This page describes the things I do to get a Microsoft system up and running as little to my disliking as possible. It's really just for me, though if you have any comments, I'd be happy to hear them.

• Tom's Hardware recommendations
• For a new Microsoft 10 system: Family & other users, add someone else to this PC. See photos. Then change to Administrator.
• Add user grog, set password and administrator privileges. Switch to user, Add yvonne.

  At some point in the past I added:

  MS 10: run lusermgr.msc (?)

  I have no idea what this means.

• Set up network: Network / Network Connections / enet interface: set IP address and default router manually. Set domain name for DNS search in Advanced TCP/IP settings.

• Remote desktop: via Control Panel/System. Select Remote settings, Remote, unset “require computers to use Network Level Authentication”. Add yvonne to list of allowed users.

• In Control Panel/System and security/Windows defender FW: Disable firewall. We have one in front of it anyway. If we leave it enabled, there are other things to do, which I haven't checked since moving to Microsoft “Windows” 10:

  • Enable ICMP echo response (ping). Ten easy steps to get what should be there by default.

• To be checked: Wake on LAN: via Control Panel/Network and Sharing center/Change adapter settings/interface/Properties right click/Configure/Advanced/Wake on magic packet/ (care: opens new window).

• “Map network drives”: I can no longer find a reliable way to display Microsoft's castrated version of Apple's “Finder”, which in the past has been called Computer, Windows Explorer and (most recently) File Explorer. It's obviously not important enough to include in the START menu, but I have an icon on the bar at the bottom of the display.

  Start it, select “This PC” on the left, then “Map network drive” at the top. Do it once for each user.

  This page and this one may help, though they show a different path through the menu maze.

• Use the search box to find taskbar settings, set “combine taskbar buttons” to When taskbar is full.

• I can't work out what this item is about:

  In the Start Menu submenu Customize select Run Command.

  The Power button action needs to be done on the local display.

• Set system name: System / About / Rename this PC
• Set NTP server: Date and time/Internet time

  Can't find this on “Windows” 10

• Set date and time formats at Region and Language.
• Update /etc/ethers on client machines with new system MAC address.
• Set up backup. Credentials are the SMB credentials, not the remote system credentials. Run backup.

• Single click to start programs: Control Panel/Folder Options (7), File Explorer Options (10). While you're there, go to View and unset Hide extensions for known file types, Hide protected operating system files, Hide empty drives. Select Show hidden files, Display file size information, Display full path, Show drive letters

• Add printer (network). Ignore control panel. For the Brother HL-3170CDW, start searching here; I suspect the links change constantly. 40 MB! And the install instructions are incorrect. Select “Brother Peer to Peer Network Printer” (no idea why “Brother”) and search. It should find it. It won't if you select “Brother Network Shared Printer”.

• Scanner. Search http://www.epson.com. Get the model right; it doesn't check on installation.
• Create system repair disk.
• Set background image.
• Power options: change settings/advanced power settings/power button action Set to sleep. Must be done locally.
• No password on wakeup.
• Install firefox chrome DxO Cygwin, Ashampoo, rwhod
• cygwin: Create symlinks: /C and /G. Symlink /G/.bashrc-cygwin and /G/abbreviations-cygwin to ~/.bashrc and ~/abbreviations.