From the same Slashdot computer-configuration article:
On Windows
(Score:5, Informative)
by ewhac (5844) on Thursday April 05, @12:32PM (#18625205)
I’ve done this a couple of times recently — once for my new machine, and once for a friend of mine whose machine got pwn3d. My checklist works roughly like this:
* Perform an inventory of the hardware in the machine. Note especially the vendor and model number of the major components. You’ll need this later.
* Establish partitions on the boot drive (only if I’m dual-booting Linux or BeOS or something).
* Yank network cable.
* Install Windows from installation media. This takes a ridiculous amount of time, considering that most of the work is (should be) simply copying files. Reboot.
* Install Service Pack 2, which I conveniently have on a separate CD I burned. Reboot.
* Crank up Windows firewall to highest setting, or moral equivalent thereof (I’m behind a NAT router, so that works).
* Visit Windows Update, and download all security and bug fixes. Duration depends on connection speed, but it can easily consume an hour. Reboot.
* Using the hardware inventory you prepared earlier: for $item in $inventory ; do
o Visit hardware vendor’s site.
o Locate, download, and install latest device driver(s) for $item.
o Reboot.
* done
At this point, you have a usable machine. If it’s my machine (and even if it isn’t my machine), I usually install the following software:
* Firefox [mozilla.com]
* Vim [vim.org]
* VirtuaWin [sourceforge.net]
* TreeSize [jam-software.com]
* PuTTY [greenend.org.uk]
* WinSCP [winscp.net]
* TweakUI [microsoft.com]
Schwab
–
