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It is very exciting buying and unboxing your new computer. Before you go too crazy using the computer for its intended purpose such as School/ Uni work, surfing the web, social media or gaming it is recommended that you take some time to perform some important setup steps first before it is ready to use. So, in this Tech Tip we outline a list of 7 critical things to do to set up your new computer.

Lets begin – how to set up a new laptop or desktop

Keep a record of your serial number

As soon as you receive your new computer one of the first things you should do, before you start to set up your new computer is you should save your serial number somewhere along with your hardware and software warranty and support and service contract. Take a picture of the serial number and keep it on your phone or in cloud storage. You can find the serial number on the box or on the device as proof of ownership (use a timestamp and location if possible). Saving Windows and Microsoft Office license keys is also a very important step just in case you need it for further use.

Create a recovery disk

The majority of new computers will come with recovery disks in the case of a disaster and you need to recover your system either from scratch or to a restore point in time. If your computer does not possess recovery media, pick your own recovery drive. It is also recommended that if you have windows, that you use the option to create a system restore point.  This will take a snapshot of your stable system you can restore to in the future if your computer crashes and will not boot into Windows.

Install antivirus and firewall

When you buy a new computer, protecting it from various kinds of viruses, malware, spyware and hackers is probably the most important step that you need to make, especially when you intend to connect your computer to the internet.

Ensure Windows update is up to date

Microsoft is always bringing out updates to their Windows operating system to fix issues and security vulnerabilities.  Take a moment to ensure that your new PC is fully up to date with Windows update. This can take minutes or even hours. But you have no option other than just waiting for the process to be completed.

Install your preferred internet browser

There are many different internet browsers out there for you to choose from such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. Choose the web browser you are familiar with to surf websites comfortably.

Update your drivers

When buying a new PC it will often come with the drivers that were available when the laptop was manufactured.  Since then there could be updates that have been released for numerous hardware components within your system.

Check your surge protector

You should never plug your laptop into any old power socket unless it has a surge protector.  This is just an extra level of protection for your hardware. If you already own one check the condition and make sure it is still safe.  If you see flashing lights on it, you should get a new one.

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