In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that we had finally ordered a new machine for the office. It won’t arrive for at least a couple of weeks so we have plenty of time to prepare for installing software.

Before I get into the process, I’m going to refer back to a four-part series I did back in 2012 about setting up a computer.

• Setting Up a Computer From Scratch — Part 1 — The Operating System
• Setting Up a Computer From Scratch — Part 2 — The Software
• Setting Up a Computer From Scratch — Part 3 — The Content Libraries
• Setting Up a Computer From Scratch — Part 4 — The Data and Backup

The new computer is coming with Windows already installed. This means the first part of the series isn’t as important. Sure, there will be a few Windows options that need to be installed and I’ll definitely want to change the default interface.

There will be some specialty software that needs to be installed for very specific hardware like our Epson DiscProducer PP-100. Yes, other printer drivers tablet drivers will also be needed.

I have some very specific utilities that I can’t live without. MysticThumbs is one of my favorites for giving me previews of nearly any graphics file.

Of course it needs CorelDRAW (X6 for me) and the Adobe CS Suite. Important business software like Microsoft Office and QuickBooks Pro need to be added. Web browsers such as Firefox and Chrome need to be added. Throw in a variety of other graphics tools and we’ll be all set.

So how do we install all of it? Some is available on a DVD and I’ll collect a pile of them in advance. Others are downloaded and I am very good about saving all downloaded software in a specific folder. Many of the software titles require a serial number. I’m also very good at saving my serial numbers in a safe repository so I can find them whenever needed.

The whole process will likely take a day or two. It won’t be a non-stop session as some of the installs take a bit of time to copy all of the files. But when all is done, the computer will be ready to be put into action.