Top Five Things To Do After Buying a PC

1. Make a Recovery Disk
2. Submit any warranty or rebate information
3. Write down or take Pictures of Serial Numbers
4. Get Microsoft Updates
5. Install an Antivirus

Make a Recovery Disk
It is becoming increasingly common for major manufacturers to not ship recovery disks with computers. If your hard drive fails or if your Operating System get corrupted, you may not be able to restore your PC unless you have made recovery disks. Newer computers will have DVD burners, so you want to buy a few blank DVDs and use them instead of blank CDs. You will want to write the Windows Authentication Key (normally stamped on the side of the computer) on these DVD and store them in a safe place.

Submit Warranty or Rebate Information
It’s easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and accidentally throw away the box or the receipt for your new computer. You’ll need the UPC code from the box and the receipt to get any refunds available to you. Sometimes, these rebates can be substantial. You’ll also want to take a few moments to send in any warranty information, just to make sure your computer is covered in the event there is a problem with the hardware.

Write Down or Take Pictures of Your Serial and Model Numbers
It’s easier to write these numbers down before you put the computer under the desk and plug in everything. There will come a time when you’ll need this information, so keep it in a safe place. It’s just as easy to take digital photos of these and email them to friends and family for they never get lost. If your house burns to the ground or your computer gets stolen, you’ll have these pictures to help with insurance and the authorities.

Get Microsoft Updates
There’s a good chance your PC will immediately update itself once it is connected to the Internet. But you might want to visit Microsoft Updates as soon as you can just to be safe. You new PC might be several weeks behind in important security updates, and having that machine online could be dangerous.

Install an Antivirus
Most PCs will come with a trial of some major brand Antivirus. These trials generally only last a month and people tend to not sign up for a membership because they are not ready to spend fifty dollars on an antivirus when they just spent $1000 on a new computer. So what happens is the antivirus just sits there with old virus definitions and never updates.This leaves people with a false sense of security because they believe they have an antivirus on their computer when, in fact, they do not. If you do not intend to buy the bundled antivirus, be sure to uninstall it and download a free antivirus like AVG or aVast! We have other recommendations on our computer software downloads section, so be sure to visit there to see which is best for you.