Hi everybody. So you just bought that brand new Windows 7 machine home from your favorite retailer and you ready to get to work. Before you dive into your first project, there are a few things you need to know and do. First and foremost, you want to be sure you have an active anti virus installed on your system. Most computers will come with a trial version of a major virus company such as Norton. These programs will work but we usually recommend the free Microsoft Security Essentials. This product works great in our tests and also uses very little of your computer resources. In our tests, the program did a good job of removing and preventing infections from disabling your computer.

The next thing we need to do is to be sure you don’t have any programs on your new computer that you do not need. Lets go to the Start menu and then click on Control Panel. By default, Control Panel will usually show all the contents in category view. Navigate to the left right corner and under “View By” change the setting to “Large Icons”. Now look for the option called “Programs and Features” in the control panels list of functions. Once open, you will see a list of programs that are installed on your computer. Choose any programs you will never use and use the “uninstall” option. Be careful you do not take out any programs that might be necessary for every day operation. If you are not sure, it is best that you get a professional to do the new computer set up for you. Only uninstall what you know is safe to remove.

Once the computer is cleaned up, it is time to get to work! Here is a quick tip that is a really cool feature in Windows 7. Lets say you have 3 Windows open and you want to close all but one, here is a quick and fun way to do it. Navigate your curser to the top bar of the Window you want to keep open. Right click the mouse and hold the button down. Now shake the Window back and forth a few times. All the Windows except the one you shook will minimize to the taskbar! How cool is that.

Here is another great tip to help you get more productive while you are working. How about searching the Internet from the search bar on your start window. We will have to enable this feature because by default it is not enabled. First we will have to type a command into the Start Menu search box. Type GPEDIT.MSC and press your Enter Key. This will start the Group Policy Editor. Go to User Configuration and then click Administrative Templates and then go to Start Menu and Taskbar. Next, double click on “Add Search Internet Link To Start Menu”. On the screen that will appear next, click on Enabled. Click OK and close the Group Policy Editor.

These are just a few of the things you can do on your new Windows 7 machine.  If you just upgraded from XP you will notice some differences in the menu structures but in no time, you will reign as the master.

 

Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer