Well its that time of year when you get an awesome gift of a new computer, but before you go all out un boxing and a mad dash to get it all setup there are a few things to consider.
1. Do you need any files or applications from your current machine? its much easier to backup a desktop when its all hooked up, a notebook on the other hand is portable so you can have it at the ready! Getting personal files off the machine is a simple copy and paste from USB drives, Microsoft Office , Photoshop and more will require a full installation so have your login credentials or installation media ready!
2. Take this time to tidy cables – Lets be honest here when you get a machine under the desk is a tangled mess of who knows what! Lets make life a bit easier in the future and organize the cables under the computer. Power Cables can be secured in place with Zip Ties or Velcro Tape, USB devices I prefer to use Velcro tape here just in case you need to replace or move a device. Trust me this will make replacing components or even cleaning under the desk much easier!
3. Protection. So its new you don’t have to worry right? Wrong! Make sure you system has been plugged into a Surge Protector or UPS Power. Sorry folks that 8 Dollar Wal-Mart power bar will not help you here.
The Difference between a Surge Protector and a UPS:
Surge Protector will keep you electrons safe in the event of a power outage \ Electrical Storm. If your house gets hit with lightning the surge protector should take the extra power and not divert it to your electronics
A UPS does the same thing but in the event of a power outage you have a battery that will let you safely save your work and shutdown the system, or if you are not home or in the middle of the night most UPS are smart enough to shutdown the computer for you.
4. Anti Virus. Before you go on a installation spree and get every little icon back on your desktop, the first thing you should do is install or update your antivirus program. Most new desktop (unless you have a custom built) come with a trial version of some flavor of AV. Stinn Tech Recommends BitDefender Anti Virus as an easy to use high rated AV solution. So update \ install your AV then start transferring files and installing programs last thing you need on a new system is a bug causing you grief.
5. Update update update. This one can be bothersome. Windows 10 updates can be a long road or even MAC updates can
so slow at times. But then again if you get them done now before you install other programs your life will be easier. I think about it this way; If Windows has updates and Adobe has updates they are both pulling from the internet and will slow down the other installation. So lets get Windows out of the way and make room for all the rest of your programs.
6. Backup. Once you have your computer the way you want it its time to create a backup! Windows 10 has a nice backup plan that is easy to setup with an external drive make sure you have a quality drive as windows will constantly backup to it. If you want a hassle free backup solution Stinn Tech Recommends Carbonite so a online backup solution.
Last — RUN the computer, run the sytem for a couple of days, if you get problems they should show in the first week or two, lemons happen but if you only run your computer once a week chances of these error popping up are more slim then running a computer each day.
Enjoy the system!
As always Stinn Tech would be happy to setup your System and even transfer Data from your old system to the new one just give us a call and will can make it happen!
403 601 6281