Home | Guides

How to Set Up a New Laptop

Ah, the joy of purchasing a new laptop! Often times, you get access to a machine that runs much faster, can do much more, has a great display and provides lots of convenient features. But how can you set up the new laptop properly? Read this article to find out.

Let's begin with an optional step: if you've got a regular keyboard and mouse, connect them to the laptop by making use of its USB ports. By doing this, you will save a lot of time, because you will be able to work using a set of peripherals that you are already familiar with. If the new laptop has got a tiny screen, it also makes sense to connect it to a regular monitor by making use of an HDMI cable. Don't forget that this step is optional; nevertheless, if you've got the required hardware, it will make things easier on your end.

Plug in the laptop charger; most devices come with their batteries charged, but you want to go through the setup process by making use of power from the mains, which will lead to a significant CPU speed increase. Most laptops reduce CPU frequency, cut display brightness and power down various components while running on battery, and we want to avoid that.

Keep a notebook handy; you will use it to write down the various username/password combinations that may be needed during the setup process. Hopefully, you already have that notebook, and you've been using it for this purpose for several years now.

If you have saved some data from the old computer to the cloud, it's time to retrieve the login data for that account as well. Some people prefer to use external hard drives and/or memory sticks; if this is the case, get your storage device ready.

The manufacturer may have provided the operating system on a DVD or a memory stick. Sometimes you will be given a download link, or you may want to install an OS by downloading its setup files from the Internet. Since your new laptop isn't set up, you will have to use a different computer for this task. No matter which option you choose, ensure that the operating system resides on a storage medium that can be read by your new laptop.

It's time to power on the new laptop; if you have plugged in a keyboard and a mouse, you should be able to use them now. Get into your computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). Each laptop manufacturer uses its own keyboard combination for this task; the good news is that you should find this information in the manual. If the manual has been delivered on a DVD, you can try to press and hold Delete, F1, F2, F10 or Escape as soon as you have powered on the machine.

Then, once you are inside the BIOS menu, change the boot priority/order, making sure that the laptop will search for your OS files on the memory stick or DVD. Save the changes and restart the laptop; these combined actions are always available as a BIOS option in the "Exit" menu. The operating system setup routine should start now; if it doesn't, the laptop can't read the files from your memory stick/DVD, or the boot priority isn't the proper one, so be sure to make the required changes.

If everything works okay, the OS installation process will start. As you advance through the setup steps being guided by the user-friendly interface, you will need to connect the laptop to your Wi-Fi network, but this shouldn't be a problem, provided that you have its password handy.

The device will also download the most recent OS updates and patches. Once that the setup is over, don't forget to copy the previously saved data to your new machine.