1) Backups!
All systems the first thing you should do is backup the software in it's present state. You never know if a RecoveryCD might go bad then you're stuck. So, backup those included CD's.
2) Driver Download
Next step is to gather the latest drivers for all your hardware and burn to a CD. Nothing can be more frustrating when you need a NIC driver and can't get on the internet to find it.
3) Software Update
Run Windows Update. There's lots of updates to be applied most likely. Having a DSL/Cable modem for this is a good idea bringing to somewhere, like work, where you have more bandwidth will help speed the process along. Please check with work to see if they'll allow you to do this.
4) Clean UP
Notebooks often come with AOL and other services you may not want. Delete them to help clean up the system.
5) Further clean up
Loading a newer version? Some notebooks come with MS Works and frequently users run MS Office. So, remove MS Works. Don't forget to check for other things like this.
6) Backup!
You've now updated the OS with all the patches, you've removed the components of the 'free extra software' that you'll not be using. Make a backup of your system. That way if you need to recover you can restore to a better state then what the recovery CD will give you.
7) Hardware Driver Update
This has been better then in the past but hardware drivers you downloaded in 2 should now be applied and checked. Load a driver and check out the functions. Windows XP has a roll-back feature which will auto uninstall the driver for you if it doesn't work. It's useful so be sure to optimize it.
Software Install
Now install Office and the software you're going to run.
9) Optmize interface
Some people want the speed out of a notebook and clicking some of the WinXP fancy interface features off can give you this. One quick way to do this is turn on the Classic Win2000 interface this helps to reduce the newer geegaws that are in XP. But, this can be a slow process.
10) Backups
Don't forget to include backups. This is probably the most frequent end user mistake. They will backup at some time and never seem to get around to it. Once they lose everything then they decide to start backing up next time. This not only goes for Windows but for any other system. Backups make things so much easier.
11) Amiga Forever or UAE
If you aren't going to use Amithlon, which is limited for notebooks, I'd recommend Amiga Forever. This is an Amiga site after all isn't your true goal to run the Amiga Workbench and software?
