We can all enjoy the holidays. It can be frustrating to try and configure that new PC on Christmas Day, but here are some tips that can make the whole experience more efficient and less time consuming.
Start by planning to upgrade/replace. As odd as this sounds, everything will wear-out sooner or later, and a few minutes you spend to catalog what you need to configure that new PC along with deliberately saving packing materials may make it easier for you to re-cycle that system or dispose of it in a manner that allows easy reuse.
Hard drives will need to be formatted to remove your personal information and the re-installed with the old OEM data and software. Make sure you look into a “full system restore in the back of the manual and be prepared from day one to do this.
Some applications that can perform recovery can also be used to save an image of that system when it was new.
Locate the registration information and the original product manuals. Keep them in a safe place.
Use the files and settings Transfer Wizard if you have a Windows PC.
The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard helps you move your data files and personal settings from your old computer to your new one, without having to go through much of the same configuration you did with your old computer. For example, you can take your personal display properties, folder and taskbar options, and Internet browser and e-mail settings from your old computer and place them on the new one. The wizard will also move specific files or entire folders, such as My Documents, My Pictures, and Favorites. Passwords are not moved with program settings when you use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. This is a feature of the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard that helps to keep your passwords confidential.
Keep a setup script or list of programs that were installed.
- If you need to perform a recovery, it provides an abbreviated step by step process to complete the recovery. You can include notes about patches or help files used to fix problems you found when installing the computer.
- An inventory of links inside of a word document can make finding the same files used a breeze.
I use Google to search for reported error messages during setup. From the results, only use the solutions stated as being effective at solving the problem in the reply.
