When you install windows on a new PC what do you do first?

[unidentical]

No, it doesn't execute it.

 

Official Microsoft Support:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727880

I have never seen Windows actually do that on it's own. I have installed several SSDs and even nice shiny new samsung on a z77 platform was still set to automatically defrag.

 

And if you read further in that KB article, M$ advises that you should double check and disable it manually if need be.

[GoodBytes]

Yes, but it won't defrag it. I test this. The HDD Light (well I guess now it's HDD, and SSD light on the case), doesn't blink. I also tried it with an SSD and HDD, it just starts the HDD immediately. I set a time that is coming up, and I had a stopwatch, and there was no delay between the start time and the HDD starting getting defraged.

In Windows 8, Microsoft made it more clear. In fact, it executes a forced TRIM on an SSD, when you hit the "Optimize" button (Defragment has been renamed to Optimized).

[GoodBytes]

ElfFriend, on 20 Jun 2013 - 7:40 PM, said:

except often times I want to have most of my computer running properly before I install things that could mess it up. when installing Firefox i need to get like 10 different plugins and drivers allow higher resolution that what I could get without drivers. (i could be wrong here...) also I don't like using IE for installing stuff from the internet. IE sucks! oh and to get wifi to work i would need drivers so either way I would need to install some drivers before I can get a usuable browser...

In the recent versions of IE, it was actually showed that it's a pretty good web browser actually. Now, it's more of a question of getting that extra performance to be more competitive, and compete with features, if you allow me to be perfectly honest.

I do too install Firefox, and I use it as my main web browser. But you'll be surprised how far IE came along.

For your WiFi, Windows should have the drivers built-in, but ok.. assuming it doesn't. You could have downloaded all your drivers, or just the wifi drivers, and put it on a USB stick, before reinstalling Windows. :)

[bluepoodleguy]

The first app I install would be Firefox it's like a good luck ritual. I would install the drivers right after Windows but to me drivers are part of the OS installation not apps.

[grayperview]

Make sure i can access all my favorite porn sites....;)

 

Serioiusly, install LAN drivers off disc. because the freaking windows doesn't contain my LAN driver....Then start building the system...getting all the apps i need installed, doing windows updates, making sure drivers are installed....

 

Using a release day retail copy of Windows 7 on a newish PC, leads to a hell of a lot of work once windows has installed, really need to get an updated DVD with all the latest updates.

[Beskamir]

In the recent versions of IE, it was actually showed that it's a pretty good web browser actually. Now, it's more of a question of getting that extra performance to be more competitive, and compete with features, if you allow me to be perfectly honest.

I do too install Firefox, and I use it as my main web browser. But you'll be surprised how far IE came along.

For your WiFi, Windows should have the drivers built-in, but ok.. assuming it doesn't. You could have downloaded all your drivers, or just the wifi drivers, and put it on a USB stick, before reinstalling Windows. :)

good point but too much effort....

[ExDreamer]

Use IE to download firefox,then use that to install driver.

[EricX2]

Drivers, Chrome, Firefox, Windows Updates then Steam.

[That Norwegian Guy]

The first thing I do is go to the control panel and assassinate every little factory setting that gets between me and the smooth operation of my PC. SmartScreen, VAC, Firewall, Windows Update, EVERYTHING. MUST. DIE.

 

Then I download Opera.

 

Then everything else.

[7heArchitect]

besides locking it down, i remove unessesary services. starting with ipv6/toredo

[Jam_ONG]

Install all necessary drivers first, then Ninite everything else. 

[Nit3Rid3R]

Drivers > Ninite > Done

[Thatmaniscool]

I usually install wifi drivers before getting a browser.

[SirReallySam]

DRIVERS! :O

[Umeshwarnath]

browser of cource! NOT THROUGH IE BUT THROUGH AN OLDER VERSION OF FIREFOX!

[mybeat]

1 opera

2 nvidia drivers

3 ninite

4 disable useless crap (hibernate, pagefile, services)

5 add to domain 

6 reboot 

7 steam 

[GoodBytes]

Do not disable pagefile!

 

The reason why you never want to disable pagefile, AND want it to be AT LEAST the size of your RAM. Why is that?

Simple, your RAM needs to defragment itself, but when we talk about fragmentation, we aer not talking about data being split up, but rather empty space. Let me explain,

 

A running program is called a process. When a process runs it consumes a certain amount of memory on your RAM. That capacity stays always in 1 block, and can't be cut into peaces like a file on your HDD. So in a way it never fragments. Great! Also, for many and complicated reasons that I won't cover, the block of memory that a process occupies cannot be moved while the program(s) is/are running. Ok, right.

But, this means that by doing this it fragment itself.. Wait what? Yup!

 

It fragment empty space. Basically you have plenty of empty space blocks separated, and not together as you open and close programs.

Let's have a look at what happens (in a simple way)

- Process A consumes 10% of your RAM.

- Process B consumes 40% of your RAM.

- Process C consumes 5% of your RAM.

- Process D consumes 30% of your RAM.

- Process E consumes 5% of your RAM.

- 10% Free space after Process E to the end of your memory.

Total: 90% used, 10% free.

Now, you close Process C. So now, as nothing can move, you have a 5% free space hole in your RAM. In total, you have 15% of free space.

Now, you open Process F, which consume 15% of your RAM. Well you are out of RAM. Because while you have the space, it doesn't fit into 1 block. Remember nothing can move. You have fragment free space. So you get a low memory error, despite having plenty of free space.

 

What normally happens in such situation is that Windows (or wtv OS you use) flushes out the RAM clean. And copies pagefile to your RAM in a organize clean way (defragmented).

 

Your page file is a backup of your RAM. Everything you put on your RAM is duplicated on your pagefile, to make this perform the fastest as possible (else it would need to copy the RAM to your HDD or SSD and then flush it, and copy the page-file back to the RAM. We know how much time it takes transferring several GB of data, it sure isn't instant especially using an HDD.

 

But why the backup? I can wait! you say.

Well it's because, anything that isn't in your RAM, can't be processed by the CPU. So, your system will temporally lock up, as your RAM will be emptied.

 

Now, Windows (well Vista and up) is smart. To hide this, it will first priorities key component of the OS, related to the user interface and your interaction with the system, by transferring that, first onto your RAM, this will make it invisible to you as its just a few MB and everything else will follow, with some fancy algorithm on what you are currently using, and other guess work. Pretty smart.

 

In the old old days back when we had 128/256MB of RAM with XP or older, you might recall that your system, after starting a program, just becomes unresponsive for a moment (temporarily freezes), and comes back to normal. When this occurred, your system was doing this process.

 

So lesson: People that tell you to disable page-file (and it's not for a specific reason), and your not using a legacy OS are, well, idiots.

 

This advice, actually was seen as good one, back in XP days, where XP dump everything it can to pagefile only, to maximize empty space on your RAM. This was critical back in the days as RAM was limited, for what we were doing with our computers. Sadly XP, doesn't auto-adapt. If you have high capacity of RAM (1GB of more) it still acts as if you had little memory and dumped everything to page file. So, to have a more responsive experience, people, at the risk of having what you experience, disabled pagefile.

Since Vista, this is not the case. Vista and up priorities RAM first. Once the RAM is filled, pagefile is used to extend the RAM. That is another reason why Vista performance was terrible on system that didn't have 2GB or more of RAM, which is what most people had when they put Vista on their system (they had 1GB of RAM, or 2GB, which 2GB being the limit).

[Nicktrance]

All Windows updates > Drivers > Internet security stuff > ninite with the bare minimum of what I'll need incl. browser > uninstall IE and other windows features I do not use and change settings as needed > other random stuff like MS Office > install and run CCleaner & Defraggler

[mybeat]

Do not disable pagefile!

...

Your page file is a backup of your RAM.

Sorry if I may sound rude, but do you have source for this BS? 

 

Pagefile don't backup your RAM contents, never did, never will. If it did your PC would kill itself being stuck in I/O wait all the time. It swaps out memory contents which do not fit into virtual address space.

Pagefile might have been useful in XP era due to size of vas, but nowadays I don't find it relevant.

I've been running without page file since 2009 (both win7 and win8 with 16/32gbs). If you have say 8, then don't disable it. It's still workload dependent.

 

I'm also aware of ram fragmentation, however in a desktop usage case scenarios I doubt you'll ever encounter any performance issues.

 

And a context switch is not what you think it is.

 

And another thing, we have 300+ servers which are running in production without any swap (pagefile for win folks), this setup have been stable for years, so yeah...

[GoodBytes]

Sorry if I may sound rude, but do you have source for this BS? 

 

Pagefile don't backup your RAM contents, never did, never will. If it did your PC would kill itself being stuck in I/O wait all the time. It swaps out memory contents which do not fit into virtual address space.

Pagefile might have been useful in XP era due to size of vas, but nowadays I don't find it relevant.

I've been running without page file since 2009 (both win7 and win8 with 16/32gbs). If you have say 8, then don't disable it. It's still workload dependent.

 

I'm also aware of ram fragmentation, however in a desktop usage case scenarios I doubt you'll ever encounter any performance issues.

 

And a context switch is not what you think it is.

 

And another thing, we have 300+ servers which are running in production without any swap (pagefile for win folks), this setup have been stable for years, so yeah...

 

Go to you local library, and get a book on Operating System design. If you are school look for a course on Operating System at University. You can also look into Context Switch on the interwebs.

[dep2ks]

mines always drivers as my network card doesnt work otherwise and no interent

[mybeat]

Go to you local library, and get a book on Operating System design. If you are school look for a course on Operating System at University. You can also look into Context Switch on the interwebs.

May I ask you what do you do for a living and how old are you?

 

Also, please point me where here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context_switch it says "is that Windows (or wtv OS you use) executes something called Context Switch, where it flushes out the RAM clean" 

[Deaven]

What kind of things do you guys disable?

If it improves perfomance ill be doing that to

[GoodBytes]

Also, please point me where here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Context_switch it says "is that Windows (or wtv OS you use) executes something called Context Switch, where it flushes out the RAM clean"

You should read a lot more into it. I over-simplified quite a bit. It is true that the Context Switch refers to the CPU scheduling task, but it applies the same principal to defrag empty space of the RAM. As you need the CPU+OS to move things around between secondary storage RAM, as RAM can't directly access secondary storage, let alone process anything to even do such a thing. It's should not be a problem in a server environment, but in a environment where you open and close programs all the time, then it is.

And this is why defrag RAM software is 100% pointless.

[GoodBytes]

What kind of things do you guys disable?

If it improves perfomance ill be doing that to

 

Assuming you have a system that runs Windows version you have installed perfectly well. Tweaks will not boost performance.