Initial Setup of a Windows 10 HP desktop computer (description of Windows 10 prompts, bloatware removal, userid setup separate from Admin, etc) (March 2020)

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! Note !
Notes and images and links may be
added to this page --- if/when
I re-visit this page.

(Some changes may be needed as
web pages are assembled for the 2021
data-migration and other topics.)

Sections of this page, below :

INTRODUCTION    

2020 March Setup Tasks:

WIN10-PROMPTS     HP-PROMPTS     METRO-INTERFACE-REMOVAL

START-MENU-CLEANUP     MCAFEE-REMOVAL     TASKBAR-CONFIG

RIGHTCLICK-START-MENU (WIN10-SETTINGS)     APP-INSTALLS

USERID-SETUP (in addition to 'Admin')     TURBOTAX-INSTALL


CONCLUSION     BOTTOM-of-PAGE

INTRODUCTION : In the 2020-to-2021 time frame, I was migrating data files from an old Dell Windows 7 desktop computer to a newer HP Windows 10 desktop computer. Besides the appeal of upgrading to a computer with more up-to-date hardware components, I was mainly motivated (and forced) to migrate to Windows 10 (Wikipedia link) because Microsoft was stopping support of Windows 7 (Wikipedia link) in January 2020. Another strong motivator: Various important software apps, such as web browsers and TurboTax software, needed to be updated and they were no longer going to be available for Windows 7. So, around the year 2020, I finally started migrating from that old Windows 7 computer to a Windows 10 computer. The specifications of the two desktop computers --- an HP Slimline model 290-p0043w and a Dell Inspiron model 570 --- are presented on a separate computer specifications page --- along with some computer monitor models. It was a rather slow migration consisting of several steps: Initial setup of the HP Windows 10 computer (in 2020 March) --- by following initial Microsoft prompts and then eliminating the horrible 'Metro' interface, removing 'bloatware', and going through various Microsoft system settings. I also installed various '3rd party' apps (besides Microsoft and HP), in particular: SeaMonkey web browser (Wikipedia link) Firefox web browser (Wikipedia link) Thunderbird email client (Wikipedia link) LibreOffice office apps (Wikipedia link) IfranView image editor (Wikipedia link) This page describes details of this step. You can use the links at the top of this page to go to the various 'sub-steps' of the 'initial setup' of this computer. Basically the 'sub-steps' were (as indicated by the links above): respond to MS Windows 10 prompts, when the HP computer was first started up respond to some HP added-software prompts removal of the ugly-to-me 'metro interface', which consisted of a 'mish-mash' of squares-and-rectangles covering most of the desktop (I prefer the classic same-sized desktop icons which take up much less space on the desktop) remove unneeded 'app' items from the 'Start' menu (lots of Microsoft and 3rd-party stuff --- a lot of which is accessible via a web browser, instead of putting 'apps' on this computer that will incur extra update and maintenance processing) McAffee anti-virus app removal --- a costly app that cannot possibly keep up with all the viruses that are constantly being introduced as Microsoft updates its operating system code and thus, inevitably, introduces opportuniites for new virus infections. (I prefer to use Microsoft Defender software as well as changing various, dangerous Windows 10 default 'Settings' --- in addition to using various safe-practices in dealing with web browsing and email processing.) Taskbar configuration --- such as removing the Cortana app from the taskbar and adding a few handy items to the Taskbar for quick access (for example, FileExplorer and TaskManager and Calculator) configure RightClick-Start-Menu 'app' options, such as 'System', 'Device Manager', and 'Network Connections'. It turns out that most of these options are in the Windows 10 'Settings' utility. There are about 100 options in that utility that are defaulted to settings that are dangerous and/or that add up to a lot of unneeded CPU-or-DataStorage-or-Network processing. Documentation of those settings are on a Windows 10 settings page. install some apps (still logged in as 'Admin') such as the SeaMonkey web browser the Firefox web browser the Thunderbird email client the LibreOffice office suite userid setup --- a user login separate from the 'Admin' login. To help make it harder for viruses to 'take hold', it helps to have a userid-and-password that does not have permission to install software and make critical system changes. It is helpful to get prompted for an 'Admin' password when those types of changes are going to take place. TurboTax folder setup --- with last year's TurboTax data files. Installed TurboTax 2019 and migrated 2018 (and previous) TurboTax data files to the HP 'Slimline' computer (in 2020 March) --- and then used TurboTax (Wikipedia link) to do 2020 federal & state taxes. A description of the installation of TurboTax 2019 (and later TurboTax 2020, and previously TurboTax 2018 and 2017) is on other pages of this site. Migrated other data files Seamonkey bookmarks Thunderbird email folders various personal files such as photos in 2021 June. I intend to provide a page on this site that describes that 'Windows7-to-Windows10' Data-Migration process --- with details on moving those various types of files and 'importing' them into the newer versions of the applications that use those files. A main reason for these notes is to serve as a reference if I need to go through preparing ('initializing') another Microsoft Windows 10 (or Windows 11) computer. Enough of this introduction. A sequential description of the 'initial setup' of the Windows 10 HP desktop computer follows.

WIN10 COMPUTER INITIALIZATION STEPS:

WIN10-PROMPTS: (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) Connected computer components --- HP computer, Samsung monitor, UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), keyboard, mouse. Powered on the UPS and computer --- without an ethernet connection. (We have wired ethernet in our house. Although this desktop computer, like many modern desktop computers, has a Wi-Fi card installed, I prefer to use the wired connection for more reliablility and because our wireless router is at a far end of the house from this computer.) An HP logo showed on the monitor screen. A circle of dots spun for about 2 minutes, on a black screen. Then screen turned blue - with "Just a moment ..." message and spinning dots for about 2.5 minutes. A blue panel showed up on a black background. Title: "Let's start with region. Is this right?" 'United States' was hightlighted in a list of countries. Clicked the 'Yes' button at the bottom right of the blue panel. A blue panel with the title: "Is this the right keyboard layout?" 'US' was highlighted near the top of a list including 'English(India)', 'Irish', 'Scottish-Gaelic'. Clicked 'Yes' at lower right of panel. Then "Want to add a second keyboard layout?" Clicked 'Skip' at lower right of panel. Then a "Let's connect you to a network" blue panel, with a list that included Ethernet (not connected) several neighborhood wireless AP (AccessPoint) ID's, including mine I clicked 'Skip for now' at lower LEFT of blue panel. Then a blue panel titled: "Windows 10 License Agreement" - with the word 'Network' showing on black background just above the blue panel. There were 2 scrollable sub-panels on the left and right of the blue panel. The left panel showed 'Microsoft Software License Terms' with 'Last updated July 2017'. The right panel showed: 'This page includes 3 separate end user license agreements from the following companies: - Microsoft Corporation - HP Inc. - McAfee LLC' Clicked the 'Accept' button on the lower right of the blue panel. Then a blue panel titled: "Who's going to use this PC? What name do you want to use?" - with the word 'Account' showing on the black background just above the blue panel. I entered 'Admin' - then clicked the 'Next' button on the lower right of the panel. (I entered 'Admin' because I knew that Microsoft usually allows the user setting up the PC to have administration privileges. BUT I also knew I wanted to setup a separate userid later, for a user WITHOUT permissions to install software and change critical system parameters. This would make it harder for viruses to trick that user into installing dangerous software or into changing critical system software parameters.) A blue 'Account' panel prompted: "Create a memorable passwored. Make sure to pick something you'll absolutely remember." Entered a memorable password and clicked 'Next'. A blue 'Account' panel prompted: "Confirm your password. Type your password one last time." Entered the password again. Clicked 'Next'. A blue 'Account' panel prompted: "Create security questions for this account" "Just in case you forget your password, choose 3 questions, and make sure your answers are unforgettable." There were 6 *FIXED* questions to choose from. They do not seem to be changeable from: What was your first pet's name? What's the name of the city where you were born? What was your childhood nickname? What's the name of the city where your parents met? What's the first name of your oldest cousin? What's the name of the first school you attended? If you (1) didn't have a pet AND (2) do not know (for sure) the city where your parents met AND (3) do not have a cousin (or know the oldest one) AND (4) do not remember (for sure) the name of the first school you attended     (kindergarten or primary school?) then it is going to make it hard to pick 3 UNFORGETTABLE answers. These questions seem to be oriented toward well-to-do upper-middle-class people --- not toward people who cannot afford a pet and may not even know their parents (say orphaned). It was much better in Windows7 where you were allowed to make your own 'hint' as to your password. I did web searches on this subject but could find nothing about people having issues with these security questions --- and nothing about 'creating security questions' for Windows 10 accounts. I made up answers to 3 of the questions for 'Admin'. Two of the 3 are NOT unforgettable due to the vagaries of some of the questions, for me. A blue panel prompted: "Make Cortana your personal assistant?" Clicked 'No' at lower right. A blue 'Services' panel prompted: "Choose privacy settings for your device." I turned OFF (or tried to) all the following: - Speech Recognition (Don't) - Find any device (No) - Inking and typing (No) - Ad ID (No) - Location (No) - Dagnostic data (changed 'Full' to 'Basic') (no 'None' option) - Tailored experiences (No) (These are likely to incur a lot of unnecessary/unneeded/unwanted processing of left ON.) Clicked 'Accept' on the lower right. A blue 'Services' panel - "Register and Protect" - prompted: "Register with HP (optional) and choose your HP contact and service preferences. By clicking NEXT, you consent to the data processing explained below." Entry fields (and country menu): First name: Last name: Region (long list of countries) Email address: Left these blank and clicked 'Next'. (I do not want to give HP my email address, nor my name.) Got another "Register and Protect" panel with checkbuttons: Share my details with HP HP can share my contact details with McAfee HP may email me personalized HP offers, news, and support updates. Enable my PC to show HP contact options, warranty info, and important support messages. Unchecked all of these and clicked 'Next'. (What does HP mean by 'Share my details'? What details? These are intrusive and obnoxious. I am 99%-sure that I can live without this stuff --- AND these are sure to cause more unwanted/unneeded processing on this PC.) Screen turned black - "Hi" showed - then a message about setting some things. Screen turned blue - with message "This might take several minutes" and "Don't turn off your PC". Then, after about 30 secs, message "Leave everything to us." Then black. Then desktop with colored umbrellas background and 'Recycle Bin' and 'Microsoft Edge' icons at top right. Then some HP prompts started. See next section.

HP-PROMPTS: (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) About 30 seconds after the colored umbrellas desktop showed up, an 'HP Jumpstart' window showed up on the desktop - with the sub-title 'Help us help you'. There were entry fields for email, first-name, last-name, and there was a popup list of countries. There were also 2 checkboxes for: Email me personal offers, new, updates from HP Help improve product quality by showing your usage of HP and non-HP software and hardware I unchecked the 1st checkbox (which was checked) and left entry fields blank. Clicked 'Skip' button on the lower right. In an 'HP Jumpstart' window with sub-title 'HP recommends McAfee LiveSave', there was an entry field for an email address. Clicked 'Skip' button on the lower right. In another 'HP Jumpstart' window with sub-title 'You're off line :C', it said "Come back when you're connected for tips, tricks, and advice." That colon and capital C represent a sad (frowny) face. For me, it was actually a happy (smiley) face. Note that I was still not connected to the internet - neither by a WIRED-ethernet connection or a Wi-Fi connection. And I was glad I wasn't. No telling how much unwanted stuff Microsoft or HP would have downloaded onto this PC at this point. I clicked a blue 'Thanks, I'll com back later.' button. Then an image was shown with 'HP Jump Start' in the Microsoft 'Metro Interface'. (I guess that was to show how to 'Come back'.) I clicked an 'OK' button. The 'HP Jump Start' window disappeared. At this point the sequence of Microsoft and HP prompts appeared to be finished. I then proceeded to get rid of the 'mish mash' of 'Metro Interface' squares and rectangles from the desktop screen --- as described in the next section.

METRO-INTERFACE-REMOVAL: (and time-zone change) (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) I brought up the 'Metro Interface' (a mish-mash of squares and rectangles on the desktop background) by clicking on the 'Start' button on the lower right of the screen, on the taskbar. I proceeded to right-click on each rectangle (or, more briefly, 'box') and chose either 'Uninstall' or 'Unpin from Start'. Some of the boxes did not have an 'Uninstall' option, but they had the 'Unpin from Start' option. The 'boxes' that I could 'Uninstall' were the following: Wild Tangent Games Simple Solitaire Netflix Priceline Dropbox Vudu Movies and TV Power Media Player for HP consumer PC's with a DVD (Cyberlink software) Skype OneNote Excel (Trial) Word (Trial) Powerpoint (Trial) Note that this PC was mainly to be used for email processing, web browsing, making/viewing/editing occasional office documents (with LibreOffice), and using TurboTax (once a year). I did not want games that are usually loaded with ads and other bloatware and incur unwanted processing connected to the internet. And if I wanted movies or TV, I could access them through a web browser. Did not need Dropbox. And Zoom or Facetime would be used rather than Skype. The 'boxes' that I could only 'Unpin from Start' (no 'Uninstall' option) were the following: Microsoft Store Microsoft Edge Mail Calendar Xbox Movies & TV Groove Music Maps Calendar The only one of these that I would probably use is the 'Microsoft Edge' web browser --- as an alternative to the 'SeaMonkey' and 'Firefox' web browsers that I was going to install. Instead of (Microsoft) 'Mail', I was going to install the Thynderbird email client --- and migrate Thunderbird mail files from the old Dell Windows 7 computer to this newer HP Windows 10 computer. There were a few 'boxes' that had an 'Uninstall' option, BUT I decided to only 'Unpin from Start' --- in case there would be a need for them later: My Office (had an Uninstall option) HP Jump Start (had an Uninstall option) McAfee Security (had an Uninstall option) If necessary I could access these (or uninstall them) through the LIST of app-names in the 'Start' menu. NOTE: There were also about 10 'boxes' in the MetroInterface that showed a 'down arrow' symbol. If you held the mouse-cursor over any of these boxes, the box showed the text 'A good app is on its way!'. If you clicked on the 'down-arrow' box, it brought up a Microsoft 'Get connected to the internet' window. (I was glad I was not connected to the internet, because if I had been connected and I clicked on any of the 'down-arrow' boxes, it might have started downloading a bunch of unwanted cruft right away.) At this point I was finished with Uninstalling-and-Unpinning 'boxes' in the 'Metro Interface'. I noticed that the time was wrong (off by hours) in the time-date display on the right of the taskbar, at the bottom of the screen. It turned out I needed to change the time-zone from Pacific to EastCoast. I clicked on the time-and-date display. It offered an 'Additionaldate, time and region' option --- which accessed the Microsoft 'Settings' utility. At this point, I was ready to proceed to 'clean-up' of the list of apps in the 'Start' menu. See the next section.

START-MENU-CLEANUP: (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) After Unintalling-and-Unpinning all the Metro Interface 'boxes', the next time the 'Start' menu came up, there was NO space-hogging, ugly, distracting Metro Interface. GOOD! Now I scanned down the items in the 'Start' menu to see which ones to right-click and uninstall or hide. (There were some apps in the list that had not appeared in the Metro Interface.) Many of the items had no 'Uninstall' option, but I WAS able to uninstall the following: Access (Trial) - a Microsoft database system FeedbackHub LinkedIn Microsoft Software Collection Mobile Places Publisher Weather about 6 games in a 'Games' menu (After I uninstalled the 6 games --- from Blackjack to SOlitaire --- the 'Games' drop-down menu disappeared from the 'Start' menu.) Many of the items had no 'Uninstall' option included Microsoft apps, or groups of Microsoft apps. I left the following 'uninstallables' on the 'Start' menu: Alarms & Clock Calculator Calendar Camera Connect Get Help Groove Music Mail Maps Messaging Microsoft Edge Microsoft Store Mixed Reality Portal Mixed Reality Viewer Movies & TV Paint 3D People Photos Search Settings Sticky Notes Voice Recorder Xbox There were a few items in the 'Start' menu that I left to investigate later, such as: HP ePrint SW HP Audio Switch Mixed Reality Portal Mixed Reality Viewer Paint 3D Bonjour Here is a list of the items (mostly 'uninstallables') remaining in the 'Start' menu: Audio Control (HP) HP Audio Switch HP ePrint SW under 'HP Help & Support': HP Recovery Manager HP Support Assistant HP Documentation docs (do not have an 'Uninstall' option) HP SumpStart under 'McAfee': McAfee LiveSafe (the only item) McAfee Security MyOffice (Microsoft) Outlook (Microsoft) Windows Accessories (a Microsoft menu) Windows Administrative Tools (a Microsoft menu) Windows Defender Security Center (a Microsoft menu) Windows Ease of Access (a Microsoft menu) Windows Power Shell (a Microsoft menu) Windows System (a Microsoft menu) Xbox

MCAFEE-REMOVAL: (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) McAfee software removal: For reasons mentioned above, I went ahead and uninstalled the McAfee items: 'McAfee Security' first then 'McAfee LiveSafe'. When I clicked on 'Uninstall' for 'LiveSafe', the 'Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features' window popped up. I right-clicked on the 'McAfee LiveSafe' line (to highlight/activate it), clicked on the 'Uninstall/Change' line that popped up. Then I clicked 'Yes' on the 'User Account Control' window that popped up with the question 'Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?' ... 'Uninstall or change an application'. At a couple of warning message, I chose to proceed. A process window stayed open about 3 minutes showing a progress bar 'frozen' at about 50% done. Finally, a window popped up with a 'Software removed' message and 'To finish removing your McAfee software, close any programs that you have open and restart your PC.' Of the two 'Restart later' and 'Restart now' buttons, I chose 'Restart later' --- in order to configure the taskbar. See the next section.

TASKBAR-CONFIG: (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) Windows 10 showed the following items in the taskbar: Cortana Task view Microsoft Edge File Explorer Microsoft Store HP JumpStart Mail All of these are available from the 'Start' menu. I right-clicked on 'Mail', 'HP JumpStart', and 'Microsoft Store' and chose 'Unpin from taskbar'. I right-clicked on the taskbar and a popup menu showed 3 Cortana options (Hidden, SHow icon, Show search bar). I chose 'Hidden'. In the right-click-taskbar popup menu, I unchecked: Show Task View button Show People on the taskbar In the 'Toolbars' option of the taskbar menu, I unchecked 'HP Support Assistant Quick Access'. In the 'Settings' option of the taskbar menu (which is the Microsoft 'Settings > Personalization > Taskbar' menu) I changed option 'Combine taskbar buttons' from 'Always, hide labels' to 'When taskbar is full'. I moved to the 'Start' settings (via 'Personalization > Start') and turned the 'Show recently added apps' to OFF. (Won't turn off??) At this point on the LEFT of the taskbar were 3 items: Start button Microsoft Edge File Explorer An on the RIGHT of the taskbar were 5 items: Show hidden icons (3 icons: HP Audio Switch, Bluetooth Devices, Windows Defender Security Center) Network options Audio options Time-date options Notifications I went down the list of apps in the 'Start' menu and clicked on 'Pin to taskbar' for the following: Calculator Control Panel (from 'Windows System') Task Manager (from 'Windows System') ThisPC (from 'Windows System') in order to have quick access to these utilities. Later I would install 'SeaMonkey', 'Firefox', and 'Thunderbird'. After those installs, I would add their icons to the taskbar, for quick access (in addition to putting their icons on the desktop). For now, I wanted to explore the 'right-click-on-Start' popup menu and check what I might need to do to those options. See the next section.

RIGHTCLICK-START-MENU: (and Win10 'Settings') (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin' and with no internet connection) By right-clicking on the 'Start' menu, I was presented with the following menu of options: Apps & Features Power Options Event Viewer System Device Manager Network Connections Disk Management Computer Management Windows PowerShell Windows PowerShell (Admin) Task Manager Settings File Explorer Search Run Shutdown or sign out > Desktop The right-click-Start menu looked similar to the following image. You can click on this image to see it at its 'native' size in a separate window. Before doing a first-time Restart or Shutdown, I decided to examine these 'right-click-Start' options: When I clicked on 'Apps & Features', it took me to the Microsoft 'Settings > Apps' panel. I left the installing-apps option at 'Allow apps from anywhere' --- to be able to install TurboTax, SeaMonkey, Firefox, Thunderbird, and LibreOffice --- and perhaps a few others, such as Irfanview. While I was at the Microsoft 'Settings > Apps' panel, in 'Offline Maps', I turned OFF 'Automatically update maps'. And, while I was at the Microsoft 'Settings > Apps' panel, in 'Apps for websites', I turned OFF all switches --- for Maps, Microsoft Edge, and 6 switches for Microsoft Office apps. Further, while I was at the Microsoft 'Settings > Apps' panel, in 'Startup', the following apps were shown: BT Server HP Message Service Realtek WOWL Utility Windows Defender Notification icon I left those to be initiated at each startup of the PC. But, if they seem to be an unnecessary processing load on the PC, I may remove one or two of them in the future. I left the 'Default Apps' and 'Video playback' options in Microsoft 'Settings' as they were, for now. But after I install 'SeaMonkey' and 'Thunderbird', I intend to return to 'Default Apps' to change 'Microsoft Edge' to 'SeaMonkey' Microsoft 'Mail' to 'Thunderbird' I found that right-clicking on these 'right-click-Start' options was often leading to sections (subgroups) of the Windows 10 'Settings' menu --- which shows the following groups: System (Display, Sound, Notifications, etc.) Devices Phone Network & Internet Personalization Apps Accounts Time & Language Gaming Ease of Access Cortana Privacy Update & Security I decided to go through these and change settings to accomplish goals such as reducing unnecessary internet/network traffic --- for example, traffic to send information back to Microsoft servers --- and to 'the cloud' (whatever Microsoft means by that). Also, by turning many default settings from 'ON' to 'OFF', a lot of unnecessary 'local' CPU-processing and data-storage input-and-output can be eliminated. Since there were about 100-plus settings to be reviewed (and a major portion of those to be changed), I put the documentation of those settings-and-changes on a separate MS Windows 10 'Settings' Changes web page. I started up the 'Microsoft Edge' web browser to see what privacy (and interface) options I could (and should) set or change. It turned out not much. That is one major reason why I prefer to use the 'SeaMonkey' web browser. I shutdown the computer via the 'Start' menu options. At this point, I was through with most of the tasks of 'initializing' the computer with respect to Microsoft and HP software settings. Essentially all the above tasks were done on March 15, 2020. I had several main tasks to do: install '3rd-party' apps (SeaMonkey, Firefox, Thunderbird) setup a userid, separate from the 'Admin' userid install and use the TurboTax 2019 software (in spring 2020) These three tasks are described in 3 sections below. At a later date (in 2021), I would migrate data from the old Dell Windows 7 computer to this newer HP Windows 10 computer --- in particular Thunderbird mail files and SeaMonkey bookmarks and other files such as documents and photos. That 'Data-Migration' was a major, lengthy process that will be described on a separate web page. (This web page is huge. I need to break up the description of this Dell-to-HP, Win7-to-Win10 computer migration process.) See the next section on the SeaMonkey, Firefox, and Thunderbird installs.

APP-INSTALLS: (web browsing, email, office apps) (2020 Mar 15) (logged in as 'Admin') My plan was to use 'Microsoft Edge' web browser to download and install the 'SeaMonkey' web browser install package from the SeaMonkey website. Then I would download-and-install other apps --- Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice --- using the 'SeaMonkey' web browser. To start, I wanted to review the settings in 'Microsoft Edge' --- especially file-cleanup and privacy settings. I logged into the HP Windows 10 PC as 'Admin' and WITHOUT an internet connection (neither wired nor wireless). Unfortunately not much is changeable. I do not like the 'modern' interface of 'Microsoft Edge' --- an interface that hides most of the options. I like the classic interface with option like 'File', 'Edit', 'View', 'Go', 'Bookmarks', 'Tools', 'Help' across the top 'toolbar'. In 'Microsoft Edge', most of these kinds of options are hidden under a '...' symbol on the right of the 'Edge' window. I like to have a web browser remove most of the files from a session (such as cookies) when the web browser is closed. In 'Edge', I checked several checkboxes to the 'Cleanup' option (Form data, passwords) --- which already included cookies and history checked-checkboxes. After doing what I could to 'secure' Microsoft's 'Edge' browser, I used it to install 'SeaMonkey', as follows. SeaMonkey 2.53.1 install: I used Microsoft Edge (version 42.17134.1.0) and the DuckDuckGo search engine, to find and download the SeaMonkey install file (version 2.53.1 was the latest) from the official SeaMonkey web site --- at 'seamonkye-project.org'. It was a 40.7 Megabyte '.exe' file. I clicked on the install file, and after the SeaMonkey setup 'Wizard' finished, I did some initial setup of Bookmarks in SeaMonkey. I used the 'Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks...' toolbar menu to create folders and add web-links to them. I would need to return and use the 'Edit > Preferences' to set various security and privacy options. Firefox 74.0 install: I used SeaMonkey and DuckDuckGo to find and download the Firefox install file (version 74.0 was the latest) from the officeal Firefox site --- at 'mozilla.org'. It was a 78.9 Megabyte setup '.exe' file. After the download (to 'ThisPC\Downloads' folder), I right-clicked on the setup file in the SeaMonkey 'Download Manger' window and chose 'Open'. That started the Firefox 'Setup Wizard'. I chose the 'Custom' setup option --- to have access to several options. (I took most of the defaults.) After the 'Setup Wizard' finished, I did some initial setup of Bookmarks and security-privacy settings in Firefox. Thunderbird 68.6.0 install: I used SeaMonkey and DuckDuckGo to find and download the Thunderbird install file (68.6.0 was the latest version) from the official Thunderbird site --- at 'thunderbird.net'. It was a 38.7 Megabyte setup '.exe' file. After the download --- to 'ThisPC\Downloads' folder --- I right-clicked on the setup file in the SeaMonkey 'Download Manager' window and chose 'Open'. That started the Thunderbird 'Setup Wizard' --- after a prompt in a Microsoft 'User Account Control' window: "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?". I clicked 'Yes'. In the 'Thunderbird Installer' window, I chose the 'Custom' setup option --- to have access to several options. I took most of the defaults, including the checked-checkbox labelled 'Use Thunderbird as my default mail application'. LibreOffice 6.4.1.2 install: I used SeaMonkey and DuckDuckGo to find and download the LibreOffice install file (6.4.1.2 was the latest version) from the official LibreOffice site --- at 'libreoffice.org'. It was a 298 Megabyte '.msi' setup file. After the download (took about 2 minutes) --- to 'ThisPC\Downloads' folder --- I right-clicked on the setup file in the SeaMonkey 'Download Manager' window and chose 'Open'. That started the LibreOffice 'Setup Wizard' --- after a warning popup window about installing apps on Microsoft Windows. I chose the 'Custom' setup option --- to have access to several options. Two 'feature sets' were shown: Optional Components, including 'Image Filters', 'Extensions', 'Report Builder' and 'Dictionaries' (about 100 language dictionaries). User Interface Languages (about 100 languages; 3 English were pre-selected: South Africa, United Kingdom, United States) Pre-selected dictionaries were: English (24MB), French (7 MB), Spanish (7 MB) I added: Arabic (7 MB), Italian (7 MB), Portuguese (7 MB), Russian (7 MB), Slovak (7 MB) After choosing to use LibreOffice to open about 5 types of Microsoft Office documents (including Word), when I clicked on the 'Install' button, it said it would take several minutes to install. Surprisingly, the progress bar was showing for no more than 60 seconds, and the install was done. Now that I had these '3rd-party' apps installed, I wanted to proceed to install TurboTax 2019 in order to do federal and state taxes. When I would do the 'Data-Migration' of Thunderbird mail files and SeaMonkey bookmarks (in June 2021), the use of Thunderbird would begin 'in earnest'. That 'Data-Migration' is to be described on a separate web page. Proceed to the next section, to see the 'userid preparation' for the installation of TurboTax.

USERID-SETUP: (in addition to an 'Admin' userid) (2020 Apr 07) I wanted to setup a userid separate from the 'Admin' userid, for a user to use various applications on this computer (TurboTax, SeaMonkey, Thunderbird, etc.). And in that user's 'folders', I wanted to setup a TurboTax folder in which to put previous years' TurboTax data files --- transferred (via USB stick) from the old Dell Windows 7 computer to this newer HP Windows 10 computer. To setup up the userid (say 'marlo') in Windows 10 on this HP computer, I used the 'Start' menu to go to Start > Windows System > Control Panel > User Accounts > Manage Accounts > Add a new user That took me into the Microsoft Windows 10 'Settings' menus, namely: Settings > Accounts > Family & other people > Add someone else to this PC I answered prompts for name, password, and 3 of 6 security questions. The 6 security questions were not what I would have chosen. I could not find 3 for which I would have an 'unforgettable' response. There did not seem to be a way to change the questions. I did web searches to find information on these security questions. The internet was strangely silent on these. I liked the way that Windows 7 simply allowed the user to specify a hint for the password. I had a nice hint for the 'Admin' and the 'marlo' passwords. I could not use that technique in this 'Add user' process. THIS IS NOT GOOD! After this was done, I used a file-explorer to see if the 'folder' named 'marlo' was created under the 'C:\Users' folder. The 'marlo' folder was not created yet, so I shutdown the computer. I powered up the computer. A background image showed up with no prompts for a userid or password. I clicked on the background image. On the lower left of the screen, 'Admin' and 'marlo' was displayed. In the center of the screen, was an entry field for the 'Admin' password. I clicked on the 'marlo' indicator at the lower left of the screen. The 'Admin' entry field in center of the screen changed to 'marlo'. I entered the 'marlo' password. I got a blue screen saying it may take a couple of minutes. The desktop image eventually came up with SeaMonkey, Firefox,Thunderbird, and LibreOffice icons on the desktop. On the taskbar were icons/places for Cortana TaskView Microsoft Edge File Explorer Microsoft Store Dropbox Promotion HP JumpStart Mail Apparently the taskbar changes I performed in a section above only applied to the taskbar for 'Admin'. I would have to make taskbar changes for the user 'marlo'. For example, I right-clicked on 'Cortana' and chose 'Hidden'. And, I right-clicked on 'Microsoft Edge' and chose 'Unpin'. When I clicked on the 'Start' menu, it came up with the entire ugly 'Metro Interface'. Apparently many of the 'Metro Interface' changes I performed in a section above only applied to the 'Metro Interface' for 'Admin'. I would have to make 'Metro Interface' changes for the user 'marlo'. The MetroInterface 'boxes' that I had 'Uninstalled' may not have shown up, but there were some to 'Unpin from Start'. I unpinned all the boxes in the 'marlo' MetroInterface. Then I closed and re-opened the 'Start' menu. No MetroInterface 'boxes' showed. GOOD! I then went through the LIST of 'Start' menu apps, and right-clicked and 'Uninstalled': Dropbox Promotion MS Solitaire Collection Mobile Plans Netflix OneDrive Simple Solitaire Vudu Movies & TV Wild Tangent Games I used FileExplorer to look in the 'C:\Users' folder. GOOD! I could now see a 'marlo' userid folder. Now I could put the TurboTax data files in a 'marlo' folder. I made a 'TurboTax' foler in the 'Documents' folder that was in the 'marlo' folder. I plugged in a USB stick that contained old TurboTax files from the old Dell Windows 7 PC. Using two file-navigation windows, I highlighted and copied TurboTax files from the USB stick to the 'Documents' folder of 'marlo' on the HP computer. The files showed up as icons rather than as a list. Since I am often dealing with folders/directories with hundreds of files, I prefer to see the filenames in a list. I changed the 'View' options in the file-navigation windows to 'List'. While I was there, I changed 'View' options to 'Show file extensions' and to 'Show hidden files'. In copying the previous years' TurboTax files from the Dell-Windows7 computer to the HP-Windows10 computer, I noticed a slight difference in the 'Documents' folders in Windows7 versus Windows10. The Windows7 folder was C:\Users\marlo\MyDocuments/TurboTax while the Window10 folder was C:\Users\marlo\Documents/TurboTax At this point, I was ready to install-and-use TurboTax 2019 (in spring 2020). See the next section.

TURBOTAX-INSTALL: (April 2020) The installation of the TurboTax 2019 software (in 2020) is described in a separate TurboTax2019-install-on Windows-10 web page. About a year later (in spring 2021), I installed the TurboTax 2020 software on this HP Windows 10 computer. That installation (in which a few of the steps were slightly different) is described in a separate TurboTax2020-install-on Windows-10 web page. END of Initial-Setup-of-Win10-HP-Desktop-Computer Notes. The 'Data-Migration' from the old Dell Windows 7 computer to the newer HP Windows 10 computer was done much later --- about a year later, in June 2021. That 'Data-Migration' is to be described on a separate web page. In particular, that page will describe the migration of the old-Thunderbird mail files from the Dell Windows 7 computer into the newer Thunderbird installation (described above) on the HP Windows 10 computer.

CONCLUSION: The 'Initial-Setup-of-a-Win10-HP-Desktop-Computer' here may be used to help me know what to expect if/when I have to setup another Windows 10 (or Windows 11) computer. If I am setting up another Windows computer, it may help to be able to bring up these web pages (from this web site) at some point in the setup process --- or before the setup process is started. This web page is provided on the internet --- to help me, and perhaps others. Go to Top of Page, above.

Bottom of this page of Initial-Setup-of-a-Win10-Computer Notes. To return to a previously visited web page location, click on the Back button of your web browser, a sufficient number of times. OR, use the History-list option of your web browser. OR .... Go to Top of Page, above. Or you can scroll up, to the top of this page. Page history: Page was created 2021 Aug 06.