Check the latest instructions for installing a fresh operating system.
Check the latest instructions for installing a fresh operating system.
Hey there. When setting up an OS, whether it's a brand new machine or a fresh install on an existing PC, do you have a standard process in mind for configuration and software installation? I've learned to save all the frequently downloaded utilities onto a USB drive to streamline the setup. Does anyone have a checklist tailored for specific setups—like gaming rigs, workstations, or general computers? Thanks!
Mainly: OS setup, drivers, updates, removing bloatware apps, using Ninite and classic shell, MS Office. These steps work the same for all my Windows 10 installations. I’m not using Windows 7 or 8 anymore.
It relies on whether I’m doing a fresh setup or not. Most of the time it’s scheduled for my machine. I’ll have all drivers prepared on a separate drive, remove them once the OS is installed, handle updates, Classic Shell, and important apps. Download and save those ahead of time or keep links handy. Run the installation a few times to complete everything, adjust network drivers, install Steam, verify game compatibility, and fine-tune the theme. Then reapply overclock settings, save drivers that work, and maintain a list of key programs with downloads.
Depends, if you're doing this for a company or business where there's a ton of workstations to deploy, just take an image of a sysprepped machine and reimage all the computers. Also have a good group policy set up and let that take care of all the nitty gritty stuff for particular users / departments. For one-off projects such as a friends pc, most of the time these are bought from a store (pre-built) and then plug and play, windows 10 is smart enough to do mostly everything you need to do anyways. There is a lot of bloat indeed as @NelizMastr mentioned which you should remove.
After completing the w10 installation and being greeted at the desktop, opening the start menu will reveal many unnecessary items such as the Xbox app, Candy Crush, Minecraft, etc. You should remove these from the start menu and use Add/Remove Programs to delete everything you can. On Windows 10 education or enterprise versions, you'll gain more control over this clutter—but home users and professionals will still face challenges or need to use PowerShell scripts across all profiles. (Not advised unless you've backed up your system first) Additionally, relying on the traditional shell interface is purely a personal choice and will alter the graphical user interface. I don't personally use it.
I'm planning to set up Win10 soon. I'll also update most of my programs, making it a fresh install. I need OS drivers and updates regularly. Sometimes multiple driver installers run at once, and they warn if some don't like the company during setup. I usually reboot after that. Software and updates are frequent, so I don't use Ninite—I prefer choosing where to install things. In the past, now I'll move everything to a 500GB SSD, keeping essentials on C drive. I'll install only the necessary apps: browsers, Thunderbird, VLC, Bitdefender, Discord, Skype, etc. Less important stuff and games will go to C. Or I'll move the games I play most often. I'll adjust settings manually and back up them, then redo everything else. The rest will follow naturally.