10 Important Things to Do When You Get a New Laptop

Getting a new laptop is an interesting experience. A new laptop brings in that feeling of excitement and unfamiliarity. You need to make the necessary preparations to make sure it operates to the best of its capabilities.

There are some things to do when you get a new laptop. Consider doing these actions to help you tweak your laptop’s settings. Take notes as we look through these measures to make sure your laptop operates at its optimum performance.

  1. Update the Operating System

As soon as you unbox your laptop and secure the warranty and various paperwork, it’s time to start up the laptop. The first thing you do is to update its operating system. During this initial phase, you have to set up and configure the system to its latest version.

You can do this after booting up the laptop and OS. For the case of laptops that run on Windows 10, such as the ones that you can get from lenovo.com, go to Settings.

From there, go to Update & Security. Then go to Check for Updates to let Windows start the updating process.

The setup changes with other laptops that run in different operating systems. Mac OS will need you to go to System Preferences, and then Software Update to let the system do its work. Linux and Chrome OS would have their own setups for updates.

  1. Remove Bloatware

Once you have your OS at its latest update, check the applications installed on your laptop. If you bought a laptop that runs on Windows, there is a high chance that it comes with bloatware. This pertains to the pre-installed applications that are also useless and only take up space.

For laptops that run on other systems, they don’t have this sort of problem. For Windows, it is an expected situation. You can remedy this problem by removing the bloatware from your system.

You can check out this set of instructions to remove bloatware from your system. The process of removing bloatware requires some specific methods. Once you have them out of your laptop, you would have more space to install the programs and copy the files you need.

  1. Turn on System Restore

The unnecessary files and applications are now gone from your laptop. Although you still need to do some adjustments.

In this case, you need to activate system restore. It helps in situations where you need to revert your laptop to its best back-up state. This setting is an integral part of the setup for Windows-powered computers.

First, search the term Restore. It should put a suggestion to open up the Control Panel with the “Create a Restore Point” suggestion. This takes you to the System Properties window with the System Protection tab on.

While you are in this window, choose your laptop’s main system drive. This should be Drive C by default. Once chosen, click on Configure to open up another window.

This next window should show a couple of radio buttons among other options. For this, click on “Turn on System Protection.” You would also notice the slider that indicates how much memory to set aside for the restore points.

A handy tip is to pick no more than 2 or 3% for the reserved hard disk space. With it, your laptop should be ready with the restore points.

  1. Check Your Antivirus Software

The other aspect you have to pay attention to with a new laptop is to bolster its security systems. The integral software needed for this is the antivirus software and the firewall.

For Windows 10, it comes with the Windows Defender as a starting system. With Microsoft-provided system updates, it also bolsters the Defender’s capabilities.

Even with Defender’s updates, it would also be a good idea to install other antivirus systems. These include the likes of Kaspersky or Bitdefender for extra security.

Other cybersecurity tools that you can include for your system are the ones designed to combat malware and ransomware. This ensures that your files and information remain protected without them getting stolen.

  1. Configure Anti-Theft Tools

You would also need a good set of tools that help with tracking your laptop in case you misplace it or it gets stolen. Anti-theft tools are another layer of security that you can apply on your laptop.

Laptops are prone to damage and theft when left unsupervised. Especially after considering how portable these machines are.

One of the tools that you have in place is the device tracker program. Windows 10 has the Find My Device feature built-in. To use it, you have to configure and activate it by going to Settings and then Update & Security to find this feature.

Mac OS also has Find My Mac, a similar feature for tracking the device’s whereabouts. For this, go to System Preferences and then Apple ID. Then go to iCloud on the sidebar and you’ll find the Find My Mac feature.

These features let you locate your laptop using a different device while logged in with your account. This is a handy system when you may have misplaced your laptop. The amusing thing about this feature is that you can also run this to find your smartphone.

  1. Set a Default Browser

You managed to configure all your settings. You might be gearing up to open the internet browser and start surfing through the web.

Depending on the OS you use, the default browser it comes with should be enough to get the job done. Unless you prefer a different browser.

With Windows, you start with Microsoft Edge by default. Mac OS would start with Safari. While these browsers work well as they are, it might not be to your preference.

In such situations, you will need to download and install your preferred web browser. For example, you might want to install Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox on your laptop. After installation, you might want to set up your new browser as your default.

To do this, go to your Settings and head to Apps. Once there, go to the Default Apps section. Go to the web browser section and click on it to let you select and use the one you need.

  1. Configure and Optimize Power Settings

For laptops, the battery is what determines their operating capabilities. At times, you don’t need to let your laptop run at full power. Finding the right balance for you is a key factor in this setting.

Do you prefer to lengthen your battery life? Consider changing your Power Saver power plan for your laptop. This lets it focus on letting the battery last as long as it can while unplugged.

You can also opt to switch it towards the High-Performance setting. This setup lets the laptop use its full capabilities.

Quite useful for processes that need the laptop to be at its best performance. The downside is that it can eat up a lot of your battery.

You can go for a Balanced setting, which works as the middle ground between the two settings. You can make these adjustments by clicking on the battery icon in the system tray.

After that, click on Power & Sleep Settings. From there, you can go to Advanced Power Settings to pick the power plan you need for your laptop.

  1. Set Up Other Settings

There are a lot of other features and settings that you need to configure. Among these include your display settings, your network settings, even your display lighting, and color scheme. You can configure these parameters by going to Settings.

Take your time to explore each one and set it up to your preferences. This lets you explore what your machine can do and what else it has available.

  1. Install Necessary Software

After configuring all your settings, you can now install your software. Aside from your preferred web browser, you can start installing other tools like your preferred office suite.

While you conduct your software installation, a good word of advice here is to install the ones you truly need. This lets you save up on disk space and it helps maintain the laptop’s processing speed. The last thing you want is for the laptop to overload.

Speaking of software, we also have another set of data to consider. This leads us to the next step.

  1. Copy Your Files

At this point, you might have a number of backup drives. You may choose to carry them over towards the new laptop. Or you can keep them in their backup drives and only access them when needed.

Aside from using external drives, you can also fetch the files from cloud storage services. Dropbox and Google Drive are among the few providers. As long as you have a working backup, transferring your files to the laptop becomes easier and faster.

Try These Things to Do When You Get a New Laptop

Consider these things to do when you get a new laptop. It helps you prepare and get accustomed to the new machine. At first, it will not feel as natural as your previous machine, but you can shape it to work with you naturally.

Do you want to learn how else you can optimize your new laptop? Our guides will show you what you can do and how it helps your device today!