Suggested
deployment steps for Windows 10-based PCs
1. Configure and
purchase a Desktop/Laptop with several specifc upgrades/shopping
cart choices:
- If buying Dell, Navigate to
Dell Small/Medium-sized Business site, as Vostro line is not available
on Dell Home site
- Choose a conventional
form-factor Vostro model. (*Note that FastTrack models will ship within 3 business days, a conventional build can take 3 weeks).
- If possible, add second hard
drive equal or greater in storage size as the default hard drive
- Upgrade to optical
mouse and basic speakers
- Eliminate all
optional add-in software/services.
- ***OPTIONAL:
Step up Memory to 2x default amount (at least 4GB)
- ***OPTIONAL:
Step up CPU choice to next faster processor
- Prior to purchasing,
check popular coupon sites (google 'Dell coupons') for current coupon
codes that can be applied at checkout
2. Define system/user/admin
variables just prior to first boot, then enter them during initial
set up sequence:
- ---------------------------
- New computer variables:
- ---------------------------
- Computer
name: <buyer
prefix>0<O/S><computer #><description suffix>
, Ex.: lm01w10p0wlap
- Computer
description:
<Computer name> <O/S> <Computer Type> , Ex.: lm01w10p0wlap
Windows XP Pro Dell Vostro 1400 Laptop
- Administrator
Password:
<define one you won't/can't forget>
- Leave the default
of 'Yes' on the screen that asks 'Will this computer conenct to the
Internet directly, or through a network'. Click next
- Select the 'No,
not at this time' radio button at the screen that asks 'Ready to register
with Mirosoft?'. Click next >
- Windows
Login (Your name):
Choose one that protects anonymity: <buyer prefix><'user'>,
Ex.: lmuser
- Though you won't
enter them during the initial setup, have handy:
- Windows
Login password: <something with letters and numbers, 8 characters
or more>
- Windows
Login password hint:
<A phrase you won't forget that will help you remeber it>, Ex.:
Available from NorthShore-IT.com repository
- Workgroup:
Something shorter than 8 characters, will be the same for all your
computers <buyer prefix><'lan'>. Ex.: lmla
- ---------------------------
- Windows 10 Professional workflow:
- ---------------------------
- Click Next on the screen defining Country or region, Time and currency and Keyboard layout.
- 'Skip' setting up an additional keyboard .
- 'Accept' the license agreement.
- Under 'Let's add your Microsoft account' type in: 'no@thankyou.com' and click Next.
- Enter any password and click Next. You'll be greeted with an 'Ooops' message. Click Next.
- Under 'Who's going use this device', type the windows username you want to use.
- Type a password, Retype your password, Type a password hint.
- Accept the license terms 'required to use Windows' and 'required to use your computer'.
- Answer three windows security questions for your account. Click Next.
- Click 'No' in the "Do more across devices with activity history" section.
- Click 'Decline' in the "Get help from your digital assistant" section.
- Set all settings to 'No' in the "Choose privacy settings for your device" section. Clck 'Accept'.
- ------------------------
3. Optimize the taskbar:
- Right-click on the Windows Taskbar, select 'Taskbar settings'. (You may need to Activate Windows if custom-building a new PC).
- Unselect: Lock the taskbar, Show Task View button, Show People on the taskbar, Show Cortana button,
- Select: Search > Show search icon.
- Choose Taskbar settings. Taskbar buttons: 'Combine when taskbar is full'.
- Notification area > Customize > Select: 'Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar'. Click OK.
- Start Menu tab > Customize > Select: 'Recent Items'. Click OK and OK.
- Choose: Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad > <Right-click> 'Pin to Taskbar'.
4. Open Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and set default home page and default browser:
-
Open Microsoft Edge for the first time. Save goolge.com as home page.
-
Open IE for the first time. Click to accept to any application prompts
- Navigate to www.google.com. 'X' out of Google or Windows Live (or any other) browser toolbars . Select all available toolbar components and click Disable.
-
Right-click just underneath the URL bar and check the Menu bar.
-
Uncheck the Favorites bar.
-
Select Tools > Internet Options. Under the General tab, click 'Use current' in the Home page section
-
Click the drop down arrow and select 'Manage Search Providers' next to the search field in the upper-right hand corner of IE
-
Select the default search provider and click on the 'Find more search providers...' link
-
Scroll down to Google Search Suggestions and click the 'Add to Internet Explorer' button
-
Check 'Make this my default search provider' and click the 'Add' button. Close the browser window
-
Click on Accelerators. Remove all Accelerators, Click Close
-
Click Search, type Settings. Select Apps > Default Apps > Browser. Choose Internet Explorer > switch anyway.
5. Adjust UAC:
- Press Start, search for UAC. Select 'Change User Account Control Settings'.
- Set the slider to the bottom. Click OK. Click Yes..
6. Set theme:
-
Right-click anywhere on the Desktop, select View > Small icons. Right-click again, select 'Personalize'
-
Click the Background drop-down, select Solid color.
-
Click the + sign next to 'Custom color' and the 'More' down arrow.
-
Choose the color with Hex code of #3A6EA5 or RGB of 58 / 110 /165.
-
Click the Colors drop-down, turn off Transparency effects
-
Under Themes, save theme as 'NSIT-Win10'.
7. Adjust display properties:
-
Right-click anywhere on the Desktop, select View > Small icons. Right-click again, select 'Personalize'. Click on 'Lock Screen' on the left. Select 'Screen saver settings'.
-
On the Screen Saver drop-down, select 3D Text.
Click Settings. Select Text: Time, Rotation Type: None, Surface Style: Solid Color & Show Specular Highlights. Decrease the Size and Rotation Speed. Click OK
- Under Power Management, click the 'Change power settings' link.
- Under Power Options, select 'Create a power plan'. Select 'High Performance'. In 'Plan name' type 'lan'. Click Next
- Under 'On battery' times, set 'Dim the display' to 10 minutes, 'Turn off the display' to 25 minutes and 'Put the computer to sleep' to Never.
- Set the 'On battery' brightness slider down (left) by about 1/3.
- Set all 'Plugged in' times to Never. Click Create.
- Click on 'Choose what the power button does/buttons do'.
- Select 'Do nothing' from the drop downs for both the 'On battery' and 'Plugged in' states of 'When I press the sleep button'.
- Do the same for 'When I close the lid'
- Click on 'Change settings that are currently unavailable'. Select 'Don't require a password'. Click 'Save Changes'
- Click on 'Change when the computer sleeps'. Click on 'Change advanced power settings'. Click on 'Change settings that are currently unavailable'.
- Click on the plus sign next to 'Hard disk'. Change 'Turn off hard disk' Setting to 0 minutes. Click on the plus sign next to 'Sleep'. Change 'Allow hybrid sleep' Setting to Off. Click OK.
- Close the Power Options window
- Click OK on the Screen Saver Settings tab
- Click on Save theme. In the Theme name box, type 'NSIT'. Click Save. Close the Personalization window.
- Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. Set Require sign-in to 'Never'. Restart.
8. Reconfigure Windows Default folder view, set up shared folder in root of C:\ drive:
-
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\ and create a folder called 'shared'.
-
Click the arrow next to the Views button. Select Details.
-
Select Organize > Folder and search options.
-
In the Folder Options General tab, click 'Show all folders' and 'Automatically expand to current folder'
-
In the Folder Options View Tab:
***Check the following***:
Always show menus
Display the full path in the title bar (Classic theme only)
Show hidden files, folders and drives
***Uncheck the following***:
Hide empty drives in the Computer folder
Hide extensions for known file types
-
Click Apply. Select View > Status bar.
-
Select Organize > Folder and search options.
-
In the Folder Options General tab, click 'Apply to Folders'.
-
-
Open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the root of the C:\ drive. Create a folder called 'shared'.
-
Right-click on the C:\shared\ folder, and select 'Share with > Specific People' . Under 'Choose people to share with click the drop-down arrow
-
Select the Owner. Click Share. Click Done.
-
9. Disable Search Box Suggestions:
-
-
-
1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Go to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
3. Under the Windows Key create a new Key called Explorer.
4. Create a DWORD (32 bit) value called DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and set its Hexadecimal value to 1.
5. Reboot.
10. Set Windows Auto-login:
-
Press the Windows + R keyboard combination to bring up a run box, then type ' netplwiz '. Click OK.
-
Uncheck 'Users must enter username and password to use this computer'
-
-
At the prompt, enter the windows user's password and confirm it.
-
-
Click the Windows icon. Delete any Active Tiles in the 'Productivity' and 'Explore' sections by right-clicking them and seelcting 'Unpin from start'..
-
If netplwiz is missing the auto-login checkbox, complete the following steps:
-
1. Open the Registry Editor on Windows.
2. Go to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
3. Create or modify the String Value AutoAdminLogon and make sure the value is set to 1.
4. Create or modify a String value called DefaultUserName and put the username that you want to be signed in automatically as the value.
5. Create or modify a String value called DefaultPassword and add the account password as the value.
-
- Alternately, install the WinlogonAutoAdmin Registry File, then update the Username and Password values via the registry key above. Then Reboot.
11. Install Box Sync and synchronize crucial applications:
12. Uninstall unnecessary, pre-installed software (will vary by model/manufacturer).
-
Install Revo Uninstaller. Under options, disable 'Make a System Restore Point before uninstall'.
-
Uninstall Microsoft One Drive if unnecessary.
-
Uninstall any default antivuris suite, including all McAfee or Norton software, if pre-installed.
13. Patch and update Windows:
-
Select Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Options.
-
Turn on: Update Options > 'Recieve updates for other Microsoft products when you update Windows'
-
Turn on: Update notifications > 'Show a notification when your PC requires a restart to finish updating'
-
Run initially, install all updates chosen by default.
-
Run repeatedly until no more Windows updates or Driver updates remain.
14. Change Computer name.
-
Go to Control Panel > System and Security > System.
-
Select 'Change settings' > click 'Change' button. Change 'Computer name' and 'Workgroup' according to variables defined earlier.
-
15. Copy shared folder subdirectories and push computer build txt file, benchmarks folder:
-
Copy 'shared' folder subdirectories from sync app folder into shared. ('system', etc.)
-
Log onto build computer from main server via Windows network connection using credentials in computer build txt file.
-
Copy computer build txt file and _benchmarks folder into 'system\settings\' folder via network push.
16. Label physical drives:
-
In Windows Explorer, right-click on each physical drive and select 'Properties' and name them with this format: <computer name>-c & <computer name>-d
17. Set Computer description:
-
Open Control Panel > System and Security> System > 'Advanced system settings' > 'Computer Name' tab.
-
Change the Computer description to what you defined in step 2.
18. Install basic utilities:
-
-
-
Install WinRAR. (Windows requires 32-bit or 64-bit specificity for this app)
19. Install Microsoft Office or other productivity suite:
- Such as from OfficeSetup_NSIT archive. If you do not have a valid Microsoft Office registration key, a good alternative is to download and install the OpenOffice Productivity suite, which is compatible with Microsoft Office. If installing OpenOffice, also install Java beforehand. (see below).
20. Enable and Secure Administrator Account:
-
Open a command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking and choosing “Run as administrator”.
-
Type and hit enter: net user administrator /active:yes
-
Log out and log back into the newly available Administrator account and set a password for it. Change the account picture. Reboot.
21. Install an Antivirus:
22. Install Java:
- Install Java. (Windows requires 32-bit or 64-bit specificity for this app).
23.
Install other important utilities and applications:
24. Install several complementary, protective applications:
25. Install diagnostic tools and media applications:
26. Deploy custom support information into Windows System Information:
-
-
Open Regedit and customize the OEM Information (Model name field) found in:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation
27.
Run benchmarking and relocate configuration files:
- Run various benchmarking applications and make note of results.
- Use new root level folder and Free Hide Folder to relocate.
28. Move desktop shortcuts into Public Desktop 'NSIT' folder:
-
Create an NSIT folder inside C:\Users\Public\Desktop\
-
Drag alll desktop shortcuts into the NSIT folder.
29. Install other useful software, if desired:
Larry Madden
---
Computer name: lm0xp08wrk - Service Tag: 3JK8PY7
Computer description: lm0xp08wrk - Windows XP Pro Dell Vostro 1720 Laptop
System Description: lmadden-lm0xp08wrk
Dell Express Service Code: 58694782156
Mfg. Date: 20100924
Windows Login (Your name): lmuser
Windows Login password: distinctive123
Workgroup: lmlan
C drive name: lm0xp08wrk-c
Shared folder path: \\lm0xp08wrk\shared
Windows Login password hint: Available from NorthShore-IT.com repository
LAN IP range: 192.168.0.1-192.168.255.255
IE Title Bar text: NorthShore-IT.com supports this PC
---
Windows Build: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro OA (Part No. X16-96076)
Windows Key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
Office Build: Microsoft Office Standard 2007 (Part No. X16-70787)
Office Key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
SUPERAntiSpyware Professional Registration Code: 000-000-0000
GoodSync Name: Larry Madden
GoodSync Order Number: 0000000000
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Consumer License ID: 0XX00-X00XX
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Consumer License Key: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
---
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