WINDOWS 10 - INSTALL, SET-UP, & CUSTOMIZE

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1 WINDOWS 10 - INSTALL, SET-UP, & CUSTOMIZE Jim McKnight Windows10_Install.lwp (tested ver 1709, build 16299) revised Owner Name PC & Model: Users/Passwords: Date/s: 1. If Windows 10 IS ALREADY INSTALLED, OR THIS IS A NEW PC, SKIP TO STEP 8c. 2. UPGRADING FROM WIN 7 or 8.1? Use my Windows 10 UPGRADE sheet. 3. PRODUCT KEY: If this is a fresh Install, you will need a Product Key. Normally it will be with original Install DVD. If you are re-installing Win 10 on a PC that came with it pre-installed, it should activate itself without a Product Key. 4. UEFI / BIOS: If you are upgrading a PC to Windows 10 or installing Windows 10 on an older PC, first make sure the BIOS will support Windows 10. Also make sure the Manufacturer says the PC s hardware and drivers support Windows PC HEALTH & HARD-DRIVE HEALTH: If you are installing Windows 10 on an older PC, be sure to do the following before shutting down the PC: a. Check PC temps with the SPEEDFAN Utility. Inspect the MOBO Capacitors for swelling. b. Check out the hard-drive health with HDTUNE; and CRYSTAL DISK INFO. c. Then: Clean dust from PC and Check Battery voltage > 3.0vdc. 6. 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. 7. DISCONNECT DEVICES: Unplug all USB Printer and Device cables from the PC. 8. INSTALL WINDOWS 10: a. If asked, select the language = English. b. If asked "Where do you want to install Windows" screen: 1) If you want to format the drive, click "Drive Options (Advanced)". If not, Windows 10 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. Microsoft wants you to install Win 10 as a live.com User Account. If you do not plan to use the Microsoft Cloud services, I recommend creating your User Account as a Local Account.. d. If possible, connect to a Network. e. Choose Set up for Personal Use f. Click Offline Account. If it asks to sign in with Microsoft instead, answer No. g. User Account Name: Although the Account you create during the install will be an "Administrator authority account at first, be sure to name this first User Account with the user name you want for daily use. (NOTE: Later you can 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 10. h. Privacy Settings are all No. Uncheck Accept McAfee terms if offered. i. Computer Name: Choose something useful like the make and model number: DELL-XPS TIME/DATE VERIFY: Double verify these ALL are correct: Time, AM/PM, Date, Year, & Time Zone. 10. PRIVACY SETTINGS: If you have not already done so, go to (Start > Settings > Privacy) and carefully review all the Privacy options. 11. KEYBOARD FUNCTION KEYS: On laptops, make sure the Fn Function keys operate correctly. 12. SYSTEM ICONS TO THE DESKTOP: (Right-click on the Desktop > Personalize > Themes > Desktop Icon settings). Click to check to add all desired System Icons including the Control Panel to the Desktop. Page 1 of 10

2 13. CONTROL PANEL VIEW:. Verify that it is set to View by: Large Icons or Small Icons. 14. SYSTEM PROPERTIES OPTIMIZATIONS: a. COMPUTER NAME: (Control Panel < System). Verify the Computer Name and Computer Description are exactly what you want. Verify the Workgroup is what you want: To change the Workgroup, click the "Advanced system settings" button. b. STARTUP & RECOVERY: (Control Panel > System > Advanced system settings > Advanced Tab > under Startup and Recovery, click the "Settings" button). Under "System Failure", un-check the box for " Automatically Restart". 15. VIRTUAL MEMORY: (Control Panel > System > Advanced system settings > Advanced tab > Performance "Settings" button > Advanced tab). Under "Virtual Memory", click <Change>. If you only have one hard drive, make sure the box is checked for: " Automatically manage paging file size for all drives". (This is the default). If you have a second physical hard-drive, see my "Speed Up Windows 7 checklist" for tips. 16. WINDOWS FIREWALL: Make sure the Windows Firewall is turned on. (Control Panel > Windows Firewall). 17. REMOVE ANY UNNECESSARY PROGRAMS, TRIALS, & FEATURES: a. (Control Panel > 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 > Power Options) a. CHOOSE A PRELIMINARY POWER PLAN FOR THE INSTALL: Set the "Power Plan" to " High Performance". Customize the settings (by clicking Change Plan settings ) so that the PC never Sleeps or Hibernates during the install. Make sure the Power Button is set to Shutdown the PC. (Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do). 19. CREATE A RESTORE POINT: (NOTE: In Windows 10, System Protection is NOT on by default.) Turn on System Protection now! Then create a Restore Point: (Control Panel > System > Advanced system settings > System Protection tab > Create). 20. NETWORK: If not already connected, connect to the Network now (You must be on the internet to continue.) 21. ACTIVATE Windows 10: (Start > Settlings > Update & Security > Activation). It will tell you if Windows has been Activated or not. Activate now if the install looks good. 22. INITIALIZE IE11: a. Go to (Start Menu > Windows accessories > Internet Explorer Icon). Left-click and drag the Icon to the Desktop. Right click the Icon and click Pin to Taskbar. b. Open IE and go through the first-use questions. Answer the questions as desired. c. Go to (Control Panel > Default Programs) and make IE the Default Browser for now. 23. WINDOWS UPDATE: a. Go to Windows Update (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Advanced options). Check the box for: Give me updates for other Microsoft Products when I update Windows b. Run "Check for updates" and keep re-running until no more Updates are found. NOTE: Some major updates will reset many user customizations for text and readability. They will have to be redone manually. c. RUN WINDOWS UPDATE AGAIN. d. Run: WINVER and make sure the Win 10 version is at 1709 or higher 24. DEVICE MANAGER & HARDWARE DRIVERS: (Control Panel > System > 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 10 can re-detect & re-install the devices OK. Fix all these issues before continuing. Page 2 of 10

3 25. OFFICE SUITE - INSTALLATION: a. MICROSOFT OFFICE from DVD or online download.( Do this from an Administrator Account! ) 1) After installing Office, run Windows Update several times to get all Office Updates. Be sure to ACTIVATE Microsoft Office. (Office 2007 & up should automatically activate when you enter in the Product Key) 2) LIBRE OFFICE is the best free alternative to Microsoft Office 26. CREATE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR USER ACCOUNT. This is the account you will use only for Program installs and other administrator tasks. This account should be an Administrator authority LOCAL user Account, not a Standard User Account and you should give it a password. a. FROM AN ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORITY ACCOUNT (Go to Start > Settings > Accounts > Family and other people > Add someone else to this PC > I don t have this person s sign in information > Add user without a Microsoft account). Name it something like Admin-User1 and enter a password. Select the new Admin user and click on Change Account type. Choose Account type = Administrator. WARNING: Never change any Account NAME. If you do, the C:\Users\<Your Username> Folder name will not change and will not match your new username. Plan ahead. b. Now sign in to the new Admin user account and go back to step 31 thru step 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. 28. RESTORE USER DATA AND SETTINGS WITH FABS AUTOBACKUP: Hopefully you have already saved the data and settings from the old PC with FAB S. a. Make sure you have created all necessary new user accounts before running Fab s Restore and initialize them by signing in.. b. WARNING: Be sure to do an image backup of the new install before running this tool c. If you are migrating from an older PC, now is the time to run Fabs Autobackup to customize all your Standard User User Accounts, including all data, settings, icons, and other customizations. 29. ANTIMALWARE SCANS: FIRST: UNPLUG ANY FLASH OR EXTERNAL DRIVES! a. WINDOWS 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. b. MBAM SCAN: MalwareBytes AntiMalware: Do updates, then run a full scan on all drives. c. SAS SCAN: SuperAntiSpyware: Do updates, then run a full scan on all drives d. ESET Online Scan. Run a full-scan including archives. 30. WINDOWS UPDATE AGAIN: Manually run to ensure all Office Updates get installed. 31. UTILITY & MISC PROGRAMS INSTALL: a. NINITE Installer: 1) From an Administrator Account, go to and select the following programs, then download and run the custom installer. Note: You can close the browser while Ninite is running -FIREFOX -Thunderbird -FLASH for FIREFOX -JAVA -MalwareBytes AntiMalware -SuperAntiSpyware -CDBurnerXP -CHROME -ADOBE READER DC -LIBRE OFFICE (optional) -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: -BELARC ADVISOR -CCLEANER -CRYSTAL DISK INFO -HD TUNE -SANDBOXIE -SECUNIA PSI -SPEEDFAN TEAMVIEWER Standard user & ADMIN user -WOT -ULTRA FILE SEARCH -WINAERO ---- NEVER USE TFC (Temp File Cleaner) c. CCLEANER SETUP: Go to Options and DISABLE both System Monitoring and Active Monitoring. 32. UEFI / BIOS UPDATE: Go to the Manufacturers website and see if any important/recommended UEFI/BIOS updates are available. WARNING: Be aware there always is a risk of permanently damaging the motherboard while doing a BIOS flash. Page 3 of 10

4 33. LCD BRIGHTNESS (Laptops only): (Control Panel > 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 on a laptop. This should only need to be done once. 34. *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. 35. DISPLAY and DESKTOP SET-UP: a. MAKE ALL TEXT, APPS, AND OTHER ITEMS LARGER: (Scaling set to: %) 1) SCALE AND LAYOUT: (Start > Settings > System > Display > Scale and layout. Change the size of text, apps, and other items). Click on Custom scaling. Choose %. WARNING: If you make this value larger than 125%, it may cause text box in some programs to only display the first few words of the sentence. 2) LOWER DISPLAY RESOLUTION (Start > Settings > System > Display > Resolution). Set to Recommended setting. NOTE: If everything is too tiny and small on the screen, you can lower the resolution from the LCD s Native resolution to make everything larger and hopefully easier to read. WARNING: On some displays this can have a negative affect on the clarity of text and images. b. DESKTOP ICONS: Drag any desired Program Start Icons to the Desktop. Note: To drag Program Start Icons from the Start Menu to the Desktop, use a LEFT-CLICK and drag (Not a right-click and drag as in Windows 7). c. THEME: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes). Change the Theme settings as desired. NOTE: Themes affect visuals, sounds, buttons, mouse pointer, screen saver, and other system elements. When done, click "Save Theme". Name the new Theme, then click Save. Note: You will be saving the Theme again after finishing the customizations. d. BACKGROUND IMAGE (WALLPAPER): ( Start > Settings > Personalization > Background ). Choose Picture, then Browse and choose a background image. Note: You can also download images to the Pictures folder or create a folder for a slide show and select Slideshow. e. COLORS: Window Accent Colors: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Colors) By default, the Taskbar and other backgrounds are BLACK. I suggest you make the following changes: 1) Choose a desired accent color that suits the Wallpaper picture. 2) Turn OFF Transparency effects. 3) Turn ON Start, taskbar, and action center. 4) Turn ON Title Bars. f. LOCK SCREEN (Sign-in Screen): (Start > Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen). 1) Turn OFF Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.??? 2) Turn ON Show Lock Screen background picture on the sign-in screen. Note: You can choose a different picture, if desired. 3) Go to the Cortana Lock Screen Settings and turn OFF all notifications. g. SCREEN SAVER: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen > Screen saver settings). Set as desired. h. START: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Start). I leave these Start Menu options at the defaults. i. CLEARTYPE TUNE: You should turn on ClearType. (Search Cleartype or Run: CTTUNE). Check the box: Turn on ClearType. click "Next". Follow the instructions for "ClearType Tuning". j. ICON TEXT & MENU TEXT SIZE AND BOLDNESS: Use the free WINAERO TWEAKER utility to do this. Make sure you click the Apply Changes button after each change or nothing will happen. More details can be found in my Windows 10 Improve Display Readability writeup. k. DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS (LAPTOPS ONLY): (Start > Settings > System > Display). Adjust Brightness. l. IMPROVE DISPLAY READABILITY: If you want to customize other 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 10. m. SAVE YOUR CUSTOM THEME: ( Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes ). Click Save Theme : Name your custom Theme and click Save. n. REBOOT: Be sure to Reboot at this point and then make sure all the new settings took correctly Page 4 of 10

5 36. SOUNDS: Go to: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes > Sounds). a. Click to check the box for Play Windows Startup sound. NOTE: To make it play on each boot, you have to disable a power option called Fast Boot. b. If you do not like the sounds connected with your default or chosen visual theme, you can download Themes from the Internet that include new Sound Schemes. You can then customize the Theme s look and feel while keeping the new sounds. Be sure to saye the Theme when done. c. Check that you can hear the system Sounds OK. (Control Panel > Sound) d. Test that you can hear sound at the Front Panel Headphone Jack and that it cuts off the speaker sound when a headphone is plugged in. 37. MOUSE & TOUCHPAD: (Start > Settings > Devices > Mouse) and (Start > Settings > Devices > Touchpad) a. Buttons Tab: Set the double-click speed as slow as possible (Slider to the left). b. Pointers Tab. 1) Choose the "Magnified (system scheme) Pointer Scheme or find a "Normal Select" custom pointer with the <Browse> button. 2) Disable the Pointer Shadow by un-checking the box for " Enable Pointer Shadow". c. Pointer Options Tab: Check the box for " Automatically move the pointer to the default button" and check the box for " Show location of Pointer when I press the <Ctrl> key". d. Device Settings / TAP: On a Laptop, I 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".). Click <OK> to exit 38. THEME SAVE: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes). Click "Save Theme". Name the new Theme, then click Save. 39. ADD/REMOVE ICONS ON THE DESKTOP: 1) System Icons: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop Icon settings). If not already done, add the System Icons on the desktop. This PC (Computer), User s Files, Recycle Bin, Control Panel. 2) Start Menu Icons: LEFT-CLICK and drag any desired Shortcuts to the Desktop NOTE: Windows 10 no longers allows you to drag start icon Folders to the desktop, just Icons. 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 > New > Folder). 5) Unwanted Icons: Delete any unwanted Icons from the Desktop. 40. AUTOPLAY: If desired, turn off AutoPlay. (Start > Settings > Devices > Autoplay). Switch off Autoplay. 41. FILE EXPLORER OPTIONS SET-UP (Folder Options) 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; (View > Options > "Change folder and search options" > View tab). Click Apply to Folders. b. Folder View Options: (Control Panel > File Explorer Options > View Tab > 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) : Always show menus. Display full path in the title bar -- Hidden files and folders Show Hidden files, folders, and drives. Hide empty drives. Hide extensions for known file types UN-CHECK THIS! Hide protected operating system files. Show Drive Letters. Show encrypted or compressed NTFS Folders & files in color. Show sync provider notifications UN-CHECK THIS! 2) Click <Apply> Page 5 of 10

6 42. TASKBAR: a. TASKBAR COLOR: (Start > Settings > Personalization > Colors) If not already done, turn OFF Transparency effects. Turn ON Show color on the following surfaces: Start, Taskbar, and action center. Turn ON Show color on Title bars. 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: " 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 ICONS: (Right-click Taskbar > Settings > Taskbar > Select which Icons appear in the Taskbar). Click to turn on Always show all icons.... If you are short on space, choose just the Icons you want or make the Cortana Icon smaller. Turn OFF any undesired Notifications. 43. INTERNET EXPLORER 11 : 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. Then on the Menu Bar, click on View > Toolbars and activate all the desired toolbars one at a time. 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 > Internet Options > General Tab). 1) Under browsing History; Click the Delete button and make sure all desired items are checked. 2) Now click the Delete button on that windows to exit the "Delete browsing History" Window. 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 To change it to or some other desired page: First go to the desired website/s. Then (click Tools > Internet Options > General tab). Click the "Use current" button, then OK to exit. e. WOT: Install the WOT Addon for IE. f. CACHE SIZE: (Tools > Internet Options > General Tab). Under Browsing History, click Settings & select 250 g. DEFAULT SEARCH ENGINE: Using IE11, go to: select your preferred Search Provider and make it the default. h. TOOLBARS: 1) Delete all the unwanted default Favorites that Microsoft installed on the Favorites Bar. 2) Add custom Links for etc. 3) Customize the Toolbars as desired by unlocking them and moving items around. (Right-click in the toolbar area and click Lock the toolbars to uncheck). 4) Lock the toolbars 44. FIREFOX (57+) and CHROME a. SET UP MENUS & TOOLBARS: Right-click to the right of any tab and click Menu Bar. Then click VIEW and check each toolbar desired so it shows up. b. HOMEPAGE: Set Default Homepage/s as desire: (Tools > Options > General tab). c. BOOKMARKS BAR: Drag any desired Icons to the Bookmarks Toolbar. d. SECURE FIREFOX: (Tools > Options > Privacy tab) 1) Under History : Choose: Firefox will Use custom settings for History 2) Under Tracking Protection, choose Always and Always again. Accept third-party cookies. Choose Never. 3) Check the box for: Clear history when Firefox closes. Click <Settings> and choose the desired items.. e. WOT add-on: Install the add-on and test it. f. DEFAULT SEARCH ENGINE: (Tools > Options > Search tab). Select GOOGLE as default. Uncheck and remove BING and YAHOO. Page 6 of 10

7 45. CHOOSE DEFAULT APPS: (Start > Settings > Apps > Default Apps.). Music = WMP, Video = WMP or VLC, BROWSER = FIREFOX. Choose your preferred Apps. There is a new app called Stop Resetting My Apps. Download and put it on the Desktop. It will prevent Windows Updates from resetting the Defaults to what Microsoft wants. 46. ONE DRIVE: STOP MICROSOFT ONE DRIVE POPUPS: a. Right-click the OneDrive Icon in the Notification area, (Click Settings > Settings tab). Uncheck the box for Automatically start OneDrive with Windows. Click OK. Right click OneDrive Icon again and click Exit b. Turn off OneDrive Notifications: (Settings > System > Notifications) Turn off Notifications for Microsoft OneDrive. WARNING: Any updates to OneDrive usually resets these settings. 47. ADOBE READER DC (or Foxit Reader) a. Install Reader or Acrobat, not both, and check for updates until no more show up. (If downloading the free Acrobat Reader, be sure to UN-CHECK " Add Google Toolbar" every time it asks) b. Open the program to initialize it and click Yes to accept the EULA. c. Set it as the Default Reader. (Within Acrobat Reader click Edit > Preferences). Click on Select As Default PDF Handler OFFICE SUITE - INITIALIZATION (It must be customized for each User Account) a. For MICROSOFT OFFICE: Open Office Word and make sure it opens OK and is activated. b. For LIBRE OFFICE 1) DEFAULTS: Set up LIBRE OFFICE to be the default program for all kinds of Office files. (Control Panel > Default Programs > Set your default Programs). Click "LIBRE OFFICE". Click "Set this Program as default". Make sure it has all of its defaults. 2) DEFAULT SAVE FORMAT: (Set the default "Save" format. (Open any LIBRE Office Program. Go to Tools > Options > Load/Save > General). Select a save format of "Microsoft Word XML". Do similar for Spreadsheets and Presentations. 49. NOTIFICATIONS: Go to (Settings > system > Notificatons & actions): I recommend turning them all off except for Security and Maintenance. Be sure to at least turn off Get Tips, tricks and suggestions at you use Windows.. Turn OFF: Notifications for Microsoft OneDrive if you don t use it. 50. SECURITY & ANTI-MALWARE PROTECTION: a. BROWSER SECURITY WOT: Verify the WOT add-on is installed on all browsers and for all Users. SANDBOXIE: (Use Sandboxie version or higher with Windows 10 build 1709??? ) Set up and test SANDBOXIE for all Users. See my Sandboxie writeup for details. SET UP SANDBOXIE PRINT PERMISSIONS = (Configure > Edit Configuration), Scroll down to the DefaultBox settings. At the end of the DefaultBox settings, add the line: AllowSpoolerPrintToFile-Y and be sure it is followed by a blank line. b. ANTI-MALWARE PROGRAM ICONS: On each Program Icon, (Click Properties > Shortcut tab > "Advanced" button). Check the box for " Run as Administrator". 1) 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. 2) ESET ON-Line SCAN: Download the ESET online scanner app: esetonlinescanner_enu.exe and drag it to the new Anti Malware Programs folder. 51. MAIN USER ACCOUNT - CHANGE TO STANDARD USER : Once the new Admin Account is tested and its password works OK, go to the Admin user account and go to (Start > Settings > Accounts > Family and other people) and change your main user account type to to Standard User authority. 52. CREATE ADDITIONAL "STANDARD" USERS as needed. a. From the Administrator Account, manually create any additional desired "Standard" user accounts. b. Repeat steps 31 through 47 for all items that apply to multiple Users. Make sure to set the AutoPlay,. properties, & 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 for each User Page 7 of 10

8 53. CLEAN TEMP FILES, COOKIES, ETC: a. CCLEANER SCAN: Run "Analyze and Clean" scans for each User. FILES cleaned: MB. b. DELETE THE WINDOWS.OLD FOLDER: From an Administrator Account, go to (This PC > right-click on Drive C > click properties > General tab). Click Disk Cleanup, then click clean up system files. Find Previous Installation files and select it. De-select all other choices and click OK to delete the folder 54. DEFRAG & OPTIMIZE: (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Defragment and Optimize Drives). a. If the hard-drive is NOT an SSD, do a Defrag and Optimize : Before: %, After: % b. If Drive is an 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 it does, uncheck it c. Defrag Schedule: Note: By default, Windows 10 defrags the C Drive on a weekly schedule. You can change the Automatic Defrag schedule Daily/Weekly/Monthly as desired and which drives 55. SCANS: a. HARD-DRIVE TESTS: 1) Run CRYSTAL DISK INFO and make sure all hard-drives show a status of GOOD. 2) Run the HD-TUNE slow error scans and make sure all hard-drives look OK. 3) Run the HD-TUNE drive benchmark speed test on all hard-drives. MB/sec b. SECUNIA PSI SCAN: Run a full scan See the Secunia Overview in my "UTILITY PROGRAMS" sheet. Issues found: 1) Make sure Secunia is configured to NOT auto-start on boot and to NOT autoupdate. 2) Resolve all insecure and end-of-life issues before continuing. 3) Drag a copy of the Secunia start Icon from the All apps menu to the Utility Programs folder. c. ANTIMALWARE SCANS: FIRST: UNPLUG ANY FLASH OR EXTERNAL DRIVES! 1) WINDOWS 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. d. Resolve all issues before continuing! 56. PASSWORD EXPIRATION: For Windows 10 PRO and ENTERPRISE only: By default, all Log-in passwords expire every 42 days. To disable Password timeout, first log in to an Administrator User Account, then go to: (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Account Policy > Password Policy). Change the maximum setting from 42 to SPEEDFAN: Benchmark PC Temperatures; With Prime 95 or some other program running to push CPU near 100%. 58. EVENT VIEWER: Review the Event Viewer logs & resolve any errors found. (Right-click Computer > Manage > Event Viewer > Windows Logs). Check both the "System" logs and "Application" logs for errors & fix them SET-UP: (Optional) a. WARNING: Only set up a Mail Client in the Standard user Account that the user uses every day. Never set up in an Administrator Authority User Account. b. MAIL APP or OUTLOOK 2007/2010 (The Windows 10 MAIL App replaces all previous Microsoft Mail clients except Microsoft Outlook.). NOTE: I think Mozilla Thunderbird is the best Client. You will have to google for tips on moving your Mail and Contacts from previous clients. c. THUNDERBIRD If desired by the user, set it up for . 1) TOOLBARS: Right-click on the lower part of the Title Bar and click to check Menu Bar, then Right-click on the lower part of the Title Bar again and click to check Mail Toolbar, 2) See my THUNDERBIRD SETUP STEP-BY-STEP for full instructions. Page 8 of 10

9 60. 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. Initialize, activate, or customize it as necessary. 2) 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 which they are related (again, check for each User). b. WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 12: 1) Open & "First time" configure it. Select "Custom Settings". During the set up wizard, be sure to UN-CHECK the box = " Download Usage rights automatically..." and check "Make Windows Media Player the default Music and Video Player". (If it was already configured, (click Tools > Options > "Privacy" tab), and make sure box for " Download usage rights automatically..." Is unchecked). 2) MENUS: Right-click in the menu area and select View. Click "Show Menu bar". 3) FILETYPES: To change any multimedia filetype associations, go to (Control Panel > Default Programs). c. MUSIC CD: Load & play a Music CD. Default music player is: d. DVD MOVIE: Load & play a DVD Movie FULL SCREEN. Default Video player is: e..jpg WINDOWS PHOTO VIEWER TEST: Open a.jpg file. Default Viewer is: f. MULTIMEDIA TESTS: Play the following file types: (The default Player is different for each type.) AU AVI MID MP3 MP4 MPG WAV WMA WMV g..doc &.DOCX: Set the default application to open these files. Default Office Program is: h. POWERPOINT TEST: Play.pps,.ppsx,.ppt, &.pptx files. Default PowerPoint viewer is: (PC must have one of these installed: Office PowerPoint, ppviewer, OpenOffice or LibreOffice). Make sure the desired default program opens properly. i. MOVIE FILE TEST: Play a video file:.mov (Use either a "regular".mov file or an "h.264".mov file). The default.mov file player (usually WMP12) is: j. PDF: Test Default PDF Reader...Default Reader: k. TEST THE DEFAULT HTM/HTML READER IS THE DEFAULT BROWSER. l. BROWSER TESTS: (CHROME, FIREFOX, IE11) (FF 32 or 64-bit, IE11 64-bit only) CH FF IE O O O FLASH/HTML5 TEST. Play a youtube video FULL SCREEN: O O O JAVA TEST. O O O PDF: Open a PDF in Browser TEST. O O O QUICKTIME VIDEO TEST: Play a QUICKTIME video: O O O WMP PLUGIN TEST. Play a video from: m. CD/DVD BURNING: Try burning a data CD & DVD. The Default CD/DVD program is: n. WIRELESS: If wireless is installed, make sure it will connect to a network and access the internet. o. WEBCAM: If the PC has a built-in webcam, open the program for it and test it. 61. POWER: (Control Panel > 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 frequently run long periods on batteries). 2) Customize detailed settings by clicking Change Plan settings. Verify that 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. Page 9 of 10

10 c. ADD HIBERNATE TO THE POWER MENU: NOTE: Hibernate is not on in the Power Menu by default. Go to (Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power button does > Change settings that are currently unavailable). Scroll down and click to check Hibernate - Show in Power Menu. Click on Save d. LAPTOPS ONLY: 1) Make sure the Battery/Power Icon set to always display in the Taskbar Notification area (Control Panel > Power Options) and (Right-click Taskbar > Properties > Taskbar Customize). 2) BATTERY TEST: Set the Power Plan to NEVER turn off the Display or Put the PC to sleep (Control Panel > 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. 62. HIBERNATE & SLEEP (Standby): Verify that Hibernate and Sleep function OK. a. NOTE 1: Hibernate and Sleep may not work on some laptops if any USB devices are plugged in and active; especially an external Keyboard and Mouse. b. NOTE 2: If the Hibernate option is still not visible in the Power menu, the PC may be using Hybrid Sleep. Turn OFF Hybrid Sleep in the Advanced Power settings. 63. BACKGROUND PROGRAMS: If desired, turn off any unnecessary background programs or services using the STARTER Utility or the CCLEANER Program. Be careful. 64. 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 IMAGE BACKUP - FINAL: 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. 66. 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 67. 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 > Recovery > Create a Recovery Drive). 68. SYSTEM PROTECTION (SYSTEM RESTORE): (Control Panel > System > 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. MAX DISK SPACE USAGE: Make sure the Drive C disk space usage Max Usage is set to 30 GB or so (Larger if desired). (Control Panel > System > System Protection > Configure). d. SET A RESTORE POINT: This a good time to create a Windows Restore Point. Click "Create". 69. USER ACCOUNT CONTROL: a. Make sure UAC is turned on and set to "Always Notify". (Control Panel > User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings). b. Make sure that all user accounts are "Standard" except for the "Admin-xxxx" User Account which should be "Administrator" (Control Panel > User Accounts < Manage another account). 70. PRINTER SOFTWARE & 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! 71. CLEAR ANY ACTION CENTER NOTIFICATIONS: Re-enable any real-time Anti-Malware protection that was disabled, then go to the Action Center, Fix and clear all Notifications. (Taskbar > click right end). 72. Make sure the CD/DVD Drive is empty before powering down the PC! Page 10 of 10