OS Clean Install

With the launch of Windows 7 just under 6 weeks away I thought I should share with you what are the first things I do with a clean install of Windows (after doing it so many times over the past few months I have formed a routine). You will find that if you do a clean install of Windows 7 on your PC you will get the best from it, this obviously means you need to back everything up but I think it is worth it, if you buy a new PC you will be starting from scratch anyway.

Firstly the Internet

I have found that most drivers for wireless adaptors can be installed by Windows straight away with no issues, but you might want to try and have a wired connection or the install disks at hand for the adaptor to ensure you can get on the internet. You might want to check Windows Updates before doing anything else to make sure you hardware is all running with the latest drivers.

I tend to open up Internet Explorer first (or whatever browser was chosen in the the browser ballot) and follow the instructions for first time use, such as using suggested sites. I then go about setting up my home page and choosing which toolbars are displayed, not something major but I prefer a skinnier browser than the default.

Next the Applications

Once I am able to get on the internet and have the browser how I want it I download Microsoft Security Essentials Beta, a very good free anti virus from Microsoft, it is still in beta at the moment and can only be downloaded from Softpedia, I am not even sure if that is allowed.

While Microsoft Security Essentials is installing I go to download.live.com to get the Windows Live Essentials suite because to me they are definitely essential and I wouldn’t enjoy using my PC nearly as much without them. Thankfully its a nice small download as it downloads the application properly when you have started the installation. Its a bit of a shame that Internet Explorer has to be closed for the Windows Live Essentials to be installed so one can’t do much else during that time apart from customising your PC, which is further down the page.

When I am able to use Internet Explorer again I will download Live Mesh from mesh.com and the Zune PC Software from Zune.net. Live Mesh is a great way to keep your folders synchronised across multiple PCs, Macs and Windows Phones. I have a Zune so I need the software but I also enjoy using it as my main media player as it has a vey nice interface.

One other set of applications that I always use, and so do most people, is Office so I install that, whether it is from a disk or a download. Obviously over time there are many other applications I download and install but these are the applications I make sure I install first, they just happen to all be Microsoft ones.

Finally the Customisation

All the above could be the same for any version of Windows however the customisation is only for Windows 7.

Desktop

I like an uncluttered desktop but there are three shortcuts I do include on it and that is “Computer”, “Michael” (my main folder) and the “Recycle Bin”. To get “Computer” and “Michael” on the desktop you will need to click on the start orb and then right click on “Computer” and click “Show on Desktop” and repeat for “Michael”.

Another thing I have on my Desktop are gadgets, again I don’t have many, just the clock, calendar and weather. To place gadgets on the Desktop right click anywhere and click “Gadgets” this open a windows and you just drag the gadgets you want to where you want them on the Desktop then close the window and you are done. To edit the appearance of information of the gadget you just need to hover over the gadget and you will see a few controls to the top right, click the one like a spanner and alter what you need too.

One final thing you can do to customise your computer is to change the wallpaper, again to do this right click on the Desktop but this time choose “Personalise”. In this window you can choose some of the preset Themes or choose your own from the 4 options at the bottom, I enjoy using my own wallpapers that you can browse for in the Desktop Background window; you can also set a slideshow of wallpapers by selecting multiple ones. There are other things you can change with the Personalise windows including the colour of the window borders, the sounds used by Windows and the screen saver, all of which follow easy to follow instructions.

Start Menu

The default Start Menu is alright but I prefer to pin some programs to it and add to some of the locations on the right side of it.

To pin applications to the Start Menu search for them using the search bar at the bottom and once you have it just right click it and click “Pin to Start Menu”.

To add more options to the Start Menu right click on an empty piece of the Start Menu and click “Properties”, you will see a “Customize” button at the top, if you click that you can select which places you want shown, its a shame you can’t put your own chooses of place, but I find the selection adequate. There are a few other options in the Properties windows if you want to change them too.

Taskbar

Perhaps my favourite feature of the new Operating System is the taskbar and it perhaps the one with the most customisation. I pin most of the applications I mentioned above to the taskbar as I use them so often it means I don’t have to look for them in the Start Menu and can access them whatever I am doing on the PC.

You will notice that there are some icons already in the taskbar, like the Quicklaunch icons in previous version of Windows, these are “pinned” applications and any application can be pinned, you can even “pin” folders to the taskbar too. To pin a program to the taskbar you can either open the application and then right click its icon in the taskbar and click “Pin this program to taskbar” or right click on the application in the Start Menu, after searching, and right click and then click “Pin to Taskbar”.

To “pin” specific folders to the taskbar just drag the folder’s icon down to the taskbar, you might think it hasn’t been pinned but all folders will appear behind the same icon so to access you need to click on the Windows Explorer icon, this causes a Jumplist to appear where you can click on the pinned folder and view recently accessed folders. You will notice as new applications come out there will be more options in the Jumplists.

One final thing I customise is the notification down in the bottom right hand corner to remove clutter from the Taskbar, to do this click the up arrow and then then click Customize. In the window that pops up you will a list of all the programs that can display notifications in the area, I set nearly all of them to “Only show notifications” and only have Network, Volume and Live Mesh shown.