2014.10.18
Greetings folks,
I’ve just received my brand new Dell Inspiron 3531 laptop from Amazon and now I need to setup up and configure it. This will be the first part of an ongoing record of my setup process. This is mostly for my own knowledge, but please feel free to comment if this information helped you in some way.
9:40 AM — Decided now was a good time to start configuring my new laptop.
SOFTWARE TO INSTALL FIRST
Here are some programs I need to download and install right off the bat:
- Ccleaner – Not only does it declutter and clean my hard drive, it also shows my computer’s specs right on the application interface (RAM, Processeor, etc.)
- Belarc –
- IrfanView –
- Notepad++ –
- Adobe Reader – Since my laptop came with Windows 8.1 factory installed, the default interface is metro. If I were using the OS on a tablet PC then maybe metro would be ok, but I’m not, so I will be running things in desktop mode. This means, although my laptop comes with an Adobe Reader app, it is not designed to be dragged and positioned well on the screen, which is one reason why I prefer the desktop application, rather than the tablet/mobile one.
- HP OfficeJet 8600 Pro Printer – Printer software and drivers are a must before proceeding!
PLANNED CONFIGURATION CHANGES
Here are some configuration issues I will be attending to as well:
- Change OS from metro to “desktop” mode.
- Go into BIOS and change the functioning of the “F” function keys. Right now, the 2ndary functions (fast-forward, rewind, volume up, volume down, switch display, etc.) are the default ones. This means I can’t press F5 to refresh without also pressing the “Fn” (function) key. That’s gotta get changed, which means I need to go into BIOS. There are instructions in this article posted on my other site “Wow I Didn’t Know That!”.
- … (More stuff I can’t think of at the moment)
PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE TO INSTALL
- Komodo Edit –
- Aptana –
AUDIO/VISUAL/MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE TO INSTALL
- VLC –
- Photoshop CS6 –
PLANNED HARDWARE MODIFICATIONS
- Upgrade RAM from 4GB to 8GB.
BROWSER EXTENSIONS TO INSTALL
CHROME
- OneTab –
- JoinTabs –
- Amazon Wishlist Button –
- Add This –
- Pinterest Button –
- Print Frame –
FIREFOX
- …
EXPLORER
- …
NOTES:
- It looks like I will need to set the correct timezone to PST in this Blog because the dashboard is telling me I started writing this at 5:04 pm, which is way, WAY off!
- I just discovered that this laptop doesn’t have a flash media slot! (boo 🙁 ). However, unlike most PCs in this class (under $300), it does come with a good size (500GB) hard drive AND a DVD-ROM drive!
- I’ve got to leave home for a bit so this will be the end of the “computering” for now. Cheers! 🙂