Setting up a Windows 95/98 computer
Additional software
Once you have installed Windows you can install the rest of the software you are going to use. Again, be guided by what you are going to use the computer for and do not install anything "just in case". You will almost certainly want to install an office suite such as Microsoft Office, but be aware that there are many less expensive or even free programs which are perfectly adequate and could be installed where funds are tight. Here are our recommendations for general classroom use:
- An office suite
- A web browser and email program
- A virus scanner
- A file compression program to handle zip files
- Acrobat Reader for reading PDF files
- A typing tutor
- A mouse tutor
- Fonts to allow typing in students' mother tongue
It is a good idea to run Disk Defragmenter after installing Windows and again after installing each major program. This ensures that the program files are laid down in sequence on the hard drive and the read head does not have to jump around when you load the programs later. See the section on general housekeeping for more information about how you can keep your computer hard drive in good condition. You should also log on to the Windows Update web site and download all the critical updates and security patches to keep your Widows installation up to date.
Final touches
You haven't quite finished yet! You will see that there are lots of icons scattered across the desktop and the Start Menu is a complete mess. Your last job is to tidy up so that everything can be seen and used easily; this is especially important for beginners who find everything confusing at first.
- Delete everything from the desktop except the icons for the Network, My Computer, My Documents and the Recycle Bin.
- Drag the Recycle Bin to the bottom right corner of the desktop, out of harm's way
- Create two new folders on the Start menu - Office and Internet - and then rearrange the Start menu as shown on the screen shot below
- Empty the recycle bin, delete any temporary files, clean the registry with your favourite utility and then run disk defragmenter one last time.
Conclusion
Setting up a computer properly takes a little longer than if you simply accept the installation defaults, but the rewards are high. You will have a machine which is easy to use, runs quickly and can be easily recovered when the inevitable fatal crash occurs.