Hi All
Thought I'd start a quick thread sharing some of my experience setting up hundreds of VAIO's over the years with a 3 step list to updating your VAIO when you first get it and keep it running in top working order.
- Out the box get online and use the VAIO update tool to check for any relevant software updates but especially driver updates. The nature of manufacturing PC's is that the build can be finalised a couple of months before they actually arrive in store and then depending when you actually buy it, new drivers may have been released since the build was locked so always worth checking
- Head to http://ninite.com/ - This brilliant website will allow you to easily select great free software and create an installer which will automatically install the latest version of each package consecutively. Whats great is that it deliberately won't install any of those toolbars or change homepages etc as some software packages request you do as part of the install process.
From this list I'd personally choose
- Chrome - excellent browser.
- iTunes - obviously if you have any Apple products
- VLC - Will playback any media you throw at it
- Java & Air - not always necessary but some websites & software utilise them
- Reader - for all those pesky pdf files.
- AVG - only ever have one antivirus checker. AVG is a very well regarded
- Spybot or Ad-Aware - can come in useful sometimes if kids install free games and things like that
- Dropbox - this is brilliant cloud storage and offers 2gb free. I use this all the time.
- CDBurnerXP -Simple CD/DVD burning software for those that need it
3. Once these have installed and you've rebooted, head over to http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner and get the brilliant CCleaner which fixes registry issues, provides a simple uninstaller tool to get rid of any other bundled software you don't want, cleans old system files etc etc. There are so many of these kind of tools on the market but these one I've always found the best. Its very robust, but as with any software, handle with care.I had a colleague who's machine was running really hot and taking ages to boot. Ran this tool, cleaned up something like 10gb of old system files and junk and it basically solved all the problems. So its definitely worth running this every couple of months or so.
4. Head to the Chrome store and checkout Adblock Plus - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search-extensions/adblock%20plus This will block popups and adverts from most websites meaning a quicker browsing experience.
Feel free to ask any questions - these are my personal recommendations, but hopefully will help out..
Thanks
