First of all, the new system is kickin’, and thanks for asking. Systemax did a first-class job of putting it together according to specifications; it was delivered promptly via TigerDirect and UPS, and everything was satisfactory out of the box. Performance is all I could want. You can’t really appreciate Google Earth and WinAmp visuals until you’ve seem them kicked in the butt by a 3.2 GHz dual-core with lots of video memory. 🙂 and 🙂 again.

Since this is the winter holiday and lots of folks will be getting new computers, I thought I’d take a few minutes to tell you how I set mine up. Getting things right the first time takes a while, but it can save you a bunch of pain, on down the line. These remarks apply to PCs running Windows. They can probably be modified for Macs. If you’re running Linux, you’re on your own, but you probably know what you’re doing without reading this, anyway.

A. Always unpack everything before you start setting the system up. I made sure all the goodies were out of the boxes where I could find them. I did not throw the packaging away! I might have had to pack that puppy up and send it back.

B. I opened the case, and made sure to discharge any static electricity by touching a piece of bare metal on the inside of the case. A static spark on a cold day, or in an air-conditioned environment, can easily deliver several hundred volts Your processor and mother board operate on 3 volts. You don’t have to be an electrical engineer to figure out the results of introducing one to the other. After discharging any static, I reseated all the plugs and cards. Basically, if there was an electrical connection visible, I made sure it was tight. If this seems scary, skip this step. It probably won’t matter. Stuff does get loose in transit, or because a worker who needed a break didn’t push on both ends of a RAM chip, so it’s a good idea.

Making sure everything is seated and (in the case of memory) locked in can help avoid problems from thermal creep, a phenomenon that causes loosening with repeated changes in temperature. This is fairly common in high-speed machines with processors and power supplies that run quite hot, especially if they are shut down and restarted frequently.

While you’re inside, make sure all the cables and wires are clear of the fans. If you’re comfortable doing it, a few plastic ties and some careful bundling can keep things out of the way and improve airflow through the system. Cooler is always better when it comes to electronics! This should be done at the factory, but often isn’t.

C. I hooked everything up according to the directions that came with the system. (Follow the directions!) I took my time, and double-checked every step. In the past, I’ve wasted a lot of time on computers because I hurried a setup and got a speaker plug in the wrong hole, or some similar silly mistake. Once I forgot to plug a DSL cable into the phone line in the other room. Wasted a bunch of time on that, wondering what was wrong with the modem. Taking your time saves time in the long run. I left the modem disconnected, because I didn’t yet know if there was security software installed. (Check, don’t assume; see the note below.)

D. I booted the system. It ran just fine. (If if won’t boot, call the support line. You have a warranty, so use it.)

E. If D goes well, this is a must! I right clicked on the My Computer icon, and went to Properties, Hardware, Device Manager and checked the list. Everything was fine. (If any of the items on the list are flagged with exclamation points or red Xs, call tech support.)

F. From Device Manager, I clicked on View-Show Hidden Devices. Again, everything was fine. (Make a note of any red X’s. They may indicate a problem, or simply equipment that is disabled because it isn’t needed.)

G. I checked to make sure a firewall and antivirus programs were installed and operating. My system came with Computer Associates’ antivirus, and Windows Firewall was enabled. I later uninstalled CA and replaced it with NOD32, a far better antivirus choice, supplanting Windows Firewall with Zone Alarm Pro for the same reason. Even ZA’s free firewall is far superior to the native Windows firewall, which only blocks incoming traffic. I made sure that everything was safe for going online. Then I enabled the DSL.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Never go online over a broadband connection without a firewall! You are absolutely guaranteed to pick up unwanted malware, viruses and trojans in the first unprotected minute. You might get away with it for a short time on dialup, but you will lose the bet if you have broadband. I can’t overemphasize this. I learned it the hard way.

H. I set Windows Update to Automatic, and ran it several times until I had all the available “Critical” updates from Microsoft. My copy of XP Pro came with Service Pack 2, so that saved considerable time. (Be sure to run WU several times. Sometimes it misses patches.)

I. I then spent a couple or three hours using every single feature of the system. I went online to sites I usually visit, including some with secure connections. I printed. I played with the word processing programs and printed with them. I printed some images; saved some files; wrote something to a DVD and made sure it played. Everything worked.

Pay special attention to any of the red Xs you noted in F, and mess with the systems they relate to. Make sure everything works properly. Everything. If it doesn’t, call tech support. There is no point in trying to solve a system problem yourself when your PC is under warranty. You may find a temporary fix, then discover later that the problem exists in a different form. Remember, you’ll be living with this box for several years. You wouldn’t pay several hundred dollars for a purebred dog or cat without having a little cough checked out thoroughly, would you – and would you do it yourself?

J. I ran a full virus scan, and since I had a malware scanner in ZA Pro, I ran that, too. No sense taking chances on messing up the next step.

K. Using Acronis True Image 7.0 (available here for free), I first made a bootable recovery CD (Acronis walks you through it), then backed up the entire C:\ drive, naming the backup “Perfect Factory Install.” Later, I burned an image of the backup to DVD. This, along with Acronis’ Restore Manager, will allow me to return the machine to like-new condition later if I have to replace a drive, format for some reason, or (eek!) replace the machine.

L. Go here for a bunch of other tweaks I made to the system, courtesy of Fred Langa and his Langalist (now Windows Secrets) newsletter – the best tech newsletter for “the rest of us” on the Web, in my opinion. Quite frankly, this whole checklist was lifted from Fred some time ago, and modified for my purposes. Thanks, Fred!

M. I downloaded OpenOffice 2.0 Professional, Firefox, WinAmp, FastStone Image Viewer and several other programs I use regularly, installing them and PestPatrol (One CA program that I like just fine; they haven’t messed it up yet.) It’s a good idea to do the downloading ahead of time and burn the installers to CD if you know you’ll be setting up a new system. It saves time, and also saves forgetting apps you’ll need later.) I also installed Serif PhotoPlus and several other programs for which I had CDs.

N. After downloading Carbonite, I installed it and set it on restore, downloading 10 GB of data and images I had backed up to their servers. This was the second time in two weeks I’ve used their service, and it was again impeccable. It took about 18 hours, but was easier than transferring the files from Elsie to Bodhi, the new machine. (It arrived on Bodhi Day, the Buddhist winter holiday.) Besides, that gave me most of Saturday and Sunday to tweak and play with the new PC.

O. When the whole machine was the way I like it, backups downloaded, toolbars tweaked, icons distributed and what have you, I ran another virus and malware scan and defragged everything. Then I made another image and called it “Perfect Setup, Ready 2 Go.” This, too, was burned to DVD. (With dual HDDs that isn’t essential, but something could destroy the physical system. Why take chances for the cost of a DVD-R? (You will need a dual-layer burner, or software that can split an image onto multiple disks, if your backup is more than about 4.5 GB.)

I now have a new system, set up the way I like it on a great PC, that I can duplicate again any time I want to. Acronis True Image is set up to do incremental backups daily, so the D:\ hard drive will always have a restorable copy of the OS and all my data. Acronis sets up a safe partition that only it can access, so even if the rest of the system is corrupted by a horrible bug, I can format the C:\ drive and restore everything. If the D:\ drive is corrupted, I can still get back to a usable setup quickly with the DVDs, and – remember – I have Carbonite. It’s not perfect, but it’s not a bad way to set up. Even though it sounds like a lot of trouble, it’s worth every minute to know that the ‘puter’s just fine, and will remain so.

Happy holidays, and may all your glitches be restorable!