Earlier this month, I posted about considerations for buying a new computer. Bringing a new computer home can be both exciting and daunting. Today’s post will outline the basics of setting up your new computer. While users have different needs when customizing their computers for their workflows, a few setup tasks should be done on most new computers.
First Things First
If you’re like me, you want to play with a new toy as soon as it arrives. In the case of electronics, charging the device is the first item on the to-do list. Even if you plan to use them plugged in, the battery should be fully charged before it’s turned on. Of course, this is not necessary with new desktop computers.
The next task is to find your power button. On a laptop, it can be a button above or below the keyboard, or it can be a button on the keyboard itself. Power buttons are usually placed on the front of modern desktop computers. Note that the button may blend in and be difficult to see for aesthetic reasons.
Powering It On for the First Time
Next, we’ll talk about the setup screens. Please note that Microsoft reorders and rewords the setup screens often, so your experience may differ. In general, the setup actions will be similar regardless of the order in which they are presented. I configured a computer last week, and this was the order in which I encountered the steps.
- Name the computer. Make it a name you’d recognize as this particular device on a crowded list of devices connected to a network.
- Connect to the internet. If you are configuring a laptop, it assumes you want to connect to a wi-fi network and prompts you to select a network and log in. Alternatively, you could connect to the internet using an Ethernet cable if you are near the modem and have a network jack on the device.
- Update the computer. The computer was probably pre-configured before the latest set of Windows updates. When prompted, allow the computer to update.
- Create an account. In general, Windows guides the user to use (or create) a Microsoft account to log in. If you have Windows 11 Pro, you can create local user credentials and bypass the Microsoft account. If you’d like more information about how to do this, drop me a message. For now, we’ll assume there will only be one account. You can add more later in Settings>Accounts.
- Privacy and security settings – a series of screens asks about how Microsoft can use your data. I like to keep things as private as possible, so I don’t allow anything that tries to “enhance” or “personalize” my experience. If you’re not worried about privacy and prefer an enhanced, personalized experience, feel free to allow these.
- Consider turning on the Find My Device feature. It requires location permission.
After the initial setup screens, your computer may prompt you to install additional updates. When they are complete, your computer will likely be rebooted. If not, reboot anyway.
Personalizing Your Profile
Log in to your new profile. There are likely some icons on the desktop in the taskbar. If you decide you don’t need them, you can right-click and delete/unpin them.
General Settings
If you like the default desktop wallpaper, great! If not, here’s how to change it.
Here are some other settings I change when I get a new computer:
- Change the amount of time it takes for your display to turn off, your computer to sleep, and your hard disk to hibernate. Start menu>settings icon> search for “edit power plan”>change advanced power settings
- Change whether you need to log back in after the computer wakes from sleep. Start Menu>Settings>Accounts>Sign-in Options>If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in? You can increase the time or turn it off.
- I hide the news and weather widget in the taskbar. I don’t know why it bugs me. It just does. Right-click taskbar>taskbar settings>Toggle off “Widgets.”
You can find more personalization options in Settings>Personalization. You may also want to review the options in Settings>Privacy and Security.
Internet Browser and PDF Viewer
By default, Microsoft Edge is set as the default internet browser. It’s not my favorite, so I usually only use it the first day I have the computer – to download Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Downloading a second browser is optional, but there are some Edge settings you may want to consider.
This is another situation where you are prompted multiple times to give up your data in favor of an “enhanced” or “personalized” experience. At one point during the initial setup, it asked for permission to check other browsers installed on the machine to copy bookmarks and other settings. That seemed pretty bold to me, so I refused. If you would find that convenient, go ahead and allow it.
If your browser of choice offers a sign-in option, bookmarks you created on your last computer should be duplicated on the new machine when you sign in. If not, or if you’ve never signed in, you can export your bookmarks from the old machine and import them to the new one. Instructions for Chrome | Firefox.
If you do add a second browser, you can set it as the default in Start>Settings>Apps>Default Apps. The easiest way is to use the second search box to search for the browser’s name. By setting it as the default, all links clicked in the future will open in your preferred browser unless you specify otherwise.
I use this process to set Adobe Reader as the default PDF reader after it’s installed. Browsers can open PDFs for reading and printing, but in my experience, Adobe Reader is more reliable for printing. You can download the Adobe Reader installation file from the Adobe website (free). Take care to uncheck any boxes that agree to install additional software or utilities during installation.
Security Software
Windows ships with a helpful security program, but the best practice is to install a second antivirus software. Note that I only recommend installing two antivirus products if one of them is the Windows Security app that is already installed. Otherwise, conflicts could occur.
Recommendations for the best security software change year to year, but in general, I’ve had good experiences with the free versions of BitDefender and Avast. There are also paid antivirus programs available, but it’s up to you whether you’d like to invest.
Back Up Your Files
All new Windows computers ship with a free version of OneDrive installed. OneDrive is software that allows one to back up chosen folders to cloud storage automatically. A Microsoft account is required, and the free plan includes 5 GB of storage. If you don’t have Microsoft account, and you didn’t sign up for one when you configured the computer, you can create one on the Microsoft account creation page.
For more information about OneDrive and how to use it, please refer to our prior post about OneDrive.
Summary
While everyone has different needs and preferences when it comes to the computer they use, some setup steps are standard for all Windows 11 PCs. Configuring a new computer can be overwhelming, but following the instructions in this post is a solid start.
