What do I do first with a new laptop?

A new laptop works out of the box, which is why most people skip the setup and deal with the consequences six months later. Ninety minutes on the first day covers updates, backup and the software you will actually use, and it is much harder to do once the machine is full.

Safety

Step by step

1. Charge it fully and run every update first.A machine that has been in a box for months is several updates behind, including security ones. Run them repeatedly until none remain — the first round often reveals a second. Do this before signing into anything important.
2. Sign in with an account you can recover.A Microsoft or Apple account with a current recovery email and phone number and two-factor enabled. Getting locked out of the account the machine is tied to is a considerably worse problem than it sounds.
3. Set the device name to something meaningful.Not the default. It appears on your network, in backups and in find-my-device lists, and 'DESKTOP-4K7X2' tells you nothing when there are three machines in the house.
4. Turn on disk encryption.BitLocker on Windows or FileVault on macOS. It protects your files if the laptop is lost or stolen, and it costs nothing in daily use — but save the recovery key somewhere outside the machine.
5. Set up backup before moving any files.This is the step that gets deferred forever. An external drive or a cloud backup configured on day one, before there is anything to lose, is the difference between a habit and an intention.
6. Remove the preinstalled extras.Trial antivirus, manufacturer utilities, bundled toolbars and games. They slow startup and clutter the machine. Removing them while it is empty takes ten minutes and is much harder once things depend on each other.
7. Keep the built-in security software.Windows Defender and macOS's own protection are adequate for most people. A trial third-party antivirus expiring in thirty days is worth removing rather than renewing.
8. Move files deliberately rather than everything.A new machine is the one chance to leave behind years of accumulated clutter. Copy documents, photos and what you actually use, not a full clone of the old disk.
9. Set up a password manager early.Before signing into thirty services. Doing it now means every login you set up on this machine goes in properly rather than being remembered badly.
10. Install only what you need.Browser, office software, whatever you actually use. Adding things as you need them keeps the machine fast and makes it obvious what is genuinely required.
11. Configure the basics for comfort.Display scaling and text size, trackpad direction, keyboard shortcuts, and the power settings. Ten minutes now removes a small daily irritation for years.
12. Register the warranty and note the details.Serial number, purchase date, and where the receipt is, stored somewhere off the machine. You need them at exactly the moment the laptop is not working.
13. Keep the old machine until you are sure.A month, not a day. Things surface that you forgot to transfer. Wipe it properly before selling or recycling, once you are certain.

Tips

• Do the updates while doing something else. The first round on a new machine can take an hour and there is nothing to watch.
• Take a photo of the serial number and the model on day one. It is on a label that becomes unreadable or is under a sticker you will remove.
• If this is replacing a machine that felt slow, resist reinstalling everything that was on it. Most of the speed difference is the absence of accumulated software.

Common mistakes

• Transferring everything from the old machine — It carries across years of clutter, startup software and settings, so the new machine feels like the old one within weeks. Move what you use, not a clone.
• Leaving backup until later — Later means after something has been lost. Setting it up when the machine is empty takes ten minutes and requires no decisions about what matters.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask