Computer Setup and Maintenance (includes hardware-install and software recommendations)

[Many URL links/infos are a few years old, so do Google-searches to verify and enhance your knowledge.]

First some 'spyware/malware/virus' overview: There are now NUMEROUS terms...'spyware', 'malware', 'PUP' (a Potentially Unwanted Program) and lastly the worst...a true 'virus'. You need to understand the various ways this stuff gets ONTO your computer (e.g. browser plugins/extensions/addons that you intentionally put there to try as well as stuff the ships along with other perfectly good products, but you didn't notice an option when you installed the 'good' product, to be able to SKIP installing some other bundled-in piece of junk. Don't even get me started!)

[That said, I've never (yet) owned Win-8.x and probably never will.]

Some Windows OEMs (e.g. HP/Compaq/Dell,etc) create a 'recovery partition', typically as the D-drive. For example, on one HP laptop w/Vista, whose disk was so meta-data corrupted that Vista wouldn't boot all the way, so it would instead say to run 'chkdsk', and then 'chkdsk' would hang during the first-phase, I at first (mistakenly) thought that it was a HARDWARE-failure (e.g. a head-crash). But, later, I realized that maybe it was just the NTFS file-system that had somehow gotten corrupted in some weird, but not totally fatal, way. Yup.

So, I learned I could hit 'F11-key' (an HP-added BIOS-driven option) and then get into a place where I could elect to start a 'recovery'. What it did was to re-format the C-drive/partition (which contains the whole original Windows-OS system that was corrupted), and then copied over and installed a 'Factory recovery image' of Vista from the D-drive (parition) back onto the C-drive (partition). You then went thru all that 'brand-new-PC' stuff, and thus you re-installed all the Windows-updates, including SP1, and all additional software that you might have previously installed, etc, etc. That was a bit painful and time-consuming, but it did resolve the issue!

Windows-XP SP2 (service pack 2) is a mandatory upgrade (from a security/stability standpoint) because of the threats that both spyware and viruses pose. Remember that spyware is mostly just an attack against Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser...thus, the best defense is simply to use an alternate browser such as Chrome or Mozilla 'Firefox', etc. For an anti-virus program, see the discussion above, and for a list of various choices.)

Microsoft FINALLY saw the writing on the wall and realized the severity of spyware and virus threats! So, their response was 'SP2', which is a major set of patches and additional new security software for XP, including a much-improved/updated software firewall, and a 'security-manager umbrella' shield applet in the 'control-panel'. This 'security-manager umbrella' actually CHECKS for the ENABLED presence of:
(1) A 3rd-party anti-virus product.
(2) A firewall (either theirs or a 3rd-party firewall). [If you have a hardware wired/wireless router/gateway box, then it no doubt contains a hardware-firewall, so in that case, you can safely disable the software-firewall in each PC, unless it is a laptop that you might later carry OUTSIDE your home-firewall.]
(3) That Windows Update is setup and enabled to bring you future updates from Microsoft's website.

Most every user has discovered that they can 'right-click' on the desktop, choose 'properties', and then customize various aspects (e.g. the screen-saver, the desktop background picture, etc, etc). What is less commonly known is that one can tailor the behavior of the 'task-bar', as well as altering its default-placement from the bottom of the screen to any of the four edges. For nearly a decade, I've always placed my taskbar on the LEFT side, made it much wider, and of course set it to 'auto-hide' (you move the mouse to edge that the task-bar lives on to make it reappear). Right-click on an unused spot and choose properties to make these adjustments, being sure to 'lock' the taskbar once you've got the layout customized to your liking, so that it doesn't get accidently messed-up.

The next feature that I recommend you start using is to enable the 'quick-launch' toolbar on the taskbar, and place your frequently-run program-launchers on that toolbar, INSTEAD of on the desktop (where you always have to minimize all your app-windows out of the way so you can SEE your desktop icons)

Of course, once you've invested in this 'tailoring', make sure that any OTHER users of your computer are given their OWN separate user-account, so they can tailor its desktop to their liking, rather than stumbling around trying to understand your preferences. [You do that via 'Start->Settings->Control Panel->User Accounts']

If you use the 'Command Prompt' application, you definitely want to enhance it to work more like a real 'shell-window' on Unix/Linux. To do that, you create a text-file (let's call it 'login.cmd') of tailoring cmds and associate it with this application. Here's a starter-template example file:

To associate this file to the 'Command Prompt' application, first create a cmd.exe shortcut on the desktop (hint: navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and right-click on the 'cmd.exe' file and choose 'send to' desktop) Next, right-click that new shortcut and choose 'properties'. In the shortcut tab, modify this app's launcher's 'target' by appending ' /k c:\user\myname\login.cmd'. Lastly, enable 'QuickEdit mode' and 'Insert mode' in the app itself (via 'Properties' from its own upper-left-corner icon in the running window). [Optionally, you can drag/drop this new shortcut onto the task-bar, if you prefer to launch it from taskbar, rather than the desktop.]

Maxtor and Asus advice for disk-controller/device-placement:
Put (both) hard-drives on primary/first controller (set as master/slave if 2 drives exist) and CDROM/DVD-drive(s) on secondary controller.

The power-supply is often the most under-rated component of a PC. Computer prices are so low, that the power supply is one of the places they like to use sub-standard assemblies. Hence power-supplies are often responsible for a myriad of problems--not just a dead machine. They may be enough for what is shipped in the computer, but inadequate for any expansion.

It's not a good idea to use one of those 'go/no-go' power-supply testers. Mine is a little palm-sized unit that has 5 or 6 green lights (one for each voltage range) and a red DANGER light. The unit plugs into the large connector that goes to the motherboard. An interesting story... I just 'happened' to test the 400-watt Antec power-supply in one of my computers, and even tho it was not exhibiting any problems, the green light on the -5v indicator failed to light. Later, I learned that -5v line is totally optional, and is not typically used by the motherboard. Worse, that red DANGER light on the tester also was lit. But, that turns on simply when all the greens aren't lit, so that is giving a false-negative, too. Live and learn. The techs recommended using a meter, which gives you actual NUMBERS, rather than just a 'go/no-go' indication.

Looking at the data-tag on the Antec, it shows that it is '12v dual-rail', one rail rated at 14-Amp and one at 15-Amp. (I removed the Antec power-supply and replaced it with a 430-watt 'Thermaltake', which has just a single-rail 12v, rated at 18-Amps. I also learned about the 'recommendation' below, saying it's preferable to have 18-Amps on the 12v leg at a minimum.) I'm saving the Antec as a spare, since there is really nothing wrong with it.