How to set up your laptop like a pro

Windows 11 has its quirks, but it’s a great operating system with a tonne of services and features that serve both students and working professionals well. However, Windows does have a lot of bloat, especially on new laptops, and disabling that bloat and enabling certain hidden features can not only improve performance and battery life, but also improve your overall computing experience. Let’s get started!

Uninstall third-party antivirus software

Most new laptops come pre-installed with either McAfee or Norton Antivirus. However, Windows comes with its own built-in antivirus and security system called Windows Defender. Defender is deeply integrated into Windows and both Defender and Windows are updated continuously to mitigate and counter security threats. Third-party antivirus suites don’t add anything to what Windows Defender is already doing, and worse, impact performance while also sending up nagging notifications.

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Getting rid of these antivirus suites will improve performance a bit, and keep your system just as safe, if not safer, without them. Do note that some of these suites include a browser plug-in that’s installed by default. We’d recommend uninstalling that as well.

Uninstall unnecessary apps

Laptop makers and Microsoft themselves send the devices pre-installed with a bunch of unnecessary apps and games. We’d recommend going through the list of installed apps and deleting anything you don’t need.

You can do this by right-clicking on the Windows icon in the taskbar and clicking “Installed apps”. Uninstall unwanted apps from the list that shows up.

Clean up your startup items

The programs that start automatically when you boot up your computer for the first time can really slow things down. Some are essential, but there are others like automatic updaters and the like that will also boot up with Windows and slow your boot process as well as general Windows performance.

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To sort through this list, open the Task Manager by right clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager or hitting Ctrl + Alt + Del simultaneously and selecting Task Manager. Here, select the Startup tab and sort programs by impact. Disable the programs you know you don’t need (you can search for the listed name on Google to check if it’s an important program) by right clicking on them and clicking disable. 

Sorting by impact will also let you know which startup programs are affecting boot time. In addition, if you’re not using services like OneDrive, we’d recommend disabling it here.

Install essential apps

While Chrome browser is something everyone installs by default, here are some additional apps you can try.

1. Chrome browser: The default browser for basically everyone, it’s  available here

2. VLC Media Player: This is a powerful, open-source media player that can handle just about any media file you throw at it, including streaming URLs.

3. 7-zip: If you want to extract files from zip files, rar files, and more, 7-zip is an excellent free tool to get things started.

4. Notepad++: While Windows has a built-in note-taking app, it doesn’t come close to beating the power of the free Notepad++ app. Notepad++ isn’t just great for taking notes, it’s an interface you can use for writing code and intelligently formatting text for readability. It’s also got tonnes of additional features that programmers especially will love.

5. DaVinci Resolve: If you want to edit videos, we’d recommend DaVinci Resolve. It’s a cinema-grade editing app that, for whatever reason, is available for free for everyone.

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The paid version adds support for higher resolutions and other performance improvements, but is largely the same app. Resolve is the most powerful free editing tool you can use on Windows today.

6. Blender: If you’re into 3D modeling and animation, there’s simply nothing else out there that matches Blender. The learning curve is steep, but rest assured that despite the Rs 0 price tag, blender is more powerful than many professional programs.

Cleaning up some junk and installing a handful of useful apps will go a long way towards making your PC more performant and useful than it already is. It’s also a great way to know your system better and understand how various processes impact what you do.