David's Blog

I kept track of all the changes I made after I did a clean install of Windows 7.

1. Install Microsoft Security Essentials
• Virus software works without getting in the way
2. Move the recycle bin to taskbar.
• Gives you a completely clean desktop
• The recycle bin is always visible and can be used to drag and drop files you don’t want
3. Pin Sticky Notes to the taskbar
4. Pin Snipping Tool to taskbar
5. Change “Shutdown” button to “Restart”: Right-click Start->properties->Start Menu->Power button action: [Restart]
6. Switch taskbar to “combine when full”: Right-click Start->properties->Taskbar->Taskbar buttons: [Combine when taskbar is full]
• More obvious if an application is active or not (big == active)
• Active applications include text description
• Active applications are 3 times larger than non-active: easier hit target
• Progress bars (shown in taskbar when downloading files or installing software, for example) have more space and are more meaningful
7. Install Windows Live Essentials: Live Writer (updating blogs), Photo Gallery, and Movie Maker
8. Install Zune Software
9. Set power option to high performance (for my desktop): Start->Control Panel->Hardware and Sound->Power Options->High Performance
10. Install Adobe Flash
11. Set up black screen saver: Start->Control Panel->Appearance and Personalization->Personalization: Change screen saver->
• [Blank]
• Wait [10] minutes
• [X] On resume, display logon screen
12. Setup daily backup: Start->Control Panel->System and Security: Back up your computer
• Every day at 2 a.m.
• Only backup my home directory
13. Turn on check boxes for selection: Explorer->Organize->Folder and search options->View->[X] Use check boxes to select items
• You can select multiple files using the mouse-only (without this, you must hold down the shift or ctrl keys)
14. Turn on Zune toolbar: Right-click Start->Properties->Toolbars->[X] Zune
• When Zune is minimized, it shows as a mini-player in the taskbar
15. Change pictures folder to:
• Detail view: right click file area->View->Details
• Set columns to Name, Size, Date, Date Modified: right click column heading to modify
16. Install Visual Studio C# 2008 Express Edition and Visual Studio C++ 2008 Express Edition
17. Install Windows 7 SDK
• Contains *lots* of helpful sample code
18. Change account picture to match Facebook profile picture: Start->Control Panel->User Accounts and Family Safety->User Accounts->Change your picture
19. Install Maya 8 Unlimited
• 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and visual effects software
20. Install Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) Production Premium
• Contains…
• Photoshop (image editing)
• Illustrator (vector editing)
• Premier Pro (video editing)
• Soundbooth (sound editing)
• After Effects (video compositing)
21. Install Quicken Deluxe 2009
• Finance software
22. Closing Internet Explorer closes all open tabs: IE->Tools->Internet Options->General->Tabs->Settings->[ ] Warn me when closing multiple tabs

*Now* I am ready to go!

Posted on January 10, 2010 6:33 PM | Permalink| Comments (2)