Essential Must haves after a format???

Hey whatsup everyone?? The topic says it all . . .

By the way has anyone tried out the AllinOne Runtime Pack

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives...et-framework-plus-hotfixes-with-aio-runtimes/

 

If you take some time to develop your own install cd/dvd, you can slipstream in the service packs and many of the updates. Before you burn you can also add content to the cd/dvd, such as runtimes or programs you know will be needed.

Move beyond just having those items on the cd/dvd and step into some basic scripting to automate the installs of all those 'special' things.

As for what to install, that is really a broad question. I always install a 3rd party browser right away. If I can, I never start IE at all. Usually then I install an archive program (Uniextract/7zip/WinRar), a tool to create/extract .cab files, a hex editor, process view/control tools, context menu additons and small tools to make things easier to access (like hashtab). The list goes on and on, depending on what the machine will be used for. Some people will install GTK, some DX updates, some Office or Photoshop.

I think there is a huge difference between reformatting your machine vs. someone elses. Still, with enough planning and the right tools, you can create a cd/dvd that will have just about every driver you need --- that is why DriverPacks exist.

Sul.

 

I still dont see why windows doesnt have better driver support.
Linux detects all the hardware on my computers out of the box.

I dont see reinstalling windows as such a big deal.
I have the lastest installers for all my programs and drivers. takes less than 2 hours to be back and running.

the item in question does seem like a good idea.
I dont see silverlight as being essential thou.

 

mort, what are you asking, exactly?? After a format or after a format then installation of the O/S? If I take your question literally, then an O/S installation disk would be rather important.

 

I think Win 7 does a great job of this. When I reinstall here, it detects 100% of everything here, I don't have to do a thing. It's much much better than XP ever was or is. Better than Vista also. I think they keep getting better at this with every new Windows release....

 

After a secure wipe and format:

Win 7 Ultimate x64
MS Update: all
MS Security Essentials
Adobe Flash Player
7-Zip x64
Win Live Essentials
Sumatra PDF
Mp3tag
Manually import backup of favorites, feeds, musics, videos, pics, docs, etc

And that's all.

 

Pretty much this short of the Windows type(pro/home/ult) and PDF viewer being debatable. Not sure why Mp3tag would be an "essential" but I guess it's something he uses frequently.

 

Ultimate can matter because of BitLocker (a bit of hypocrisy, though: I still didn't set it up here, thanks to pure laziness + somewhat negligible benefits in my case).

Sumatra PDF viewer is a good choice to those that don't really need anything from PDFs besides being able to view/print them.

There are other ways, of course, but Mp3tag can be an essential for anyone wanting to quickly organize a music collection of considerable size.

 

For me and my computers, it's more of a must NOT have after a clean format and re-installation. That's rare these days as I use imaging and instant restore.

But when I do....

Example: My first actions are to shut down certain services, etc. I use SafeXP and XP-AntiSpy first thing.

In short, I take away before I add anything.

 

What you took/take away from yourself?

 

You don't format and re-install yourself on occasion? Not to mention free space wipes. Oh, and every night when I go to sleep and dream, it's my defrag.

On edit: I'm so glad nobody's asked about my RAM upgrades!

 

This is great if you are putting exact same software back on, because you know what is going on. However, if one does not know which software they will be using, because a reformat brings with it the time for new applications/tools as well, I wait until what might be 'new' is installed, make sure it all works, then start killing services with .reg files. This way it becomes obvious when something breaks because it relies on a service.

Note: LockBox you may well be like myself with services, where I can shut any of them down and have a good idea of which ones have broken program functionality. I share this as a reminder and caution to those that don't know the services as well and might be left with a lot of troubleshooting to determine the culprit(s).

Sul.

 

xp-AntiSpy looks good i made it portable and it still works

 

www.ninite.com

 

LOL that's the first thing I thought of as soon as I read the post...why yes...I install the operating system first.

And then I install the latest motherboard/chipset drivers..to lay a good foundation
And then I install the latest drivers for other devices....video, sound, NIC, peripherals
MS Office
All Microsoft Windows updates (both Windows and Office)
Antivirus
Firefox plus add-ons
Latest Java, Flash, Shockwave

As for what else I install, it's different based on which computer of mine I'm rebuilding. Different purposes. My gaming rig? My games. My laptop? Many work related items, remote access and network management packages for clients networks. My office desktop? Office and billing stuff. My wifes computer? Her stuff. My servers? AD and storage and infrastructure.


Of course, format/reinstall is rare...I take care of my PCs..heck my primary gaming rig which runs top notch rock solid has an install that's over 7 years old right now. Back in the Win9X days I was a fan of rebuilding every few months, but that's gets old, I have better things to spend my time on so I learned to build solid computers with quality components that last, and I avoid risky behavior on them.

 

well on my desktop it doesnt have drivers for my soundcard or wireless card.
on my laptop it doesnt have drivers for the dual mic's but has drivers for the rest of the soundcard so doesnt even show an exclamation mark.