Setting Up a New PC the Right Way — What Haydock Customers Always Ask Me

You've just bought a new PC or laptop. You turn it on, and Windows immediately starts asking you to sign up for things, set up OneDrive, try Microsoft 365, link your phone — it's relentless. Customers in Haydock, Newton-le-Willows, and Earlestown ask me about this all the time: "What should I actually be doing when I set up a new PC?"

Here's the process I follow every time I set up a new machine. It takes about an hour and means you start with a clean, fast, properly configured PC instead of a bloated mess.

The New PC Setup Checklist

Step 1: Get Through Windows Setup

When you first turn on a new Windows 11 PC, you'll go through the "Out of Box Experience" (OOBE). Microsoft has made this progressively more aggressive over the years — it really wants you to sign in with a Microsoft account, subscribe to 365, link your Android phone, set up OneDrive, and more.

Some of this is genuinely useful. Some of it is Microsoft trying to get you onto paid subscriptions. Here's what to do:

• Microsoft account: You'll probably want one — it's needed for the Microsoft Store and OneDrive. But you can use an existing one (your Outlook/Hotmail email) rather than creating a new one. If you want a local-only account instead, it's possible but Microsoft makes it increasingly awkward to find the option
• Microsoft 365 trial: Skip it. If you need Office, buy it separately when you're ready. The trial starts a subscription that auto-renews
• Game Pass: Skip unless you're a gamer who specifically wants it
• Link your phone: Skip for now. You can always set this up later if you want it
• Customise your experience: Skip. This just changes which ads Microsoft shows you on the Start menu

Click through the rest, pick your privacy settings (more on that below), and get to the desktop.

Step 2: Windows Update

Before you do anything else, go to Settings → Windows Update and click Check for updates. A new PC often has months of updates waiting — security patches, driver updates, and sometimes a whole Windows feature update.

Let it download and install everything, restart when prompted, then check again. Keep going until it says "You're up to date." This can take a while — especially on a fresh machine — but it's important. Many of those updates are security fixes, and some fix bugs that could cause problems later.

Step 3: Remove Bloatware

Almost every new PC from HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and others comes pre-loaded with software you didn't ask for. I set up PCs for customers across Haydock and Newton-le-Willows regularly, and the bloatware is always the same — trials of McAfee or Norton, manufacturer "support" apps, Spotify, Disney+, random games, and various other junk.

Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps and work through the list. Uninstall anything you don't recognise or won't use. The usual suspects:

• McAfee / Norton trials — these are paid trials that nag you to subscribe. Windows Defender is built in and does a perfectly good job. I wrote more about this in my post on whether you actually need antivirus
• Manufacturer apps — HP Support Assistant, Dell SupportAssist, Lenovo Vantage. Some of these are useful for driver updates, but they also run in the background constantly. Keep one if you like, remove the rest
• Pre-installed games — Candy Crush, Farm Heroes, various others. Right-click and uninstall
• Duplicate apps — Spotify, Disney+, TikTok, Instagram. These are ads, not features. Remove them if you don't use them

I covered bloatware removal in more depth in my post on speeding up a slow Windows 11 PC — the same principles apply to a brand new machine.

Step 4: Privacy Settings

Windows 11 has a lot of tracking and telemetry enabled by default. You won't notice it day to day, but if you'd rather not send Microsoft more data than necessary, it's worth turning a few things off.

Go to Settings → Privacy & security and look at:

• General: Turn off "Let apps show me personalised ads by using my advertising ID" and "Show me suggested content in the Settings app"
• Diagnostics & feedback: Set to "Required diagnostic data" only — no need to send the optional stuff
• Activity history: Turn off "Store my activity history on this device" if you don't want Windows tracking which apps and files you've used
• Location: Turn off for apps that don't need it. A desktop PC doesn't need location services

None of these affect how the PC works — they just control what data gets sent back to Microsoft.

Step 5: Install a Proper Browser with uBlock Origin

Edge is actually decent these days, but if you prefer Chrome or Firefox, install it now. Whichever browser you use, the single most important thing to install is uBlock Origin — a free, open-source ad blocker.

uBlock Origin doesn't just hide adverts — it blocks malicious ads, tracking scripts, and dodgy redirects. It genuinely makes the web safer to use. It's the first extension I install on every PC I set up.

Step 6: Set Up a Backup

This is the step most people skip — and it's the one they regret most when something goes wrong. Set up a backup before you start putting important files on the machine, not after.

The quickest option: turn on OneDrive folder backup. Go to Settings → Accounts → Windows backup and toggle on Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. If you have Microsoft 365, you get 1TB of OneDrive storage included — more than enough.

If you've got an external hard drive, set up File History too for a local backup. I wrote a full guide on how to back up your PC properly that covers all the options.

Step 7: Create a Recovery Drive

A recovery drive is a USB stick (16GB minimum) that can repair or reinstall Windows if your PC ever won't boot. You'll probably never need it — but when you do, you'll be very glad you made one.

Search for "Create a recovery drive" in the Start menu and follow the wizard. Tick "Back up system files to the recovery drive" and let it run. It takes about 20 minutes and the USB stick will be dedicated to this purpose, so use one you don't need for anything else.

Label it, put it in a drawer, and forget about it until the day you need it.

Step 8: Clean Up the Start Menu and Taskbar

Windows 11's Start menu comes pinned with apps you probably don't use — and in some cases, apps that aren't even installed yet (they download when you click them). Right-click anything you don't want and choose "Unpin from Start."

On the taskbar, you can right-click and turn off the Widgets button, the Chat button, and Task View if you don't use them. This keeps things clean and means you only see what you actually use.

Pin your most-used apps to the taskbar — your browser, File Explorer, and whatever else you use daily — so they're always one click away.

What About Antivirus?

Windows Defender is built into Windows 10 and 11 and it's genuinely good. You don't need to buy or install any additional antivirus software. The pre-installed McAfee or Norton trial that came with your PC is not doing you any favours — it's slowing your machine down and will nag you to pay for it. Uninstall it and let Defender do its job.

What About Transferring Files from Your Old PC?

If you're replacing an old machine, you'll want to move your files across. The easiest ways:

• External hard drive / USB stick: Copy files from the old PC, plug it into the new one, copy them across. Simple and reliable
• Cloud storage: If your old PC was using OneDrive or Google Drive, just sign into the same account on the new PC and your files will sync down
• Direct transfer: If both PCs are on the same Wi-Fi network, you can share a folder on the old PC and copy files across the network. Slower but works without any extra hardware

Don't forget to transfer browser bookmarks (sign into your browser with the same account), email settings, and any software licence keys you might need for re-installation.

Mark

Mark has been fixing computers since the late '90s and went self-employed in 2008. Based in St Helens since 2013, he works evenings and weekends from his home in Laffak — friendly, affordable repairs for PCs, laptops, and Macs. See reviews on Google