Getting anew PC, whether it is at work or at home, is one of those "makes yousmile" moments. Just like the "6 Million Dollar Man" we all wantbetter,stronger, and faster. However, every new PC that crosses your path is inneed of a few tweaks. This document lists 10 enhancements you should make toevery new PC, no matter whether it is a workstation or the family media computer.These tweaks will bring out the best in your new PC and give you a solidfoundation for future applications and operating system updates.

1. Prepare it for the Internet

The first step shouldalways be to implement the necessary security measures required for connectingit to the Internet. For office workstations and PCs installed by networkadministrators, much of this preliminary work will have already been done, butfor home PCs these steps are essential. Connecting a new PC to the Internetbefore taking the proper security steps outlined in a previous TechRepublicarticle will be construed by the nefarious citizens of the Internet as aninvitation to infect your PC with a virus, worm, or Trojan horse. The scariestpart of that scenario: the infection is likely to take place within 12 minutesof connecting to the Internet.

2. Turn on ClearType and adjust Desktop settings

One of the firstthings I do when I sit down at a new Windows PC for the first time is activatethe ClearType effect located on theDisplay Properties control panel. To get to the right control, open the ControlPanel and then open the Display Properties control panel. From there, navigateto the Appearance tab and click the Effects button. (See Figure A)

Click the secondcheck box for smoothing font edges and choose the ClearTypeoption. Click OK a few times and you should see the fonts displayed much morecrisply on the screen. For tired eyes, like mine, this can literally save you afew headaches, especially if you have to stare at a monitor screen all day.Once you install the Microsoft PowerToys (See #9) youcan adjust the ClearType settings to achieve a morepersonalized display.

This is also whereyou would adjust the size of the Windows icons, choose whether to allow thescreen contents to show while dragging, specify themes, and designate fontstyle and size. Those are all personal choices and will vary, but for those ofus that look at the screen all day, these setting must be adjusted.

One important thing Ido is change the background color for text areas in Windows. The default iswhite, but that is often too bright for me. I change it to off white to reducethe intensity and the eye strain it causes. It is a small change, but I thinkit makes a big difference.

Figure A

Display Properties - Effects

3. Configure file system

Sometimes large softwarecompanies like Microsoft take on a motherly role by configuring their softwareto protect us from ourselves. This is the case with the default manner in whichthe file system is displayed in Windows Explorerâ€"system files are hidden, fileextensions are hidden, and big icons are displayed instead of a detailed list.Some of these settings may be a matter of personal preference, but if you aregoing to truly know your PC and the Windows OS up and down, front to back, youwill need to see all the information about a file displayed in every listingyou see.

To set up thefile display to your liking, open Windows Explorer and navigate to Tools |Folder Options on the menu and then to the View tab. Next, you want to look down the list of checkboxes and radiobuttons to find the one that says "Show hidden files and folders".(See Figure B) I also recommend youclick the checkboxes next to:

  • Display the contents of the system folders
  • Display the full path in the address bar

You should alsouncheck the boxes next to:

  • Hide extensions for know file types
  • Hide protected operating system files

Revealing theprotected OS system files can be dangerous if you are one who likes to deletefiles and ask questions later, but as long as you are careful, I think thebenefits outweigh the risks.

Once you get thefolder view the way you want it, you should click the Apply to All Foldersbutton to make the view common to all folders.

Figure B

Folder Options

4. Set screen resolution and Hz and DPI

Once again, thissuggestion may stem from my aging eyes, but the general concept is sound forall new PCs. Go to the Control Panel and open the Display Properties. While youmay want to change the Appearance or activate a Screen Saver, my concern iswith the Settings tab. The resolution determined by the install process(includes any OS) may not be the best resolution for your hardware or for youreyes.

For LCD monitors, theresolution settings should match the native resolution of the monitor itself.The native resolution is easy to determine, it the maximum resolution the LCDmonitor can actually display.

For CRT monitors, theresolution settings should be set to values that are most comfortable to youreyes. For monitor sizes of 17 inches or more that would most likely meansettings of at least 1024 X 768. However, the actual settings available aredetermined by your hardware, which includes not only the monitor but also thevideo card.

Perhaps even more importantthan the resolution are the settings for Dots Per Inch(DPI) and the Screen Refresh Rate. These controls are under the Advanced button of the Display Properties. (Figure C) The DPI, found under theGeneral tab, determines how large the display fonts will be on a Windows PC.The default is 96 DPI, but at resolutions above 1024 X768 I prefer a DPI of120.

The Screen Refreshcontrol is found under the Monitor tab. (See Figure C) Your monitor will determine whatsettings are available here, but for CRTs I prefer a relatively high refreshrate of 85 Hz. Although you may not notice it, the monitor screen isconstantly flickering. This flicker can give you a headache and make your eyeshurt if it is too slow, especially with CRTs. LCDsare a little different. They are usually limited to 60 Hz, but because theyuse a different technology, the strain to the eyes is much less pronounced.

Figure C

Advanced Display Properties

5. Activate Windows

At some point duringthe setup process you will likely be asked to activate Windows. (Linux youwould similarly be asked to register your particular distribution.) This is agood time to get that out of the way. Taking this step assures your operatingsystem is legitimate and opens up a new set of support features includingcommunity forums and FAQs.

6. Copy over browser shortcuts

For many of us, ourlist of favorite Web sites is a reflection of our lives. It is more than a merelist of places on the Word Wide Web; it is our connection to a dynamic virtualworld. However, once a link is placed into your browser, you don't really haveto worry about remembering what can often be a cryptic URL. However, becauseyou don't have to remember, you may actually forget what it is. This is whyporting over your browser favorites is so important.

It is a two stepprocess. First, export your browser favorites to a file. Inboth Internet Explorer and Firefox, the Export and Importfeatures can be found under the File menu. (Figure D) Once you have exported to a file, copy that file to thenew PC and then import that file to your browser of choice on the new PC.

Figure D

Export and Import

7. Install needed applications

If your new PC is atwork, chances are that all of the "necessary" applications areinstalled already. But for home PCs, there is still work to do. Everyone's ideaof what applications should be installed is going to be a personal choice, butthere are likely to be some selections common to us all. Here are some of theapplications I have to install with each new PC:

  • Office Suite, including e-mail client
  • Money, QuickBooks or some other money management application
  • RSS Reader
  • iTunes
  • Graphics/Paint program beyond Paint for Windows
  • VPN client (for connecting to the office)
  • CD/DVD burning applications beyond what shipped with the PC
  • HTML Editor
  • Application developer IDE (often twoâ€"VS and Eclipse)

I'm sure you canthink of some others. Of course there are always the entertainment applicationslike World of Warcraft, Call of Duty andCivilization.

8. Set up e-mail and home page

Now that you haveyour e-mail client and browser installed, it is time to configure them.Specifying the browser home page is an easy thing to do, but it is also quitenecessary. The default home page for browsers is not where you want to go everytime you fire it up. The e-mail client configuration will be dependent on theclient application and the service provider. In Outlook, the configuration isunder Tools | E-mail Accounts, which starts a wizard that will walk you throughthe process.

9. Install PowerToys

One of the moreimportant things you can do to enhance your new PC, especially if it is aWindows PC, is to install the Microsoft WindowsXP PowerToys. These free applications cansimplify your Windows PC life by making it easier to change defaultconfigurations, synchronize across computers, and manipulate files andphotographs.

10. Save system and registry, back up

Once you have yournew PC setup the way you like it, you take a few moments to backup your harddrive and save the system files and the registry. Taking these steps toestablish a restore point now will create a new base configuration foryour PC. This is a state you can return to if something goes wrong in thefuture.