babyre: Set Up and Get to Know Your New Windows PC

Set Up and Get to Know Your New Windows PC After years of struggling with your old, sluggish Windows PC, you've finally unwrapped a shiny new computer. Here's how to get started tweaking your settings, installing programs, and beefing up security to keep it running like a dream.

Before you do anything, there are a few things you'll want to set up first:

Get to Know Windows 8: Chances are your new computer is running the latest version of Windows, so before you do anything else, it may be a good idea to get yourself acclimated. Read up on the newest features, learn how to get around with shortcuts, and dispel all those Windows 8 myths from the haters. If you want to, you can even bring back the Start menu and dig around some of its secret features.
Install Microsoft Security Essentials: Let's not sugarcoat it: Because of its popularity, Windows is one of the more vulnerable operating systems, so before you do anything, you'll want to put a few security measures in place. Microsoft Security Essentials is still our favorite antivirus app; it's free, and it's more than good enough at catching malware. Head over to Microsoft's site, download the suite, and set it to auto-scan and auto-update so you can stop fussing with it and get on to the fun stuff. Note: If you're using Windows 8, you can skip this step, since Windows Defender is already installed on your system! All you need to do is set up a regular scan.
Offload Your Computer's Bloat: Unless you built your computer yourself, it's likely the manufacturer's stuck some unsightly, unnecessary, bloated crapware on your computer that will do nothing but slow your computer down from the start. To get rid of it, download previously mentioned Revo Uninstaller and uninstall the software that shipped with your machine.
Change Up Your Theme: Okay, so it's not entirely necessary to do this before anything else, but why stare at that bland Windows wallpaper when you could be watching a slideshow of different Ferraris as you set up the rest of your computer? Microsoft's got some great themes over at its site, and there are quite a few others floating around the net as well. Grab some of our favorite wallpapers from our Wallpaper Wednesday series, and if you want to take it even further, check out our guide to fully customizing your desktop and setting up an attractive, customized desktop HUD with Rainmeter. Once you've got your desktop looking awesome, it's time to get to know Windows intimately.

Install Some Killer Programs

Now that you're computer's secure, speedy, and looking awesome, it's time to install some great software. Here are a few places you can find our favorite Windows programs.

Set Up and Get to Know Your New Windows PC

Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Best Free Windows Downloads: Looking for the best programs to keep you connected, get you organized, and amp up your productivity? Our annual Lifehacker Pack has a one-package installer for all our favorite Windows software.
Superior Alternatives to Crappy Windows Software: Before you go downloading Adobe Reader, iTunes, and the other "default" programs that everyone uses, check out our list of alternatives to crappy Windows software. You might be surprised at what other options are out there.
Most Popular Windows Downloads of 2012: Apart from our list of essential programs, there are also some really neat pieces of software we've featured over the past year. If you want to know the cool programs everyone's talking about, our 2012 list of the most popular Windows downloads and tweaks is the place to look.
The 50 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For: This Thanksgiving, you guys voted on the best free apps around. They're not all Windows downloads (though many are cross-platform), but it's a list to be reckoned with. So if you've still got a few holes after checking out the Pack and most popular, you're sure to find what you're looking for here.
Don't Wait for Windows 8; These Five Programs Will Get You a Better Windows Now: Windows 8 is already here, but these five programs are still super relevant. If you really want a better experience on the Windows desktop, these five programs are well worth their cost.
Top 10 Downloads That Enhance Windows' Built-In Tools: Windows has some nice built-in features, but sometimes they fall short of what us power users really want. Here are 10 downloads that beef up some of Windows' existing features, making them go from good to awesome.

Adjust Settings and Tweak Your System

Now that you've got the big stuff out of the way, it's time to start digging into the deeper recesses of your new Windows system.

Set Up and Get to Know Your New Windows PC

Get to Know Windows 7's Built-In Features Inside and Out: Windows 7 may not be the most recent version of Windows, but it's similar enough to Windows 8 that it's worth getting to know it inside out (along with the aforementioned Windows 8 guides). Check out our complete guide to Windows 7 to get the lowdown, and make sure to master Windows 7's shortcuts and explore its underhyped features as well. We've also looked deeply into Windows 7's jumplist, library, and taskbar, and system restore features, to if you want to be a true Windows ninja, you'll want to read up on those too.
Set Up an Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution: If you didn't have a backup before, there's no better time than now to get one set up. Never lose your documents, photos, music, and other files again. Set it up now, and forget it.
De-Mystifying the Dark Corners of Windows: The Registry, DLLs, and More Explained: If you still aren't sure how some of the more technical parts of Windows work, there's never been a better time to learn. Check out this guide to see how the Registry, DLL files, drivers, and other features work?and how they can help you tweak and customize your new PC.
Five Best Windows Tweaking Applications: If you just want to jump right in and start tweaking the heck out of your system, we've rounded up some of the best programs to help you do just that.
De-Crapify Your Printer or Scanner Setup: If you've already installed your printer, chances are it's usurped your machine by installing loads of crapware and bloated apps. Check out our how-to for cleaning it up and freeing those resources.
7 Awesome Features You've Forgotten About in Windows 7: Again, whether you're using Windows 7 or Windows 8, there are probably a few awesome features you've forgotten were there. This guide will not only remind you, but show you some awesome tweaks you can perform to make them work even better. While you're at it, you should check out how to make Windows search a million times more useful with a few simple tweaks.
Speed Up Your Computer's Boot Time: Even if you have a brand new machine, it may not be optimized for the fastest boot time. These are some of our favorite tips for speeding it up so you can get up and running in seconds.
How to Run Windows, Mac, and Linux Side by Side and Pain-Free with VirtualBox: If you ever need to use software from other OSes (or just want to test other applications), you can run Windows, OS X, and Linux side by side without ever rebooting your computer. Of course, you could also dual-boot Windows 7 and Ubuntu in perfect harmony.
How to Break into a Windows PC (And Prevent it from Happening to You): It's unlikely you'll want to break into your shiny new Windows PC, but while you're tweaking your system, you may want to read up on how potential thieves will try to break in?and tweak your passwords accordingly.
Tweak the Heck Out of Your Registry: The Windows Registry is one of the most mysterious, yet coolest features of Windows. With a bit of knowledge and some guts, you can tweak your computer to do nearly anything you want. Our Top 10 list has all the Windows Registry tweaks you could ever want.
The Cleverest Geeky Windows Tricks Everyone Should Know: After you've become an expert on Windows' well-known features, delve into our guide about some of the best hidden Windows tricks to make getting around the OS much faster.
Windows Maintenance Tips: The Good, Bad, and Useless: Now that you've got your system up and running, the last step is to make sure you keep it up and running (and running fast). We rounded up all the most popular Windows maintenance tips and showed you which ones really help (and hurt) your machine. For more Windows maintenance tips, you can check out our Ask Lifehacker on the subject, too.