf com sample pdf 4 QUICKTIME PLUG IN TEST Play a QUICKTIME video www apple com trailers 5 WMP PLUGIN TEST Play a video from www windowsmedia com m INTERNET EXPLORER 8 or 9 TESTS Test both IE 32 bit and IE 64 bit Note Flash 64 bit no go 1 FLASH TEST Play a youtube video FULL SCREEN www youtube com trailers 2 JAVA 32 TEST amp JAVA 64 TEST Go to www java com en download installed jsp 3 PDF Open a PDF in Browser TEST www samplepdf com sample pdf 4 QUICKTIME PLUG IN TEST Play a QUICKTIME video www apple com trailers 5 SILVERLIGHT TEST Play a video from www silverlight net learn videos all 6 WMP PLUGIN TEST Play a video from www windowsmedia com n REALPLAYER REAL ALTERNATIVE Play a REAL video file Try ram file or ra file guide real com o CD DVD BURNING Try burning a data CD amp DVD The Default CD DVD program is p WIRELESS If wireless is installed make sure
15. Panel gt AutoPlay Un check the box O Use AutoPlay for all media amp devices then click Save 32 MOUSE Optimizations Control Panel gt Mouse a Buttons Tab Set the double click speed as slow as possible to the left b Pointers Tab 1 Choose the Magnified system scheme Pointer Scheme or find a Normal Select custom pointer with the lt Browse gt button 2 Disable the Pointer Shadow by un checking the box for O Enable Pointer Shadow 3 Disable Pointer changes by un checking the box for O Allow Themes to change pointers Page 4 of 10 WINDOWS 7 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE c Pointer Options Tab Check the box for M Automatically move the pointer to the default button and check the box for M Show location of Pointer when press the lt Ctrl gt key d Wheel Tab Set Wheel to 3 lines at a time e Device Settings If on a Laptop suggest you find and DISABLE Tap to Click for the touchpad The name varies with the hardware It could also be called Tap or Tapping f Click lt Apply gt amp lt OK gt to exit 33 FOLDER OPTIONS SET UP a Default Folder View This sets the preferred Default view for ALL folders First go to any Standard Folder and choose your preferred view then click Organize gt Folder and Search Options gt View tab Click Apply to Folders Folder View Options Control Panel gt Folder Options gt View Tab gt Advanced settings
16. WINDOWS 7 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE Jim McKnight www jimopi net Windows 7_Install lwp revised 6 25 2014 Owner Name PC amp Model Users Passwords Date s 1 UPGRADE If this is an upgrade from XP or VISTA run the O Easy Transfer Tool now on the old PC before installing Windows 7 See my UPGRATE MIGRATE FROM VISTA OR XP sheet Also run O Belarc Advisor and save the results to a flash drive for Product Keys If the old system will not boot get the Product Keys using O PRODUKEY amp get the data settings with O FAB s AUTOBACKUP 2 PC HEALTH amp HARD DRIVE HEALTH If you are installing Win 7 on a used PC be sure to do the following before shutting down the PC a O Check PC temps with SPEEDFAN b Hard drive health Check with O SPINRITE O HDTUNE and O CRYSTAL DISK INFO c O Clean dust from PC d O Check Battery voltage gt 3 01 vdc IF WINDOWS 7 IS INSTALLED ALREADY OR THIS IS A NEW Win 7 PC SKIP TO STEP 6c 4 HYPERTHREAD AHCI VT HARDWARE If your PC s BIOS supports Hyperthreading AHCI SATA 7 8 9 Control or Virtualization Technology now is the time to turn it on in the BIOS Before you boot the Install DVD WARNING If you have any SSD Drives AHCI must be on for the TRIM command to work in Windows7 DISCONNECT DEVICES Unplug all USB Printer and Device cables from the PC NOTE If this is a Vista to Windows 7 upgrade be sure to disable any Anti malware programs INSTALL WINDOWS
17. dow click Ask me later g If asked for your Location For a Laptop select Public Location For a Desktop PC select Home TIME DATE VERIFY Double verify these ALL are correct Time AM PM Date Year amp Time Zone KEYBOARD FUNCTION KEYS On laptops make sure the Fn Function keys operate correctly CONTROL PANEL CUSTOMIZE Set the View by to Large Icons 10 USER ACCOUNT CONTROL a Make sure UAC is turned on and set to Always Notify Control Panel gt Action Center for Vista Control Panel gt Security Center gt Other Security settings Page 1 of 10 11 SYSTEM PROPERTIES optimizations a COMPUTER NAME Control Panel gt System e Verify the Computer Name and Computer Description are exactly what you want e Verify the Workgroup is correct To change the Workgroup click the Advanced system settings button Note1 All Workgroup Names on a home network should be exactly the same for a mixed group of PC s XP amp Win7 NOTE2 Do not join a Homegroup if you have any XP PC s connected to your network It works but makes things more complicated b STARTUP amp RECOVERY Control Panel gt System gt Advanced system settings gt Advanced Tab gt under Startup and Recovery click the Settings button Under System Failure un check the box for O Automatically Restart 12 VIRTUAL MEMORY Control Panel gt System gt Advanced system settings gt Advanced tab gt Performance
18. e deleted each time you close Firefox I check everything but the Browsing History e WOT Install the Firefox add on called WOT Web Of Trust and test it Find it at WWW MYWOT COM f Verify CACHE Settings Tools gt Options gt Advanced gt Network tab Make sure the box is UN CHECKED for O Override automatic cache management g Be sure to do a system restart after installing Firefox to make sure any Anti Malware programs recognize that it is installed 38 ADOBE READER a Install Reader or Acrobat not both and check for updates until no more show up f downloading the free Adobe Reader be sure to UN CHECK O Add Google Toolbar every time it asks b Open the program to initialize it and click Yes to accept the EULA 39 OFFICE SUITE INITIALIZATION t must be customized for each User Account a For MICROSOFT OFFICE Make sure you have run Windows Update several times to get all Office Updates Office 2003 Be sure to ACTIVATE Microsoft Office on line b For OPEN OFFICE or LIBRE OFFICE 1 DEFAULTS Set up Open Office to be the default program for all kinds of Office files Control Panel gt Default Programs gt Set your default Programs Click Open Office Click Set this Program as default 2 DEFAULT SAVE FORMAT After installing be sure to set the default Save format to Microsoft Word 97 2000 XP Open any Open Office Program Go to Tools gt Options gt Load Save Select
19. e system Sounds are working OK Control Panel gt Sounds 2 Test the Front Panel Headphone Jack that you hear sound and that is cuts off the speaker sound c WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 12 1 hee amp First time convene it Select Custom Settings During the set up wizard be sure to UN CHECK the box CJ Download Usage rights automatically and check Make Windows Media Player the default Music and Video Player f it was already configured click Tools gt Options gt Privacy tab and make sure box for O Download usage rights automatically Is unchecked 2 MENUS Right click in the menu area and select View If Show Menu bar is not already checked click to check it 3 FILETYPES To change any multimedia filetype associations go to Control Panel gt Default Programs d MUSIC CD Load amp play a Music CD Default music player is e DVD MOVIE Load amp play a DVD Movie FULL SCREEN Default Video player is f JPG WINDOWS PHOTO VIEWER TEST Open a jpg file The default Viewer is g WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER TESTS Play the following file types Default Player is O AU D AVI O FLV O MID O MP3 O MPG O WAV O WMA O WMV O MP4 h DOC amp DOCX Set the default application to open these files Default Office Program is i POWERPOINT TEST Play pps PPer ppt amp pptx files Default PowerPoint viewer is PC must have one of these installed Oftice PowerPoint ppviewer OpenOffice or LibreOffice
20. gt Shortcut tab gt Advanced button Check the box for M Run as Administrator for all the Anti Malware Start Icons MISC 1 SET UP A WEEKLY SCHEDULED SCAN for MSE or your preferred Anti Malware suite See the MSE writeup in my ANTI MALWARE TOOLS amp TIPS 2 Drag the Start Icons for all the Anti Malware programs into the new Anti Malware Programs folder created on the Desktop in an earlier step 3 ESET ON Line SCAN v Install the ESET online scanner into Internet Explorer www eset com online scanner vy Create a shortcut icon for the ESET On Line Scan that opens Internet Explorer amp goes directly to the www eset com online scanner website 4 MSRT Create a shortcut Icon for the Malicious Software Removal Tool Right click desktop gt New gt Shortcut In the Location box enter windir system32 MRT exe and name the shortcut MSRT Run ACTION CENTER Go to the Windows 7 ACTION CENTER and make sure all is OK Control Panel gt System and Security gt Action Center Nothing should be RED PASSWORD EXPIRATION For Windows 7 Pro Enterprise Ultimate only Log in passwords expire every 42 days by default To disable Password timeout first log in to an Administrator User Account Control Panel gt Administrative Tools gt Local Security Policy gt Account Policy gt Password Policy 42 SCANS a HARD DRIVE TESTS 1 Run the HD TUNE slow error scan and make sure all hard drives look OK 2 Run the
21. hen to turn off the display and choose the desired minutes 9 SAVE YOUR CUSTOM THEME Control Panel gt Personalization Click Save Theme Name your custom theme and click Save b ADD REMOVE ICONS ON THE DESKTOP 1 System Icons To show System Icons on the desktop Right click Desktop gt Personalize gt Change Desktop Icons Check boxes for all desired System Icons 2 Regular Icons Right click and drag any desired Shortcuts or folders to the Desktop 3 Special Icons Such as the Devices and Printers Icon can be found in the Control Panel s Classic View ie Control Panel gt click Large Icons gt Devices and Printers Right click and drag all desired Icons to the Desktop When done you may want to restore the Control Panel to its default Category view Control Panel gt View by Category 4 Custom Folders For a cleaner Desktop you can create your own custom folders for storing similar Program Shortcuts Right click Desktop gt New gt Folder 5 Unwanted Icons Delete any unwanted Icons from the Desktop c REBOOT Be sure to Reboot at this point and then make sure all the new settings took correctly 30 SOUNDS If you do not like the sounds connected with your chosen visual theme go to Control Panel gt Personalization gt Sounds Select a Sound Scheme or you can customize each sound individually Click lt OK gt to save and exit 31 AUTOPLAY Turn off AutoPlay for all devices Control
22. ory on exit then click Apply d HOME PAGE Set the preferred home page s The default Home Page is www msn com Yuchh To change it to www google com or some other desired page First go to the desired website s Then click Tools gt Internet Options gt General tab Click the Use current button then OK to exit e CACHE SIZE Tools gt Internet Options gt General Tab Under Browsing History click Settings amp select 50 f DEFAULT SEARCH ENGINE Tools gt Internet Options gt General Tab Under Search click Settings and select Google as default If it is not listed click Find more search providers g WOT Install the IE add on called WOT and test it Find it at WWW MYWOT COM h TOOLBARS Unlock the toolbars customize and clean up visually then re lock the toolbars 37 FIREFOX a SET UP MENUS amp TOOLBARS Click the Firefox button Upper Left Hand Corner gt Options gt Menu Bar Then click VIEW and check each toolbar desired so it shows up Un check Tabs on Top b HOMEPAGE Set Default Homepage s as desire Tools gt Options gt General tab c BOOKMARKS BAR Drag any desired Icons to the Bookmarks Toolbar d SECURE FIREFOX Tools gt Options gt Privacy tab gt Use custom settings for history 1 UN CHECK the box Accept third party cookies 2 Check the box for Clear history when Firefox closes then click Settings Choose the items you wish to b
23. timeout SAVE ALL THEME amp DISPLAY PREFERENCES Control Panel gt Personalization Click Save Settings then name it and save it O HIBERNATE amp O SLEEP Standby Note These functions may not work on laptops if any USB devices are plugged in and active especially an external Keyboard and Mouse Verify that Hibernate and Sleep function OK If the Hibernate option is not visible in the Start menu the PC may be using Hybrid Sleep If you need to activate Hibernate turn off Hybrid Sleep in the Advanced Power settings You may also have to open a Command Prompt window must be run in Administrator mode type powercfg hon lt enter gt then exit BACKGROUND PROGRAMS If desired turn off any unnecessary background programs or services using the STARTER Utility Program Be careful BELARC ADVISOR Run a scan Fix any RED X situations and save the results Create a subfolder in My Documents called Belarc_Files to save the scan results Save a copy to Flash for archiving PC USERS GUIDE If you can download and put a PDF version of the PC s User Guide Manual into My Documents and then put a shortcut to it on the Desktop IMAGE BACKUP Do a Windows 7 full image back up of your new install to an external Hard drive Control Panel gt Backup and restore Click Create a system image BURN RECOVERY DVD s For new PC s burn a set of Recovery DVD s per the PC s User Manual AUTOMATIC UPDATES
24. u will not get the best results You should try to install the correct monitor driver using the CD that came with your Monitor from the Manufacturer or from Windows Update b REFRESH RATE Make sure to check the box m Hide modes that this monitor cannot display If possible Select the highest available refresh rate for your Monitor and click lt OK gt c COLORS Set Colors to True Color 32 bit then click lt OK gt d RESOLUTION Back on the Screen Resolution Window select the best resolution for your Monitor Higher is better For LCD s always pick the Native Resolution usually the highest available 2 THEME Control Panel gt Personalization gt Theme If your video card is AERO capable you will see several Aero Theme options listed Change the Theme setting as desired NOTE Themes affect visuals sounds buttons mouse pointer screen saver and other system elements When Page 3 of 10 done click Save changes See my SPEED UP WINDOWS 7 for a guide on how the Themes and visual effects affect Windows 7 speed on older PC s 3 WINDOW COLOR Control Panel gt Personalization gt Window Color If Aero is on you will be at the Window color and appearance palette window Customize the Color Scheme and Transparency level here as desired Next click Advanced appearance settings Note If Aero is off you will already be at the Advanced appearance settings window See the WINDOWS 7
25. wn the list and check the box for WM Run commana d Remove any unwanted Icons from the Start Menu Use right click 35 TASKBAR a TOOLBARS Right click any blank area of the Taskbar Click Toolbars then click to uncheck any undesired Toolbars like Yahoo or Google Search LOCK THE TASKBAR If not already checked click VW Lock the Taskbar QUICK LAUNCH area Add any desired Icons to the Taskbar by right clicking the desired Icon on the Start Menu or the Desktop then click Pin to taskbar Note It is no longer called Quick Launch NOTIFICATION AREA Right click Taskbar gt Properties Under Notification area click Customize then click to check Always show all icons Click OK OK to exit 36 INTERNET EXPLORER should be at IE11 Secure and customize IE a b MENU BAR Right click in any empty space just below the top of the IE window until a context menu box opens up offering the option Menu Bar Click it and the Menu bar will appear TAB BAR ON ITS OWN ROW Right click in the toolbar area then select Show tabs on a separate row Page 5 of 10 c SECURE IE Tools gt Internet Options gt General Tab 1 Under browsing History Click the Delete button and make sure all desired items are checked 2 Now click the Delete button on that windows to exit the Delete browsing History Window 3 Wait a little then click to check the box for Delete browsing hist
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