For a while now I've been working on a scheme to help me jump-start a new PC into my ideal configuration. I call this portable infrastructure my "virtual PC." The physical PC could be fresh and sparkling from the factory, a PC that a client or friend asks me to configure for them (set it to my style first, then tweak it for them), or a new bootable partition on an existing PC in my collection. I established two requirements for this project.
A. Consolidate all configuration steps into a single
Word document.
I can then publish it as a Web site on one of our company's servers to retrieve it no matter where I am. Alternately, I can carry it around with me as a Word document on a CD, saved down to Word 6.0/95 file format so Wordpad can open it.
B. Consolidate all required software, if possible,
onto a single CD.
It's handy to compress whatever software cornucopia you consider essential for the proper functioning of a PC. A compact disc is an inexpensive, small, lightweight, high-density medium (up to 650 MB of storage capacity) that's almost universally readable on any CD-ROM drive.
Here are the steps for configuring my virtual PC. Adjust
according to your personal preferences. You'll see many
references to our book "The Unofficial Guide to PCs" (TUPGCs).
Click here for more info about our book on Amazon:
http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/223/tr.cgi?tugpcs1
1. Install core operating system.
2. Create a startup diskette with CD-ROM support and fully test this diskette.
3. Verify and optimize BIOS settings. See TUGPCs pp. 86-91. (Skip this step if it's a new bootable partition on one of my existing PCs.)
4. Quickly validate devices. See TUGPCs pp. 93-98. (Skip as above.)
5. Burn in the system by hand. See TUGPCs pp. 98-106. (Skip as above.)
6. Burn in the system using utilities. See TUGPCs pp. 106-114. (Skip as above.)
7. Configure Windows Explorer's Folder Options. See TUGPCs pp. 125-134.
8. Configure according to TUGPCs' "Everybody Do This" list. See TUGPCs pp. 134-151 (headings relevant to me are shown below).
a. Organize Windows Start menu
b. Organize Windows Desktop
c. Remove unwanted operating system applications
d. Add missing operating system applications
e. Maximize performance
f. Size down the Recycle Bin
g. Size down the Internet
h. Fine-tune miscellaneous options
9. Configure according to TUGPCs' Chapter 7 "Going Further with Additional Customizations" on pp. 153-171 (headings relevant to me are shown below).
a. Using the Send To command
b. Set up Favorites (copy from my Virtual PC CD)
c. PowerToys (I use DOS Prompt Here, Explore From Here,
Send To X)
d. Fine-tune with TweakUI
10. Verify and optimize the low-level startup files Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. Ideally, strip them naked (always testing carefully if it's a new PC). I include the command C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\DOSKEY in my Autoexec.bat so DOSKEY is available to any MS-DOS window I start.
11. Install my personal "Core Utilities" list that's an extension of TUGPCs' "Everybody Do This" list.
a. Nico Mak's WinZip
b. Microsoft IntelliMouse if this is one of my PCs with an
IntelliMouse
c. Resource Meter (Rsrcmtr.exe, comes with Win98x)
d. Alex van Kaam's MotherBoard Monitor
e. PowerQuest's Partition Magic
12. Use Partition Magic to create an extended partition comprised of one logical partition and about 300 MB of free space (I use this free space in the next step). This logical partition will serve as the data drive (D:). (Skip this step if it's one of my existing PCs that already has a data partition.) (Note: need PowerQuest's CD for this step.)
13. Use Partition Magic to copy the existing primary bootable partition into a new logical partition. When the copy operation is complete, reduce the second logical partition's size as far as possible, and hide it. This logical partition -- let's call it the "emergency OS partition" -- now contains a perfectly configured environment, excluding the larger workhorse applications like Office, Visual Basic, etc. that I'll install momentarily. (Skip this step if it's one of my existing PCs that already has an emergency OS partition, unless this is a different or special OS that needs its own emergency clone.)
14. Install my personal "Workhorse Applications" list that's an extension of our TUGPCs "Everybody Do This" list.
a. Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0
b. Internet Explorer 5 Web Accessories
c. Internet Explorer 5 Power Tweaks
d. Microsoft Office 2000 Developer Edition & any SRs
e. Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional & any SPs
15. Configure Task Scheduler for the primary bootable partition. Look under TUGPCs' index for "Task Scheduler."
16. Configure for a local area network, if any.
You can use this Virtual PC checklist, personalized for your own preferences, to take your PC with you anywhere you go. All you need is your latest data, the CDs for your workhorse applications, and a custom-made CD containing the ZIPs or EXEs for whatever assortment of tools and applications are on your must-have list.
