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What are some must-dos when you are setting up a new PC?
What are some of the must-dos, must-installs, must-uninstalls, and must-alters of setting up a new PC? I'm getting my first new PC in 5 years on Sunday and the old one is really showing its age. I would like to avoid that as much as possible in order to keep the PC running smoothly as long as possible. I'd also like to optimize its performance and have useful software tools.
Thank you for any advice,
gbbb
I consider f.lux on Windows or redshift on Linux to be critical and mandatory programs for any computer that might ever be used at night. It warms the color gamma so that you don't see bright blues and whites, and instead intensifies warm colors like orange and red, which are much easier on your eyes at night. It really helps prevent eyestrain for long programming sessions in the dark, and I actually run redshift on my ThinkPad even during the day on a milder setting to help correct for the overly blue/white tint the cold cathode screen generates. Can't imagine life without them anymore, they're one of the first things I install on any new PC.
Most of the big name desktops have a redshift/flux feature built into it nowadays. Although on GNOME at least the specific temperature can only be modified with gconf editor I believe, there's no easy control panel for it.
There's no easy control panel for a lot of things on gnome.
For 99% of the day-to-day stuff, there is. Even a lot of the common-tweaks-that-you-won't-need-every-day-but-are-still-handy-to-have-around are in GNOME Tweak Tool which is pretty easy. Even gconf editor isn't terrible. It's the furthest thing from discoverable or easy to navigate but no harder than like the registry editor on Windows.
There is an extension that allows you to control the redness from the control panel.
Unless you're a graphic/web designer, digital artist/animator or anyone else who relies on their monitors’ colour accuracy, in which case avoid automatic colour temperature adjusting program like the plague and use Stylus and/or any other eye strain reducing solutions (like night modes) instead.
Even when I just program late, it still means I'm being productive. Blue light is needed to stay cheerful, so monitor and lights are standard nice "overcast day" 6500K. If I want to go to bed soon I probably won't use PC altogether.
Gaming and movies aren't really compatible with filters either. Accurate colors are important there, and you don't want to fall asleep when doing these...
Eh, I can't say I've ever found this to be the case. I much prefer soft warmer colors, they're far more relaxing and peaceful. Harsh blues and whites are pretty irritating, so I avoid them like the plague when I can.
I also think that's a personal thing though. I game even with the gamma turned up pretty high and it doesn't bother me if the colors are off, but then, I played on a green screen Gameboy for many years. :P And a lot of people fall asleep watching movies too, I know several people actually that do that. I think it's because it's sort of a white noise generator, which some people find relaxing.
It's interesting how different personal preferences can be. I and most relatives clearly prefer 6500K lightbulbs when given choice. Warm white feels just like some sad orange color, and the real white is at least 5500K. Maybe it's genetic?
When I worked with graphics only a subset of my working hours where color sentitive, but I suppose this varies depending on what you do.
Why do you say that?
Because they adjust the color temperature of the image. They shift everything towards the red end of the spectrum, that's how Redshift has its name. The idea is that blue light interferes with sleep. And it's hard to know how something you create actually looks when its color is distorted. Redshift is fine for viewing, but you're shooting yourself in the foot if you try to create content with it turned on.
I can't stand the color shift personally. Everything looks wrong, especially when editing photos.
It’s kind of obvious that you shouldn’t use color shift when editing photos, isn’t it?
I would hope so.
I tried redshift but it didn’t work with my monitor, which is just a regular TV that I hook to a laptop via HDMI.
Shouldn't matter, it tweaks the color temperature through X I believe, independent of any monitors. Although if you're on Wayland that'll mean you're out of luck except through your DE's built in redshift/night light/equivalent settings that probably exist.
Hmm. Did it work on the built in monitor? Redshift shouldn't be affected by the type of monitor or the output afaik, since it manipulates the colors entirely in X, before it gets sent over the line. Perhaps you misconfigured it and it thinks it shouldn't apply on the second monitor, or perhaps if you're using Nvidia, their proprietary drivers are interfering? (Although I ran redshift for years on my GTX 750 Ti and it always worked fine...)
If you want to save yourself a ton of time installing the handy tools we all put on most Windows systems, pay a visit to ninite.com. Just pick the programs you want, and it'll send you a custom executable installer that will download and install all of those programs for you at once. It'll also decline/avoid installing any adware and other nuisance apps that often get bundled with those programs, so you get a perfectly clean install.
For the sysadmins out there, the paid version will let you do this to all of the Windows PCs on your network at once, and maintain a local repo to update from. It's damn handy just for making sure all of your users are running current/secure versions of Java.
Related howtogeek article, and a direct link to (official) download. Seems they've changed the name from LTSB to LTSC, I'm not sure if that's come with some other changes.
It looks as though if I want to install Windows 10 LTSC, it will only function for 30-90 days before I need to buy a $7 per month subscription to use it.
I actually don't mind frequent Windows updates. I do mind some of the bloatware that comes with Windows, though, like Cortana, the Microsoft Store, the Microsoft Edge browser, Calendar, Camera, Clock, Mail, Money, Music, News, OneNote, Sports, and Weather.
Is there some software tool that would allow me to remove the Windows bloatware without sacrificing system stability?
I'd strongly suggest going with LTSB. Its designed for kiosks and stuff, but the overall improvement is hand over fist.
If you do go with a crappy version, Tron Script is good.
Also use Ninite to install the standards like foobar2000, classic start, etc.
One little known app I've used for ages is Deskview -- it gives you a list view for icons on your desktop. I'm not sure why or how it works with every version without updates, but it does. Add it to your startup items.
Another handy script that takes care of some bloat, but also some visual things is the Windows 10 Initial Setup Script.
All in all, I can't stress the true joy of LTSB over the other versions.
A less invasive alternative to Tron Script I discovered a week ago is WPD, instead of forcefully removing updates and other Windows components it configures group policies to block telemetry and other things and firewall rules (in case Microsoft stops respecting group policies). PS: it may or may not be as effective as Trron Script but it is a lot less to download if you are on a slow connection.
Yeah, most non-enterprise people using LTSB/C tend to have pirated it or have a friend with an enterprise key. However there is a form of work-around: typing
slmgr /rearminto CMD should re-arm it for another 90 days (and can be done twice). However beyond that the only method to continue using it for free that I can think of would be making a system backup and restoring from it every ~90 days (keep user data on another disk/partition), unless Windows are wise to that and have prevented it from working. More than the average user wants to put up with, which would seem to be Window's intention.There are some github scripts I can dig up, but as they interfere with system internals they all risk system stability to some degree.
I think most of the bloatware are not included in the LTSB/LTSC version of Windows.
Stick to 7, because 10 is a shitshow. ;)
Depending on what you do:
Windows 10?
Need any more specific software?
Seconding just using Windows Defender. Back in the day it was a good idea to install other AV programs because Microsoft didn't have any. Today, defender gets almost everything, and most other AV suites are just adware vehicles that will harass you. Just stick to defender.
If you're in a corporate environment that requires something with more power/configuration, try out Sophos. You won't be disappointed. Fuck McAfee, Trend, Symantec, and all the rest of them - bloatware with hassles, the lot of them.
Just keep your system up to date. An AV whith its deep level access just increases the attackable surface of your system while only helping against threats your up to date system is already protected for and annoying you with loads of false positives.
Increasing complexity never makes anything more safe
Is Malwarebytes alright?
Malwarebytes isn't an AV suite, it's more of a web attack firewall that tries to block bad stuff that comes through your browser. It's a good app, however, it's also an unnecessary app. If you run the right plugins those attacks are already prevented. uMatrix and uBlock basically shut down attack methods and dangerous sites, respectively.
Unless I'm understanding you wrong, I don't think that's what Malwarebytes does. It runs a scan on your whole computer looking for malware.
Specifically, the kind that hijacks your browser. Checking their web page just now I see they are well on their way to expanding into a full cybersecurity suite that has everything plus the kitchen sink, which is even more reason to avoid it. Give them a few years and they'll be Symantec-level bloatware.
Just use the right browser plugins and avoid installing apps from shady websites, then you'll never have malware in the first place.
Former employee of Malwarebytes here. The web firewall feature came later and was secondary to the main function, which was essentially to be the wing man to your AV. Anti-Malware is specifically designed to not conflict with other AVs, and focuses on catching zero-day viruses, trojans, and PUPs. Malicious content older than a week or two was not really our focus, since malware writers often evolve their own code on a daily basis to evade AVs detection mechanisms.
You're right that they're adding more and more tools that compliment the main Anti-Malware software, but to my knowledge those are optional.
Using a modern browser with regular security updates and being smart about how you interact with the web should always be your first line of defense, but having a backup like Malwarebytes or Defender is certainly nice to have in my opinion.
Good to know, thanks for the information! :)
Malwarebytes is great, I recommend using it in conjunction with Defender. I can scan with Defender and get nothing, then I scan with Malwarebytes, and as soon as Malwarebytes detects something, Defender just happens to detect the same exact file as malicious.
Don’t use Chrome. Firefox is the best option.
If it's a gaming PC and you are going to overclock it or tune fan speeds, try doing that in BIOS, likely you won't need to install software for that.
Install SpaceSniffer to look how much space folders take on PC. It visualizes that very nicely.
Notepad++ is better than Notepad for viewing and editing various text files and configs.
Faststone Image Viewer is a fast viewer with easy and rich functionality of editing such as crop images, fix colors, rotate, resize, convert formats, etc.
SumatraPDF is a lightweight PDF and some other ebook formats viewer.
7-zip, a good open source archiver.
Everything - searches files by name instantly, unlike clunky Windows search, and search can be summoned by hotkey at any time.
Going into BIOS is an important step even of you're not interested in overclocking, however it does depend on OP's setup.
Example: When I pieced together my PC from individual parts, I had to play with performance settings in order to change RAM speeds.
Your RAM will default to a certain speed, I think for DDR4 its 2133Mhz. So if say you bought 2800Mhz RAM, your pc will not run it at those speeds out of the box, and instead treat it as if it was much cheaper 2133Mhz RAM. The only way to change that, to my knowledge is in the BIOS, and if you never do, you're basically wasting your own money.
Dang, I built a PC a few weeks ago and never checked this, I bought 3000Mhz RAM too. Thank you.
The proper timing settings are typically on a sticker on the RAM, in the little pamphlet they put in the box with the RAM, and also available to look up on the manufacturer's website if you know the exact make/model of the memory (also listed on the sticker).
Fancier motherboards are supposed to be able to read this info off of the memory chip and match it, but it's been my experience that this is a rather slapdash feature that doesn't always work - so it's a good idea to doublecheck the memory settings and make sure they are configured to match the memory you've installed.
Thanks again, I made the changes yesterday. My PC was running at 2133mhz RAM. I made the changes and it worked just fine. Running at 3000mhz now. :)
I replaced Everything with Wox, which is basically an Alfred-lite clone for Windows that has Everything integration. Pretty neato.
Here's a pretty good list of things to do if you want to make your privacy & security better on your new machine.
Please note that mucking about with your Windows registry files or Telemetry can damage your install or leave certain critical features like updates unable to perform, if anyone is having these issues after modifying settings to improve privacy here are some guides to troubleshoot things and re-secure your install
If it bricks your hard drive and renders you unable to recover some files it's not a bad thing to have a few troubleshooting options at hand.
When I set up a new PC, I don't think what do I need but what don't I need. Are you fully committed to Windows? If so, I don't think I can help there.
If you're willing to experiment a little, I personally recommend Linux. It has a learning curve but it runs a lot better than Windows and will last longer. My personal favourite distro is Arch for having some of the least bloat and putting you fully in control of your PC (rivaled only by Gentoo and LFS). I would recommend Mint or maybe Fedora for a new user though, don't be that guy that tries to install Arch first and permanently gives up on linux. Ubuntu is... okay but I have a lot of objections to how Canonical runs their OS.
Why is it so common to suggest Linux to Windows users? It's like Windows is some kind of evil. They are both similar operating systems and each runs well; many programs are cross platform, and more games run on Windows and easier, so why bothering?
VERY good point. A lot of people are constantly complaining about things windows does, and looking for iffy workarounds, but when linux is brought up they completely dismiss it.
"Windows literally deletes files and steals data (including what you type) and forces updates, unless you pay a bunch of extra money"
"Yeah but... linux doesn't support these 3 games I play soooo..."
I forgot I have auto updates disabled, that's why I didn't notice these things. Also I only work and play on PC. Work is cross platform, so I probably should look what's the Linux support situation for the games I play. It's the only reason to use Windows indeed
Linux supports like 30% of steam games IIRC (especially indies) and Proton (or wine/dxvk) can run a whole hoard of others with improvements being made every day. You can also test out linux in a VM, get used to certain things like desktop environments and whatnot. Refer back to my comment if you want to see some good Linux noob distros, and again please please please don't be that guy that tries to dive right in with Arch or Gentoo.
Someone gave me a CD with a mysterious operating system OpenSUSE back in 2008. Since then I had a long steak of experimenting, from Mandriva as the only OS on the old home PC and fan made 70 MB Windows XP on laptop, to Ubuntu built in Windows 10 that (Ubuntu) I even don't use.
I imagine a repeated situation when a friend says here's a cool game, try it, and I attempt some Wine or other tricks and say sorry I cannot, I'm on Linux. The sooner I don't have to fear that, the more likely I'll move. But for now I just better don't poke my customized and stable Windows system with a stick, and maybe wait at least until the next PC build (this Windows cannot be moved there anyway).
As far as I know around 60-70 percent of Steam games work either natively or with proton.
Is that missing 30-40 percent what your privacy and freedom is worth you?
Alternatively, you could make like moses and part the disk (or just use a different disk) if you don't need all your drive space.
Freedom is not compromised. I run all software I need, and Windows doesn't suggest anything, fall in BSODs, reboot, etc. Uptime can be weeks, usually power goes out for a second sooner than that. My open source Android on phone is way more buggy. I already set everything up, now only using, and it's as easy and seemingly free as using the fridge.
But privacy, yes, for now Microsoft has collected data on me already, this is irreversible. They may keep collecting some more, even despite opting out, but what will they see? Same things over and over again, just different game titles. This is an exception I'm willing to make. Not sacrificing the current serenity of using PC because of that for now. So the answer is yes.
You do not have the ability to do what you want when you want with your computer. You OBJECTIVELY have less freedom than a Linux user in that regards
Iffy. I'll give the point to Windows, but Linux also has a lot of really cool command line stuff windows doesn't
Windows literally has ads built in and Linux doesn't. Point linux.
Yes, it does. Only the pro version of windows (or one of the more expensive (point Linux) ones, not sure exactly which) can actually disable forced updates, and again with Linux you do not need to restart to update. TWO points to Linux.
You say you have real experience with Linux. Clearly you don't, because Android is a whole other can of worms. Either way, yes Windows objectively crashes more and objectively doesn't run as well, and objectively has less freedom. Point Linux/.
You don't have the source code, you don't have the freedom to install and uninstall everything, you don't have the freedom to change your desktop environment, your display manager, your shell, your icon theme, etc. Point Linux. If you mean free as in free beer, the cheapest version of Windows is 100 dollars and the versions that actually allow you to disable forced updates and such are 150+. Point Linux there as well.
Imagine if the NSA was listening to your phone logs, but all you had to do was switch cell providers. You would better up time, and more freedom, and it would even cost you less... but you would get a few less apps.
Would you choose the freedom, or the first option because it had more apps? If you can honestly look at me right now, and deny that Linux has better up time and better pricing and more freedom... you're delusional. If you can honestly look at me right now and tell me that you would let the NSA spy on you and sell your data to third parties because of a few more apps... I don't even know what you are.
My Windows doesn't have any signs of marketing in it because it's an older build, with some unneeded things disabled.
Of course Linux has better uptime and is more customizable and fully controllable. But it's like a fridge that's build from open source blueprints to last 100 years and has user changeable panels for fancy looks (can be pink, translucent, glowing in dark). The thing is, I already have my proprietary, plain white, 20 years service time fridge that's already in the kitchen, right now serving all my needs. Does it provide as much freedom or is bound to work as long as that customizable fridge? Of course no. But both fridges satisfy my existing needs, and the one I already have happens to be a plain white one.
But that fridge tracks everything you put in it, how much you eat, and when you eat, from there it is sent to the manufacturer and sold to the third parties. Alternatively, there's a different cheaper fridge you could use with more functionality.
[citation needed]
He doesn't care about the cost because he's already bought the more expensive one, at this time it's money-neutral whether he stays loyal to his white fridge or not.
And more functionality, he doesn't need it. The white one satisfies his existing needs.
I can't say for certain that Windows sells it to third parties, but do you really think MS wouldn't? I clearly have a lot less faith in MS than you do.
Either way, I would take the better cheaper fridge that doesn't steal my info but whatever.
I don't think so. Not because of the moral side of it, but because it's uneconomical to do so. It wouldn't take long until someone comes with a proof that Microsoft sells it - and once it happens, the repercussions would be enormous.
Me too, I'm writing this from the cheaper fridge. However, I still have the old, big, over engineered one in my cellar, just in case I need to put something big in a fridge, something so big that I cannot put it in the cheaper one (eg Rimworld).
I mean fair enough, I have a Windows partition for games too. But either way, he asked for reasons why Linux is often recommended and I gave (if I do say so myself) some rather convincing points. Doesn't really matter to me what he uses anyways.
If you don't mind Microsoft and anyone they grant access to basically having access to every scrap of data you ever see on the PC, and spamming you with things to buy and other advertisements, Windows is fine. Windows 10 will send back facebook levels of information to feed their marketing engine - they know what apps you use, what websites you visit, and what you use your computers for.
For me, the instant 'app suggestions' showed up in Windows was the instant I decided I'm done with Microsoft. I don't need that kind of crap spammed in my face by my own operating system. When I turn a feature like that off, I expect it to stay off, not quietly reactivate with every broken update.
Microsoft is trying to turn end users into a product, and Windows into a marketing platform, just like every other for profit company. Windows will continue to get shittier and more invasive with every iteration until it reaches maximum entropy and starts pissing even regular non-tech people off on a daily basis. That trend is what's driving linux adoption.
Windows 7 was the last decent version of Windows that lacked this sort of tracking, which is why so many people and businesses are still using it. Getting people to move off of XP/2000 was hard enough, getting them off 7 is going to be even harder. Microsoft would love to sell you a new version every year (or collect a monthly payment) but people aren't quite willing to let them do that yet. That's why they've gone for cloud offerings recently, to get businesses started down that road and forever wedded to the 'microsoft tax' on computing.
The less you do with a computer, the easier it is to switch to linux. Most people browse the web, use online services, create a few things (documents, images, etc), and store some data that's important to them. That's all they do - and linux is as good at that as anything out there, out of the box, with zero setup hassles. It also sidesteps the entire security issue, as linux is vastly harder to infect and hack than any microsoft product will ever be. Part of that is because linux is still too small in market share to be a viable target for black hats to attack, though, just like Apple's offerings.
The lack of gaming support has been the primary barrier to linux adoption at home. That's been changing rapidly and Valve seems inclined to drive the process until linux is on par with windows for gaming support. They've already hit one-click simplicity with a wide variety of games, and most modern games are now able to run on both thanks to the development tools (like Unity) making it easy to support multiple platforms at compile-time, with no extra work from developers.
Microsoft will end up giving windows away for free to home users at some point to remain competitive, because they can still make money on your data that way. That's why you can run some Windows 10 versions without a license indefinitely - microsoft would much rather you don't pay for 10 than try to switch to linux, and find out how easy it is.
As for the enterprise, the goal there is for businesses to have total control over all of the systems their employees use, and Windows still does that better than anyone. You honestly don't need to know very much about computing to manage a Windows enterprise. All the GUI tools microsoft provides keep that stuff simple, which is why they own that market segment.
You can create a linux enterprise infrastructure and achieve the same goals, but it'll take more time and expertise to set that up and manage it long-term. There's been some work developing drop-in replacements for Microsoft's infrastructure tools but scaling them to the levels of users easily manageable with microsoft's products (50k+) is still a bit of a science project. Those implementations will vary greatly business to business, unlike microsoft's offerings which are fairly heterogeneous across every environment. That makes it easier for business to just hire 'certified' people and have some confidence those people can do the job - so this is partly a tech-workforce issue too.
I'm looking forward to the day I can make money migrating business off of Microsoft products and onto a mature linux-based replacement. That's going to be fun, and expensive. :)
Okay, let me go ahead and give some common reasons.
Ever since Bill Gates stepped down, windows has become an evil. Key loggers have been found in windows, there is telemetry (usage data) sent to Microsoft, and 9/10 times even if you disable it it turns itself back on. This is impossible to do in secret on linux, because it is free and open source.
Not really. The big difference is Linux is free and open source. What's cool is, linux has different desktop environments (essentially, the GUI of your machine) and display managers (the lock screen). I can make my PC look like this, or like this, or this or this or this. Don't like any of them? Learn programming yourself, and fork one or even modify it. Or just straight up make your own version of linux, you can do this because linux is totally open to the public. There's then also icon themes and GTK themes which anyone can download and freely change as they wish.
If you're talking performance, okay. If you're really tallying performance linux is a bit ahead but most users won't really be affected by it. However, if you're talking about up time and such linux destroys windows there. There's a reason why linux runs almost all servers. Unlike windows, it will never force you to update. Actually, I believe the $200 version (another advantage) of linux doesn't force you to update but, that should be a basic feature not a bonus. Also, you don't need to restart linux when you update. Just run a quick command (depends on your distro, going back to the whole choice on linux thing) and let it go in the background. Similarly, windows is plagued by blue screens and crashes, I have never had that problem on linux. Now, to be fair to windows it is easier to destroy your linux machine. There are some safety caps, like how you can't run
sudo rm -r /anymore, but that is true. It shouldn't happen if you know what you're doing and don't try to --force an install or remove system components though.Fair enough. I can't say anything there. All I can say is, Linux has a good amount and Gabe believes Linux is the future of PC gaming so if enough people switch, and maybe linux users make some noise, then that can change. But the sad truth is, developing for linux is not financially viable for triple a devs.
Hey hi just 2 small nitpicks
Bill Gates was part of the evil. Not the consumer-facing evil but evil all the same.
Google injected open source code into Chromium that downloaded a closed source binary blob that listened into the microphone. There are plenty of tiny privacy scandals surrounding the open source browser Firefox. Deepin, an open source Linux distro, has gone through some privacy scandals of their own. So has Ubuntu. It's not impossible, it's just impossible to do it in secret, and impossible to prevent people from getting around it.
Lest we all forget...
Very true, you are absolutely correct. Not impossible to do, impossible to get away with. Edited, thank you. The scandals around Ubuntu (primarily, the Amazon back door) is largely why I didn't recommend Ubuntu in my original comment, though I didn't know about Deepin (which is slightly alarming since I use their screenshot tool). As for Bill Gates, true he utilized some nasty business techniques but nothing like the mass scale security scandals introduced in Windows 10 and retroactively patched into 8 and 7.
Mint for new users, definitely. It's practically Windows from a UI perspective, and not trying to do stupid/fancy UI reinvention like Ubuntu and many of the others.
That's another big problem I have with Ubuntu. Just pick a lane, getting tired of that constant flip flopping and whatnot. However, KDE is my favourite DE and similar to cinnamon, very windows like. Also, highly customizable.
That's why I typically recommend kubuntu. Ubuntu still pretty much has the best support and hardware compatibility. Sticking KDE on it is much more accessable that gnome.
Definitely, if I had to choose an Ubuntu based distro, it would be Kubuntu.
I will be using the desktop partly for gaming so Linux is a no-go I'm afraid.
I know you didn't mean anything by it and I'm not trying to "sell" you Linux if you're perfectly happy with Windows but gaming on Linux is perfectly viable and in a better state now than it's ever been in the past. 5000+ available natively on Steam alone with thousands more Windows games playable on Linux seamlessly with a single click through the normal Steam interface now that Proton exists.
Yeah, Linux in no way makes gaming impossible. Dual booting is also an option, but again a lot of games support Linux, especially indies. Gabe Newel of Valve has also gone on record to say he believes Linux is the future of PCs and gaming, if that matters.
Either way, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to sell linux. I'm glad linux got sold to me, I finally feel like I am really in control of my PC, and I actually know what it's doing and how. Plus, I love the terminal. It's a lot more efficient than exe files and and such.
Really, I don't mean to seem like a nag but if you've got any objections at all to windows and don't need it for anything in particular, I'd recommend looking into linux a little and reading a bit about windows and the unethical ways it operates under the surface.
Wonder if there's something to that. You don't mind selling Linux because that's how you got there, I typically only recommend Linux if I see it fits an unmet need and I got into Linux because Windows XP was swapping to death from boot.
Maybe. I used to be the stereotypical windows user, who thought Linux was useless for the most part and only good for running a couple of servers. But Windows kept constantly interrupting me when I was doing shit and forcing me to update. Someone recommended me Ubuntu, and I'd heard that many times from people I considered annoying naggers. But I tried it on VMs and whatnot anyways and realized it could actually be kind of cool but wasn't ready for a jump.
Couple months ago, I parted my Windows drive to use Ubuntu as a side OS, but it slowly became my main OS. I switched to OpenSuse, then Debian, and now I'm on Arch and I realized I fell in love with it. I always think, if it weren't for those annoying naggers, I would be blissfully unaware of all this, which is why I like to recommend it even if it might be annoying.
I play games on linux. Most things support linux already but then valve integrated wine in to steam and now everything in my library works on linux.
Same here. Proton's seriously amazing. The only thing that doesn't work natively or seamlessly in my library of like 300 games is NBA 2K17.
'Classic start' replaces the windows 10 start menu with a customizable and more much functional interface.
'Search Everything' replaces the windows search function. How much quicker the searching is pretty surprising.
'Windirstat' provides a visual presentation of your use of disk space. (Easily see what is consuming a lot of memory)
'Virtualbox' allows you to run a linux operating system on windows.
Your post says "getting" a PC, not building one, so can I assume you are buying a prebuilt?
If so, you should completely reinstall Windows. You can download the iso pretty easily. The Microsoft program to do that will write it to a flash drive for you. Do not use the included recovery disk. It will just have all the same crap that reinstalling is trying to remove. I would also suggest deleting all partitions before you reinstall. Windows might try to reuse a recovery partition or something, and that could still have crap on it.
Yes, prebuilt.
Beware warranty invalidation if removing recovery partitions (without having them in a backup). I'm not sure how much that's an issue but for some people this can be important to keep in mind.
I have to wonder if that would actually hold up in a court of law. Invalidating the hardware warranty because the hard drive fails is technically the same thing, and that'd never ever fly. Companies love to claim the world in their EULAs, but most of what they put in there won't hold up in court, because businesses are not permitted to waive entire classes of rights no matter what they put in their contracts.
Wipe the hard drive and install Linux.
I never trust the OS that comes with a device. Even if I want to use the same OS I wipe it and install it from a known good copy.
Depends on what software you use. For me, I use a certain set of software on a Unix-like system (Debian stable these days), and I have a list of those programs that I use an automated system to install with a single command (see). I want my system to be predictable and not do things unless I want it to. I also want to be able to customise anything and everything, because I don't like spending time doing robotic, repetitive tasks. A combination of GNU/Linux (FreeBSD in the past for a while) and GNU Emacs give me this.
If you're going to be using Windows, I recommend reading privacy guides, and disabling automatic installation of updates (IDK if it has an option to download but wait for you to initiate the intstallation). Those seem to be the bigger problems in the Windows world. It spies on you, and it interrupts you for long times (even hours, sometimes) with updates, undermining your productivity or fun. If I had to use a Windows machine, the first thing I'd do, apart from these, would be to download git in order to use not only git, but also the bash and shell utilites it includes, that makes me feel a bit at home on a Windows system.
Wipe the hard drive and install a BSD.
Hell, you could probably extend the useful life of your old machine by at least another five years if you nuked Windows and replaced it with a Unix-like OS.
I don't think the gaming scene is very strong on BSD, is it?
You'd be surprised.
https://mrsatterly.com/openbsd_games.html
This link behaves like a webpage and looks like a PDF. I was wondering how Vimium was working. I like it.
About as strong on Linux I guess. I think they have a Linux compatibility layer built into or something. Not sure, I've never used a BSD before.
A few days ago I saw this post by a guy who was finally able to "hack" Stardew Valley into BSD. And that's and indie game. Didn't give me the impression BSD is on the same level as Linux. They don't even have a Steam client. Plus: this reddit thread.
That sounds like what I was thinking of. I had heard it had pretty stellar results, although that second thread seems to suggest pretty heavily otherwise. Oh well, I guess.
If you're planning to go full Windows, first answer these questions:
If you answered no for the first two and yes to the others, you may as well just give Linux a try.
About gaming on Linux: we Linux users are overly enthusiastic with outstanding developments in that area, but if you're a hardcore gamer you won't get all the triple A's you want. But Linux is so much better, stable and secure than Windows 10 that dual-booting becomes a reasonable compromise. You can use Linux for the games it has, and Windows just for the exclusives.
For a distro recommendation, since you're a gamer, I think Kubuntu is the best choice (I'm not recommending the default Ubuntu because Gnome has memory issues, which is bad for gaming. KDE is beautiful, efficient and more intuitive for a Windows user).
The largest hurdle, I think, is helping people find the open-source replacements for the applications they are already used to having on their systems.
The must-have, for me, is Emacs and setting up the browser (Firefox or some variation of Firefox) with the usual extension load-out: HTTPS Everywhere, uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, GreaseMonkey (userscripts), Stylem (userstyles), NoScript. I block everything by default.
Then... after setting up my dotfiles - at least my dot emacs - there are a lot of small tools that come in handy.
htopandatopfor monitoring,jqfor JSON munging,pv,moreutilsforsponge(things likecommand FILE > FILEwill start by truncating the file for writing, making them fail, and sponge steps in here) to say a few.