WINDOWS 8 - INSTALL, SET-UP, & CUSTOMIZE
Contents
1. Enable Pointer Shadow 3 Disable Pointer changes by un checking the box for O Allow Themes to change pointers 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 37 FOLDER OPTIONS SET UP Page 4 of 10 WINDOWS 8 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE 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 NOTE You can change the view on each individual folder and Win 7 will remember b Folder View Options Control Panel gt Appearance and Personalization gt Folder Options gt View Tab gt Advanced settings The default settings are mostly OK In the Advanced settings box make sure these boxes are set as follows 1 Check or uncheck the following boxes as shown the Default is OK for the other items M Always show menus M Display full path in the title bar Hidden files and folders Show Hidden files folders and drives2. FF O Flash IE O JAVA O1 Adobe Reader O MalwareBytes AntiMalware O SuperAntiSpyware O CDBurnerXP O 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 Manually install these utilities as desired O BELARC ADVISOR O CCLEANER O CRYSTAL DISK INFO O HD TUNE O SANDBOXIE O SECUNIA PSI O SPEEDFAN O Codestuff STARTER O TFC 30 OFFICE SUITE INSTALLATION Do this from an Administrator Account a MICROSOFT OFFICE from CD DVD 1 After installing Office run Windows Update several times to get all Office Updates Be sure to ACTIVATE Microsoft Office Office 2007 amp up automatically Activate when you enter in the Product Key 2 If Powerpoint is not included you need to either download and install the POWERPOINT VIEWER from support microsoft com or install OpenOffice LibreOffice in order to view PowerPoint files b OPEN OFFICE or LIBRE OFFICE are good free alternatives to Microsoft Office 31 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 ona laptop This should only
3. Plan to High Performance Customize the detailed settings by clicking Change Plan settings so that the PC never Sleeps or Hibernates during the install 19 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 20 NETWORK If not already connected connect to the Network now You must be on the internet to continue 21 ACTIVATE Windows 8 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 22 INITIALIZE 1E10 11 Open IE amp go through the first use questions Answer the questions as desired 23 WINDOWS UPDATE a Run Windows Update Control Panel gt Windows Update b Configure the Windows Update Settings Click Change Settings on the left Make sure all boxes are checked click lt OK gt to save amp exit Run Check for updates and keep re running until no more Critical or Important Updates are found 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 24 DEVICE MANAGER amp HARDWARE DRIVERS 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 delete the bad entries and reboot to see if Windows
4. Program Go to Tools gt Options gt Load Save Select a save format of Microsoft Word 97 2000 XP 44 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 8 TIPS sheet under the WINDOWS LIVE MAIL c 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 Page 6 of 10 WINDOWS 8 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE 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 3 If you are trying to import an Outlook pst file to Thunderbird you will need to import it into the Outlook 2007 program first so the Thunderbird Import Wizard can find it f Outlook 2007 is not installed you may be able to get the Trial version from www ninite com to use just for
5. Select your main user account and click Change your account type Select Standard user and click Change account type Test all your programs to make sure all work as a Standard user If necessary customize any start Icons to Run as Administrator 51 ADDITIONAL STANDARD USERS as needed a From the Administrator Account manually create any additional desired Standard user accounts b Repeat steps 25 through 42 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 52 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 53 DEFRAG Control Panel gt Administrative Tools gt Defragment and Optimize Drives or simply Search 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 b Defrag Schedule Note By default Windows 8 defrags the C Drive on a weekly schedule You can set the Automatic Defrag schedule Daily Weekly Monthly as desired and which drives 54 POWE
6. the conversion Outlook 2003 may also work 45 SECURITY amp ANTI MALWARE PROTECTION a d BROWSER SECURITY O WOT Verify the WOT add on is installed for all browsers and all Users O SANDBOXIE Set up and test SANDBOXIE for all Users ANTI MALWARE PROGRAM ICONS Run as Administrator Click Properties 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 Defender or your preferred Anti Malware suite 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 y 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 Ywindir system32 MRT exe and name the shortcut MSRT Run ACTION CENTER Go to the Windows 8 ACTION CENTER and make sure all is OK Control Panel gt Action Center Nothing should be RED e PASSWORD EXPIRATION For Windows 8 Pro Enterprise only Log in passwords expire every 42 days by default If you want to disable Password timeout see my Windows 8 TIPS sheet 46 SC
7. the PC NOTE If this is a Vista or Windows 7 to Windows 8 upgrade be sure to disable any Anti malware programs INSTALL WINDOWS 8 Use your Recovery DVD s or your Win 7 Install DVD NOTE To use a Windows 8 Upgrade Disk to do a clean install see this tutorial 22 2 2222222272 http www winsupersite com article windows clean install windows 7 with upgrade media aspx a If asked select the language English b 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 8 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 c 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 8 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 l m online then enter the Produ
8. v Hide empty drives O Hide extensions for known file types UN CHECKED Mi Hide protected operating system files M Show Drive Letters MI Show encrypted or compressed NTFS Folders amp files in color 2 Click lt Apply gt 38 START MENU With CLASSIC SHELL 4 0 or higher or START8 ver 1 31 or higher Menu program a Set CLASSIC SHELL to Skip Metro Screen on boot Click the Start button gt Classic Start Menu Settings gt Windows 8 1 settings Check the box for M Skip metro screen b WINDOWS UPDATE ICON Find the Windows Update Icon Start gt All Programs Click on Pin to Start Menu Classic Shell c 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 Classic Shell 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 d CUSTOMIZE START MENU Click the Start button gt Classic Start Menu Settings 1 DISABLE HIGHLIGHT NEWLY INSTALLED PROGRAMS see the General Behavior tab Scroll down the list and uncheck the box for O Highlight newly installed programs Click lt OK gt 2 ADD THE RUN BOX if not already there see the Customize Start Menu tab Find and click the Display column entry for the Run co
9. which they are related again check for each User b SOUNDS 1 Check that the system Sounds are working OK Control Panel gt Sound 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 Open amp First time configure it Select Custom Settings During the set up wizard be sure to UN CHECK the box O Download Usage rights automatically and check Make Windows Media Player the default Music and Video Player If 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 O MP4 O AU D AVI O MID O MP3 O MPG O WAV O WMA O WMV h DOC amp DOCX Set the default application to open these files Default Office Program is i POWERPOINT TEST Play pps ppsx ppt amp pptx files Default PowerPoint viewer is PC must have one of these installe
10. 8 can re detect amp re install the devices OK Fix all these issues before continuing 25 WINDOWS 8 1 UPGRADE a Verify if Windows 8 1 is already installed Control Panel gt System gt Windows Edition area If it says Windows 8 then Windows 8 1 is NOT installed Page 2 of 10 WINDOWS 8 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE b If Windows 8 1 is already on go to the next step Otherwise go to the WINDOWS 8 1 UPGRADE sheet at www jimopi net and follow the instructions for updating to Windows 8 1 26 RUN WINDOWS UPDATE AGAIN 27 WEI 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 28 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 8 document called MIGRATE OR UPGRADE FROM VISTA OR XP 29 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
11. ANS a HARD DRIVE TESTS 1 Run the HD TUNE slow error scan and make sure all hard drives look OK 2 Run the 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 DEFENDER or PREFERRED ADDITIONAL 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 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 47 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 2 Initialize or customize it as necessary 3 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
12. R Control Panel gt Power Options a CHOOSE A FINAL POWER PLAN 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 are set 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 and 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 3 Verify the Close Lid actions and Adjust the display brightness actions are set as desired 55 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 Page 9 of 10 Hybrid Sleep If you need to activate Hibernate turn OFF Hybrid Sleep in the Advanced Power set
13. WINDOWS 8 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE Jim McKnight www jimopi net Windows 7_Install lwp revised 8 28 2014 Owner Name PC amp Model Users Passwords Date s 1 UPGRADE If this is an upgrade from XP VISTA or Windows 8 run the O Easy Transfer Tool now on the old PC before installing Windows 8 See my Windows 7 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 the O PRODUKEY utility and get the data settings with O FAB s AUTOBACKUP BIOS If you are upgrading to Win8 make sure the BIOS supports Windows 8 8 1 PC HEALTH amp HARD DRIVE HEALTH If you are installing Win 8 on a used PC be sure to do the following before shutting down the PC 1 Check PC temps with the SPEEDFAN utility Then check out the hard drive health with OO SPINRITE CO HDTUNE and O CRYSTAL DISK INFO Then 1 O Clean dust from PC 2 O Check Battery voltage gt 3 0vdc If Windows 8 IS INSTALLED ALREADY OR THIS IS A NEW WIN 8 PC SKIP TO STEP 6c HYPERTHREAD AHCI VT HARDWARE If your PC s BIOS supports Hyperthreading AHCI SATA 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 Windows DISCONNECT DEVICES Unplug all USB Printer and Device cables from
14. ct Key You should wait until all hardware is recognized and running under Windows 8 before activating it f At the Windows Update Options Window 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 DESKTOP BOOT TO DESKTOP Right click Taskbar gt Properties gt Navigation tab Click to check the box for J When I sign in go to the desktop instead of Start 10 START MENU If desired install the CLASSIC SHELL MENU or the START8 MENU now To get the PC to boot to the desktop with classic shell menu Click the Start button gt Classic Start Menu Settings gt Windows 8 1 settings Check the box for M Skip Metro screen 11 KEYBOARD FUNCTION KEYS On laptops make sure the Fn Function keys operate correctly Page 1 of 10 12 CONTROL PANEL CUSTOMIZE Set the View by to Large Icons 13 SYSTEM PROPERTIES optimizations a COMPUTER NAME Control Panel lt 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
15. d Office PowerPoint ppviewer OpenOffice or LibreOffice 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 WMP12 or QUICKTIME is k PDF Test Default PDF Reader 0c cecececececccececeeeceeececeneeeneeenees Default Reader 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 QUICKTIME PLUG IN TEST Play a QUICKTIME video ww apple com trailers 4 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 FLASH TEST Play a youtube video FULL SCREEN www youtube com trailers 2 JAVA 32 TEST amp JAVA 64 TEST Goto www java com en download installed jsp 3 QUICKTIME PLUG IN TEST Play a QUICKTIME video www apple com trailers 4 SILVERLIGHT TEST Play a video from www silverlight net learn videos all 5 WMP PLUGIN TEST Play a video from www windowsmedia com REALPLAYER REAL ALTERNATIVE Play a REAL video file Try ram file or ra file guide real com CD DVD BURNING Try burning a data CD amp DVD The Default CD DVD program is WIRELESS If wireless is installed make sure it will connect to a network and access the internet WEBCAM If th
16. e PC has a built in webcam open the program for it and test it 2 o O 5 Page 8 of 10 WINDOWS 8 INSTALL SET UP amp CUSTOMIZE 48 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 49 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 26 through 41 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 50 MAIN USER ACCOUNT CHANGE TO STANDARD USER From the Admin account go to Control Panel gt User Accounts gt Manage another Account
17. e to create a Windows Restore Point Click Create 63 USER ACCOUNT SECURITY Make sure that all user accounts are Standard except for the on Admin PC User Account which should be Administrator 64 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 65 Make sure the CD DVD Drive is empty before powering down the PC Page 10 of 10
18. esktop Right click Desktop gt Personalize gt Change Desktop Icons Check the 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 Right click and drag all desired Icons to the Desktop 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 34 SOUNDS If you do not like the sounds connected with your chosen visual theme go to Control Panel gt Personalization gt Sound Select a Sound Scheme or you can customize each sound individually Click lt OK gt to save and exit 35 AUTOPLAY Turn off AutoPlay for all devices Control Panel gt Hardware and sound gt AutoPlay Un check the box O Use AutoPlay for all media amp devices then click Save 36 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
19. mmand then click the down arrow Click on Display this item Click lt OK gt 39 TASKBAR a DISABLE TASKBAR TRANSPARENCY Click the Start button gt Classic Start Menu Settings gt Windows 8 1 settings Check the box for I Disable Taskbar Transparency b TOOLBARS Right click any blank area of the Taskbar Click Toolbars then click to uncheck any undesired Toolbars like Yahoo or Google Search c LOCK THE TASKBAR Right click any blank area of the Taskbar If not already checked click to check v Lock the Taskbar d 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 e 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 40 INTERNET EXPLORER 10 11 Secure and customize IE a 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 b TAB BAR ON ITS OWN ROW Right click in the toolbar area then select Show tabs on a separate row 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
20. need to be done once 32 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 33 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 you will not get the best results You should try to install the correct monitor driver 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 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 2 THEME Control Panel gt Personalization gt Theme Change the Theme setting as desired NOTE Themes affect visuals sounds buttons mouse pointer screen saver and other system elements When done always click Save Theme Page 3 of 10 3 WINDOW COLOR Control Panel gt Personalization gt Color Customize the Window Color and intensity as de
21. sired Note Automatic window colors drives me nuts 4 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 M Turn on ClearType click Next then follow the instructions for ClearType Tuning 5 ICON amp MENU TEXT SIZE AND BOLDNESS Control Panel gt Display Under Change only the Text Size select the item and choose size and Bold or not bold 6 IMPROVE DISPLAY READABILITY 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 8 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 Power Options select Choose when 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 d
22. sites do not want to be tracked 2 History Choose Firefox will Use custom settings for History 3 Accept third party cookies Choose Never 4 Check the box for M Clear history when Firefox closes Click lt Settings gt and choose the desired items 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 42 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 43 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 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
23. the Delete button on that windows to exit the Delete browsing History Window Page 5 of 10 3 Wait a little then click to check the box for Delete browsing history 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 41 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 1 Check the box for M Tell
24. tings You may also have to open a Command Prompt window must be run in Administrator mode type powercfg hon lt enter gt then exit 56 BACKGROUND PROGRAMS If desired turn off any unnecessary background programs or services using the STARTER Utility Program Be careful 57 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 58 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 59 IMAGE BACKUP Do a full image back up of your new install to an external Hard drive A third party program like ACRONIS or EASEUS is required 60 BURN RECOVERY DVD s For new PC s burn a set of Recovery DVD s or USB Drive Use the PC s User Manual or go to Control Panel gt Recovery gt Create a Recovery Drive 61 AUTOMATIC UPDATES Windows Update Control Panel gt Windows Update gt Change settings Configure to Install Updates automatically and make sure all boxes are checked 62 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 tim
25. 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 14 VIRTUAL MEMORY Control Panel gt System gt Advanced system settings gt Advanced tab gt Performance 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 1 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 8 checklist for tips 15 WINDOWS FIREWALL Make sure the Windows Firewall is turned on Control Panel gt Windows Firewall 16 AUTOMATIC UPDATES TURN OFF Control Panel gt Windows Update gt Change settings For now select Never check for updates 17 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 18 POWER PLAN Control Panel gt Power Options a CHOOSE A PRELIMINARY POWER PLAN FOR THE INSTALL Set the Power
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