How to set up your new notebook or PC for maximum cost to value ratio: A guide

[kevineugenius]

I couldn't post in the guides section for some reason, so a mod could please remove this sentence and move the thread to the guides section.

This guide is intended to help you set up your new computer in a way that will let you get the maximum usability and the most features with the least expense.

Almost all pre-configured computers (meaning, you take it out of the box and turn it on, no hardware or software installation required i.e. Dell, Alienware, Gateway, Compaq, etc) come bundled with software to make your life 'easier'. Well, let me share a little tip with you about corporate America. If they give you something for free, you should always be suspicious. The software and utilities that they give you for free are generally only trial versions or infested with spyware. These programs are referred to as "Bloatware". The only real way to be sure you're rid of them all is to reinstall Windows completely, wiping the entire hard drive while you do so. This guide will not include a step-by-step to do that, if it is beyond your comfort level, seek a tutorial and read up on the process.

If you are not RE-installing Windows, skip this paragraph and go to the next. Before re-installing Windows, there are a few things I like to do. First, download all the most recent drivers for all of your hardware. If you have a Dell, it's fairly simple. Just go to support.dell.com and download everything that matches the components of your computer. If you have an Alienware desktop, all the components inside your system are third-party, meaning they're made by Asus, Intel, Creative, and others; not made by Alienware. Thus, you'll have to find all the model numbers of your hardware, visit the respective sites, and download the correct drivers. A TIP FOR YOU: go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...1/network.mspx and download Windows XP Service Pack 1a. Why? Because it makes your USB ports work. If you happen to download the wrong drivers for your network card, you won't have internet access and will have no way of getting the right ones. USB ports can save you a lot of headache. Burn the drivers and the SP1a file to CD and set it aside. If you want to do things preliminarily, you can probably fit all the other files on the same CD. For those, read on.

If you are doing a fresh Windows install on a new machine that you built, it's pretty straight-forward. Install all the newest drivers from the manufacturers. These experiences will vary so much, I won't go any further into it.

Once you have a CLEAN Windows install and have installed all the drivers you downloaded, right click on the My Computer icon and select properties. Click Hardware, then Device Manager. If there are NO little red Xs or yellow exclamation points, your hardware is all installed (or undetected; this guide will not contain troubleshooting undetected hardware). Knowing that your hardware is all installed, it's time to set everything up to be the most usable.

Adjust your screen resolution once you have your graphics drivers installed. To do so, right click on the desktop and click properties. Click settings, and set it to your LCD's recommended resolution. If you're using an old tube monitor, go to www.newegg.com and buy an LCD for crying out loud! Seriously though, if you have tube monitor, that's fine, just choose a resolution that looks good to you. THEN, click advanced and choose the monitor tab. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE choose a refresh rate of 75hz or higher. Nothing is worse than working with a nice computer your whole life then going to someone else's computer with a low refresh rate. Seriously 60hz will have a visible 'flicker' because your eyes can see the space in between the re-draws. Now that I'm this far, I have to say that the refresh rate is how many times per second the picture is drawn on the screen. 60hz = 60 times per second. The human eye only sees like 25 pictures per second, but at 60hz, sometimes the eyeball and the monitor don't perfectly mesh, and it produces the flickering effect.

When you download anything, Windows gives you the option to Run or Save. Always choose Save, then doubleclick the saved program to run it. You'll know why the first time the power goes out and you have to re-download some huge file or your computer breaks and you have to start all over.

OFFICE: some systems include office suite software, some people already have it, some people don't. If you don't have Microsoft Office, nor do you have a few hundred extra dollars, visit www.openoffice.org . Download their software (93mb at the time this was written) and install it. It's FREE!

DVD: Windows Media Player does not include a codec for playing DVDs. Why? I don't know; sure seems like DVDs are Media but perhaps Microsoft disagrees. Again, some systems will include a program that can play DVDs, such as PowerDVD from Cyberlink (I've had good luck with this one up until recently. The newest version didn't work at all for me). If you have no program like this, you will have no way to 'decode' the DVD. DVDs are a ton of information rapidly hitting your PC. Modern processors can handle the info, but there needs to be software that re-organizes or decodes the info first. Thus, you need a codec (enCOder/DECoder) to help you out. Links for downloading this file change, so I'll just tell you what I use. There are others. The K-Lite Codec pack, Full version, is about 27mb and has just about every codec you'll ever need. WHEN YOU INSTALL THIS, there are a few things you'll need to do. 1. Uncheck 'Windows Media Player Classic' unless you have specific need for that program. It's about 5 years old, and I personally have no need for it. I'll use Windows Media Player 11. 2. Check the box that says 'Mpeg1/Mpeg2 Decoder'. This is your DVD codec. There are a few options of which one you can use. I don't know the difference between them, I use the Cyberlink one. 3. A little further down, I also check the 'Mpeg Demuxer' box. That is used for converting DVD audio to MP3 if you are ripping DVDs. You shouldn't be because it's usually illegal, but if you need to do so for some legal reason, this codec pack can be your best friend. The next plethora of check-boxes asks you about default file associations (i.e. which program will play which type of file). I personally hate Windows Media Player for music, but I like it for video. I hate Quicktime period. Anyway, most of the defaults on the list are fine, but you can browse them if you like. There are alternatives to this codec pack. Gordian Knot used to be awesome, but has recently been infused with spyware so I no longer use it.

PROTECTION: This is very important. I don't know why people create viruses and worms and hacks and stuff like that. There's no information on MY computer that they could profit from... They certainly can't profit by hosing my whole system... But, they are out there. So, you have to counter their unfriendly and purely useless and stupid attempts. Get an anti-virus program. There are free ones available! I have used Norton AV (costs money) McAfee (costs money) and free ones. You have the SAME chance of getting a problem with all of them. In my opinion, that means get a free one. free.grisoft.com is where you can get AVG free edition. It works well, is easy to use, and has no annoying pop-ups. I have had a different program that I don't remember the name of and it had advertisement popups all the time. Kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. Install AVG (or whichever one you prefer) anti-virus, update it, and read on. Aside from viruses there is still spyware. Just so you know, almost EVERY program that you can download for free off the internet (aside from the ones I recommend of course, I have searched long and hard to find all my sources) will include spyware. For example, those cute little programs that make your cursors looks different. It's free, yet the company is in business. What are businesses for? MAKING MONEY! Thus, they sell you out and install advertising programs on your machine. Those are called spyware. They are legal because you have to agree to their EULA (End User License Agreement) before you install, which gives them permission to hose you. Other programs get installed on your machine without your say-so, and those are mal-ware. Anyways, it's all bad. The best I have found so far is Windows Defender. Currently it's free, in the future, who knows? www.microsoft.com/windowsdefender to download. You have to have legal Windows to download it. Install it, update it, and read on. A lot of people like to have more than one antivirus program and more than one anti-spyrware program to be sure they get it all. That's up to you. Other free and useful anti-spyware progs include Spybot Search & Destroy and AdAware.

UPDATES: Probably the most important part of protection, so I gave it it's own section. Here's how it works. Microsoft and other companies employ hacker to test their code in the software looking for holes that can be exploited into trojans, worms, viruses, spyware, anything. Again, it's all bad. So, when one of these holes is found, they release an update for the software to fix that hole. Hackers then take that update, look at what it fixes, and INSTANTLY they know exactly where the hole is. If you don't have that update, you are vulnerable. Turn on Windows Firewall, turn on Automatic Updates. If you don't know how, read on. You need Windows Service pack 2. If you installed SP1a above, that's fine. Click the start menu, then programs or all programs and near the top it should say Windows Update. Keep running this, following the instructions and restarting when asked to, until there are NO MORE UPDATES FOUND. Then, click start, control panel OR start, settings, control panel. Once in there, open Security Center. You should see three green lights. If one is yellow or red, you need to fix something. This will monitor if your antivirus is out of date, or if your Windows files are out of date. Very handy. Click automatic updates and make sure automatic is checked. Here is where you will schedule your updates as well. I set mine to 5AM, because some updates require a reboot, so I want it to be last. That sentence will make more sense later. If you downloaded AVG antivirus like I told you, open the Control Center. Click Scheduler then Scheduled Tasks. There are two things to do here. There is TEST and UPDATE. You need to schedule them both, by clicking each one and selecting Edit Schedule. Check both checkboxes, and choose a time. I have it update between 2AM and 3AM and scan between 3AM and 4AM. Lastly, you need to schedule the anti-spyware. The only open time really is between 4AM and 5AM, so that's where I set it. To do this, click start, programs, Windows Defender. Click tools, then options. Follow the on-screen to schedule a quick scan, leave the box checked that says 'Check for updated definitions before scanning.' After all that, you should be well protected. Now, you may notice that all the times I chose were in the middle of the night. THAT MEANS YOU HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR COMPUTER RUNNING through the night. Some people don't like to do that. Schedule these tasks whenever it works for you. Just make sure they get done.

MUSIC: I don't like Windows Media Player for MP3 music. It's pretty fair for CDs I guess, but that's also for you to choose. www.winamp.com is an MP3-user's best buddy. Go there, download the free/full version of the program, and install it up. THERE ARE NOW SOME BUNDLED ITEMS IN THE PROGRAM THAT YOU DON'T WANT! There didn't used to be, but there is now so pay attention to the checkboxes. I don't like the Winamp agent in my system tray so I uncheck that one, I don't need a desktop shortcut, and I definately (nor do you) don't want the 50 free songs or their free security monitor. Remember what we learned about 'free' stuff? Spyware! I hope you were paying attention. I also deselect all Winamp video options and CD options. I do this because I've spent hours putting together a huge playlist, but maybe it wasn't all the way done so I hadn't saved it. Insert a music CD or DVD and FOOP! Your playlist is gone. So, I use Winamp for MP3 ONLY.

PDF: A lot of things use PDF... I hate them, but what can I do? Go to www.adobe.com and download and install the free Acrobat Reader.

GAMING: You'll need a few things for gaming, and a few things that you don't really need but they're fun anyway. www.microsoft.com/directx go there, download, install. Pretty easy, no options to select whatsoever. www.futuremark.com go there and download and install 3dMark06 (if your computer isn't a gaming monster, you might want an older version like 05, 03, or 01). This program is spyware-less, and what it does is basically taxes your hardware as much as it possibly can, then tells you if your system rocks or sucks. Results will be different every time, so don't be alarmed. Older programs will yield higher scores, it doesn't mean your computer gets faster when you run the old ones, it just means your computer is modern and can run older programs easier than newer programs. This will ALWAYS be true. If you get a rocking score, post it all over the forums and flaunt it like crazy.

CD/DVD BURNING: If you have a burner, it should have come with software. Nero is pretty good. I hardly ever burn any CDs anymore because USB flash drives are so much easier so I don't have a ton of info on these. However, I've never had a burner not come with software, so you should have no problem getting a free utility. Windows even has a built-in burning method for files. Windows Media Player probably has a way to burn music CDs, but I never use those either (MP3 deck in the truck).

All of the programs that you downloaded should be burned to a CD so you can use them again on another computer or if you have to start over it will be easier.

So, those are the things that I recommend EVERYONE should do. You don't have to, but I don't see why you wouldn't. There are other things of course, like web browsing and email, that are different for everyone so it's not in the guide. This is by no means comprehensive, and I am not liable for any damage you may have caused to your computer, data, self, or the O-zone by reading this. My understanding is that all of the above practices are fully legal. If any are not, I would appreciate someone telling me to revise it first, not arrest me first.

Other cool things you can do to your PC:
I have an Alienware case (custom internals) so I don't feel like a poser using the AlienGUIse program. This is a small, free version of WindowBlinds, a program that 'skins' your entire Windows experience so it looks cooler than everyone else's. WindowBlinds is about $20 I think if you want to do that route.
There are things called gadgets that you can get on your machine. Some are clocks, some are maps, some scroll through your photos in a small box in the corner, etc. Google "windows gadgets" should give you plenty of starting places.
I would recommend getting Steam at www.steampowered.com so you can download Half-Life (greatest game of all time), demos, videos of new games, and all kinds of stuff. The friends list is finally working, so you can keep track of what game your online buddies are playing. Other gaming programs you might want include teamspeak www.goteamspeak.com (voice chat), mIRC www.mirc.com (text chat), or x-fire www.xfire.com (all kinds of stuff, friends list, voice chat, etc).

Feel free to post your own thoughts, suggestions, and cool stuff that you've found.

[adinu]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE OH PLEASE choose a refresh rate of 75hz or higher.

The thing is tho that most laptop screens dont support higher than 60 refresh rate, so pple arent stuck at 60 because their stupid, its because their monitors dont support them. Obviously we would chose a higher refresh rate, but we dont have the option. Its like saying please please choose a ferarri for ur daily driver...of course pple would take that w/o u tellin them to, its just that 99.9% of pple cant afford it.

[boomheadshot45]

Very nice! I would as a mod to move it into the Guide's section because you can't.

[kevineugenius]

Originally Posted by adinu

The thing is tho that most laptop screens dont support higher than 60 refresh rate, so pple arent stuck at 60 because their stupid, its because their monitors dont support them. Obviously we would chose a higher refresh rate, but we dont have the option. Its like saying please please choose a ferarri for ur daily driver...of course pple would take that w/o u tellin them to, its just that 99.9% of pple cant afford it.

Well, I'm sorry if that wasn't clear but the refresh rate suggestion only applies to CRT monitors. I'm on an LCD right now at only 60hz and it's just fine. The flickering occurs on CRT monitors, and all of them since like 1995 are capable of 80hz.

Thanks for reading though.

[Starcub]

GJ, great info. Additional general recommendations for all:

- get a compression program that supports the .rar format
- get a good d/l manager like GetRight
- create a partition for Windows and a separate partition for data and programs
- buy an external usb HD and use it as a backup device

[kevineugenius]

Originally Posted by Starcub

GJ, great info. Additional general recommendations for all:

- get a compression program that supports the .rar format
- get a good d/l manager like GetRight
- create a partition for Windows and a separate partition for data and programs
- buy an external usb HD and use it as a backup device

Good call; I have those programs in my repertoire, but forgot them at the time.
Compression program I use is 7-zip. It does everything Winzip does, but it also supports RAR as well. Great program.
For downloads, I use Netleech. Very quick, easy to use; I've never used GetRight.
I didn't cover partitioning becuase everyone likes those a different way; I personally use the same partition strategy you do, and it works pretty well.
Backing up is always a good idea. I have multiple computers, so that's how I back up, I just copy stuff onto each computer.

Another thing I thought of: if you buy a new laptop, take the feet off and superglue them back on. If one of those feet falls off someplace you can't find it, it'll annoy you forever. Superglue is much stronger than whatever it is the manufacturer's use. The bumpers on the LCD sometimes come off as well, but I've never lost one of those.

[kevineugenius]

One more thing, don't back up your anti-virus or anti-spyware programs onto CDs. Download them fresh every time. If you install a year-old anti-virus program, it'll take forever to update it.

[NEX_SASIN]

Most onboard video laptop is using 60Hz and it doesn't hurt my eyes.. Perhaps your poor LCD screen?

BTW there's good points in there but the paragraphs need to rewrite properly, much more professional if you know what i mean.

[kevineugenius]

Originally Posted by NEX_SASIN

Most onboard video laptop is using 60Hz and it doesn't hurt my eyes.. Perhaps your poor LCD screen?

BTW there's good points in there but the paragraphs need to rewrite properly, much more professional if you know what i mean.

1. Once again, the section about monitor refresh rates, 60/70/72/80hz, refers to OLDER CRT MONITORS, not to LCD screens.

2. No, I don't know what you mean. I didn't necessarily get it proof-read, so it may need some editing.