Setup Windows 11 - Do These 8 Things Immediately After Installing

Alright, if you have a freshly installed copy of Windows, here's how to set it up the right way for better performance, optimal user experience, and most importantly, to set up automatic backups which will help you recover your files if they are accidentally deleted. Before anything, run Windows Update. A fresh Windows 11 installation is often weeks or months behind on security patches. Go to Settings, then Windows Update. Click Check for updates. Download and install everything that appears. This includes driver updates. Expand Advanced options, then Optional updates, and install any available driver updates for your hardware. Now, enable System Protection and create a restore point. System Protection creates automatic snapshots of your Windows configuration, allowing you to roll back to a working state if a driver, update, or software change breaks something. Press Windows plus R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter. Click the System Protection tab. Under Protection settings, find your C drive. If it shows off, click Configure. Select Turn on system protection. Set disk space usage to 5 to 10 percent. This determines how many restore points are kept. Click Apply and OK. Now, create your first manual restore point immediately. Click Create at the bottom. Name it Initial Setup. Click Create. Windows creates the snapshot in about a minute. Going forward, Windows creates restore points automatically before major events, Windows updates, driver installations, and application installs. Also, enable Point-in-time restore. Point-in-time restore is Windows 11's newer automatic backup feature that goes beyond system protection, capturing a broader snapshot including personal data alongside the system state. Go to Settings, then System, then Recovery. Find Point-in-time restore and click on it. Toggle it on, then Configure. Storage allocation, 2% of available storage by default. Increase to at least 10% if you want more restore points retained. With both System Protection and Point-in-time restore enabled, you have comprehensive protection against accidental deletion and system failures. Now, let's configure OOBE privacy settings correctly. If you're still in the out-of-the-box experience, or if you want to review these settings after setup, Windows presents several privacy screens during initial configuration. Most users click Next without reading them. After setup, verify all OOBE privacy in Settings, then Privacy and Security. Click Recommendations and Offers. Advertising ID, toggle Off. This is used to track your behavior across apps for targeted advertising. I always toggle off everything here. Now, click Diagnostics and Feedback. Diagnostic Data, set Send Optional Diagnostic Data to Off. Now, time to remove bloatware. Windows 11 installs a significant number of pre-installed applications you never asked for. Remove them now before they accumulate background processes. For Windows 11 Enterprise, Education, and Pro editions, we will use Group Policy. Press Windows plus R, type gpedit.msc, then press Enter. Navigate to Computer Configuration, then Administrative Templates, then Windows Components, then App Package Deployment. Find Remove Default Microsoft Store Packages from the system. Enable it, check the apps you want removed, then click Apply. Now, open CMD as administrator. Run this command, gpupdate slash force. Now, for Windows 11 Home editions, you can use WinHance. Go to winhance.net and download WinHance. Install and open it. Create a restore point first. WinHance has a button for this built-in. Click the Apps section. Toggle off every pre-installed app you want removed. Teams, Copilot, Xbox apps, Bing News, Bing Weather, Clipchamp, Solitaire, Maps, and so on. Important, do not touch the Windows Capabilities section. Removing core Windows capabilities can break system functionality. Click Uninstall Selected Items. All selected apps will be removed. After this, you have to rename your PC. During installation, Windows generates a random computer name, something like Desktop Dash XXXX. This name appears in Network Sharing, Remote Desktop Connections, and System Information. Change it to something recognizable. Go to Settings, then System, then About, then click Rename this PC. Type your preferred name. Keep it simple, no spaces, no special characters. Something like YourName-PC, LivingRoom-Desktop, or Work Laptop works well. Click Next and restart later when prompted. The new name takes effect after the restart. The last step is Setup Security. Proper account security is the final piece of the setup. Go to Settings, then Accounts, then Sign-in Options. Under Password, click Add or Change. Set a strong password. You can also set up PIN, Windows Hello, Fingerprint, or Face. If your PC has a fingerprint reader or IR camera, set these up under Fingerprint Recognition or Facial Recognition. Biometric login is faster and more secure than PIN or Password for daily use. Now, Screen Lock Timeout. Go to Settings, then System, then Power, then click Screen and Sleep Timeouts. Set the screen to turn off after 5 minutes on battery and 10 minutes plugged in. Windows requires your password or PIN after the screen turns off. Automatic security when you step away. Quick final check. Go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Windows Security. Open Windows Security and confirm all protection areas show green check marks. Virus and Threat Protection On, Firewall and Network Protection On, App and Browser Control, Smart Screen Enabled. If anything shows a warning, click it and follow the recommendation to resolve it. If you found this video useful, don't forget to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and turn on notifications for more Windows tips and tutorials. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.