I recently received an email from Emmanuel. He has watched friends and family members receive a new computer many times, and then promptly do something to inadvertently harm it. Or worse… they don’t properly set the machine up! He asked me to pass along his email, in the hopes it may help you get started once you receive your next machine.

First of all, unpack carefully. How many times have I heard about people having issues with a new product? Then they have to do all these sorts of things and in the process, end up damaging the computer? I’ve heard it enough times, believe me. So please, unpack with caution. Also, wait until you are in a quiet, safe spot for opening and unpacking your computer — like your desk, or your normal computing place. Bad things are possible with all of the confusion that could happen with people running around and pulling power cables or accidentally spilling something on the computer or its peripherals and documentation. So wait for the best time to unpack.

Next, when you turn on the computer, follow any directions the computer tells you. It may ask you to set the language, time, etc. Once you complete such a course, you will hopefully be greeted by the desktop. Now this is where the fun begins.

Next, remove all the pre-installed crapware. Crapware is basically trial or crippled software that gets factory installed by the manufacturer. On a Mac, usually you would get iLife, which is a great suite of creative applications that are pretty awesome and are the only things pre-installed usually. On a Linux computer, you will see a lot of pre-installed software, however, they actually are not trial or crippled software either. On a Windows computer, well, that is not usually the case. So go to the Add/Remove feature in Windows in remove everything that is unnecessary, except the trial anti-virus that comes with the computer usually. You will need some way to protect yourself until you get a decent anti-virus. Then, get your computer updated as soon as possible. Once you are done, we move on.

Next, get your favorite anti-virus software and remove the old one. Nod32 is about the best anti-virus software there is. For a free anti-virus, use AVG Free Edition.

Next, get your favorite applications, as well as hardware drivers installed. Firefox and OpenOffice are wonderful examples, and plus they are FREE! So check those out. Get your driver discs, software discs, etc. Install what you need. This is important — the less unnecessary software you have, the faster your computer will be. Trust me.

Finally, restore your documents from a backup or transfer from your previous computer. And then you are done! In the end, you will have a nice, fast, new computer that has been tweaked to suit your needs.

How to Unbox and Set Up a New Computer