So with all these problems in mind I’ve written a short 25 page eBook which I’m giving away for free.  “Setting up and Configuring a New PC” helps you to do just that.  It’s a PDF and has been specifically designed to be easy to print so that you can refer to it later (and not so large and full or images that it destroys your printer ink in the process, though you might want to keep a spare blue cartridge handy just in case).

The book deals just with the most important aspects of setting up your computer so that you and your files and documents are safe and protected in the long-term.  It’s split into four parts.

In part 1 I show you how you can split your computer’s hard disk into two or three partitions.  This means you can keep your files and documents safe and away from Windows just in case a disaster means the OS needs to be completely reinstalled, and that if you have space on your hard disk you can also keep a backup image copy of your Windows installation itself.  This section also shows you how to create system backup and rescue discs that use can use to restore your computer in the event of a catastrophe.

Part 2 details the inevitable problems that come with trial-versions of anti0virus software being installed on your computer, and part 3 follows this up with information on how to remove the excess bloatware and crapware that is commonly bundled with new computers and that can not only be set to run at startup, slowing your computer down, but that also just takes up space and is completely unnecessary most of the time.

In the last part I show you how you can move your files and documents away from your Windows 7 partition or disk to keep them safe.  This is moving them to the partition you created in part 1.  The reasons for doing all this are that if Windows 7 does need to be completely reinstalled somewhere down the line, which is fairly likely, keeping your files and documents on the same hard disk partition as the operating system itself will mean they will be inevitably wiped during the restore.

The other reason for creating your own backup too is that because modern computers come with a restore partition, this will restore all the crap software that came with the machine in the first place.  It really will perform a factory reset.

You can download the eBook here though I do recommend that you follow all the instructions very carefully indeed.  While the partitioning tool in Windows 7 is fairly simple and foolproof, this process is never without its risks.  Take care and try and have a tech-savvy friend about when you do this.

A message popped up halfway through the installation telling me to close Freeware Update to continue the installation. That sounded a bit weird as the installation of the (same) program was not finished yet. I clicked on the OK button only to be greeted with the same message again.

It got a bit silly after pressing ok for about ten times. Next stop was the Windows Task Manager which only listed the installer of the program as open. I figured that something went wrong, killed the setup in the task manager and started the installation again. The result was unfortunately the same. Last chance was to run the installer as administrator which – again – led to the error message.

It can be that the program is not compatible with Windows 7. But the developer’s have not added any compatibility information to their website so that this was impossible to check. A likely reason is a check if the program is running. Maybe that check does only look for the Window title and figured that the installer was actually the main program. Checked the forum to find a post of a user who reported the same problem. It is apparently possible to run the installer in safe mode. The user also mentioned that older versions did not have the problem.

Whatever it is I quickly killed the process, deleted the program and decided to stop wasting my time with a program that simply would not work for me.

Update: Freeware Updater is no longer available. The website and software have been discontinued. Check out programs like Secunia Online Software Inspector, Updates Notifier or SUMO for viable alternatives.