OOBE/Things to Do NOW

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Out of the Box - Things to Do NOW

Okay, you are excited and anxious to get going with your new device. Here are some things you want to do, because if you don't - you will probably regret it later.

Contents 1 What's in the Box 2 Recovery Media 3 Check the Manufacturer's Site 4 Testing 5 Windows Updates 6 Tutorials 7 More Testing 8 Backup Plan 9 Community Resources 10 From Here to Productivity 11 Next Steps 12 Have fun 12.1 References

What's in the Box

• Document what you received
  • Lay it all out and take a picture and/or
  • Find the packing list and check it and/or
  • Find the getting started page and check that you received everything
• Inspect the device
  • Look for signs of damage or defects
  • Document any concerns (pictures would be good)
• Check for
  • Licenses and license keys
  • Certificates of Authenticity
  • Recovery Media
• Documentation for later
  • Take pictures if you can
  • Write down Serial Numbers and Model Numbers
• Put all this documentation in a safe place
  • Try to keep everything together in one place (large carton for example) until you are absolutely certain that you won't need to send the unit back to the vendor.

Recovery Media

If you did not receive Recovery Media (DVD or CD) then

1. Find the instructions on how to create the recovery media
2. DO IT - make that recovery DVD before you do anything else. Read the manual while it is working.
3. Make a backup copy of the recovery media. Hint: Don't leave home without it (when travelling any distance with your machine).
4. Can't take the time to do this? Then you can plan on being one many people who write on forums every day asking how to get recovery media.
5. If you can bear to take the time - test the recovery procedure.

Check the Manufacturer's Site

Go to the manufacturer's support site.

• Find and bookmark (add to favorites) the support page for your machine
• Check for
  • Support bulletins
  • Recalls
  • Latest Drivers
• Check your Warranty Status (many manufacturers have an online warranty status lookup)

Testing

• Screen
  • Check of variances in the backlighting
  • Dead / Stuck pixels You can try Dead Pixel Tester or Dead Pixel Buddy or search the web for dead pixel
• Keyboard (if applicable)
  • Check all keys
  • Check any mechanism for opening/closing the keyboard
• Pen/Stylus
  • Does it work

Windows Updates

Go to Windows Update and make sure that you have the latest critical updates. Once you start the process of downloading, you can go on with other work. I don't do anything signficant like install software during this stage, but you can certainly be going through the Tutorials.

Tutorials

Check on the machine for Tutorials. Find and go through anything that is specific to your machine. You want to learn about all the features that are unique to your make and model of the device. This is a step that most experienced owners omit. Unfortunately, you can miss some really interesting features - because you simply didn't know to look for them.

More Testing

• Test anything that you didn't test before. You have probably found something in the tutorials.
• Setup your security (biometric devices?)

Backup Plan

Make a plan for how you will back up and recover your data

You will want to do a backup while you have a stable system, and before you too far in to the customization stage. Some people like products that make an image of the hard drive. One advantage of a full disk image, is that you may not have to have a functioning operating system running to use them. See Hard Disk Image.

Community Resources

There are tremendous resources for you on the Web. A good place to start is this list of Community Websites.

From Here to Productivity

Cleaning out the software the comes preinstalled on new machines "crapware^[1]" - is a very popular meme on the web.

See: Processes (a collection of resources about cleaning your machine).

When you have had all you can stand of the cleaning exercise you can get on with making the machine productive. This usually involves

• installing applications software,
• setting up email accounts,
• transfering data
• setting up in bookmarks/favorites.

As you do this you are also setting up user preferences and building up data. You want to be doing frequent backups during this phase.

If you have another machine already, see Using the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP

Next Steps

See: Investments

Have fun

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References

1. ↑ See Warner Crocker's Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 2 Crapware, Spamware, Spyware, Adware, It's all a Weed to Me

ed. There is a great deal more to add, but this is a start. WN 01:23, 16 August 2006 (GMT-8)