Set up Windows 11

People say that if you play Microsoft CD’s backwards, you hear satanic things, but that’s nothing, because if you play them forwards, they install Windows.

I rate Microsoft windows 10 at one level above a nasty computer virus, Steven Magee.

Windows 11 feelsresponsive and fast. It is better for multi-tasking, more battery-efficient, and has a better design and interface, but security and privacy are big concerns. This article is written for those that have just installed or updated to the latest version of Microsoft Windows and explains what to do to set it up correctly and harden it as much as possible.

Setting up your new Windows computer correctly ensures optimal performance, security, and a smoother user experience. Here’s a detailed, step-by-step guide to help you through the setup process:

1. Initial Setup. Check that all components are intact, included, and that there’s no physical damage.

2. Boot up your system, complete the Windows initial setup: chose your region and keyboard layout, connect to your Wifi network, and log in with a Microsoft account.

3. Create two local accounts, one for administration tasks and the other for normal, day to day use: Settings, Account, Other users, and smash the Add account button. Select I don’t have the person’s sign-in information, then choose Add a user without a Microsoft account. On one of the account, click on Change account type, and select Administrator.

   Go to Windows’ Control Panel, User Account, User Accounts, and remove the old Microsoft account or make it a standard user (i.e., not an Administrator).

        Use always a non-administrator account as your daily driver.
   

4. Update your operating system, programs, and drivers to their latest versions. Click the Start Menu, Settings, Windows Update. Click on Check for updates and install all available updates. to install the latest security patches and system updates. This ensures your system is secure and stable.
   It is worth noticing that Windows will automatically update your drivers via Windows Update, but you may want to do it manually by going to Device Manager, double clic a category, e.g., Display adaptors, right click a device, e.g., NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 5700, click Properties, switch to the Driver tab, and smash the Update Driver button.  

5. Install drivers. Press Win + X and select Device Manager. Expand Display adapters to see your graphics card (e.g., NVIDIA RTX A5550 Laptop GPU). Then, visit the official NVIDIA driver page, search for your GPU model, select your operating system, and download the appropriate driver (e.g., Nvidia Drivers, Manual Driver Search, NVIDIA RTX PRO/RTX/Quadro, NVIDIA RTX Series, NVIDIA RTX A5550, Windows 11, English) or download the driver directly from for your laptop manufacturer (e.g., Dell, HP, Lenovo). In my particular case, I visit the Lenovo’s official support site to ensure compatibility with my ThinkStation P3 Ultra (Drivers & Software, PC Support, Workstations, P Series workstations (ThinkStation), P3 Ultra Workstation (ThinkStation), Automatic or Manual Update).

   To identify your motherboard model. Press Win + R, type cmd, and hit Enter. Type: wmic baseboard get product,manufacturer,version,serialnumber.

6. Remove bloatware, unused services, and crapware: Uninstall any preloaded trial (Settings, Apps, Installed Apps or use Third-Party Tools like Bulk Crap Uninstaller or Revo Uninstaller), apps from startup (Settings, Apps, Startup), and unnecessary preloaded software. It frees up resources and disk space: Native Microsoft Apps (Microsoft To Do, Microsoft Sticky Notes, Clipchamp video editor), Pre-installed Games (Candy Crush Saga, Microsoft Solitaire Collection, FarmVille 2), etc.

   Clean Temporary Files & Junk with Disk Cleanup and Storage Sense: Settings, System, Storage, Storage Sense (auto-delete temporary files).

   O&O ShutUp10++ is a free antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11. Download and launch it, then select Actions, Apply only recommended settings. It helps you define how Windows 10/11 should respect your privacy by deciding which unwanted functions should be deactivated.  

   To remove unwanted ads manually: Settings, Personalization, Lock screen, Personalize your lock screen (Picture/Slideshow) and uncheck Get fun facts, tips, trick, and more on your lock screen. Besides, go to Settings, Personalization, Device usage, and turn off all the options. Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Recommendations & offers, and turn off all the toggles; and repeat the process again: Settings, Privacy & Security, Diagnostic & feedback.

7. Tweak Essential Settings. Show File Extensions (By default, Windows hides file extensions). Enable them in File Explorer, Options, View, Show hidden files, folders, and drivers. In Windows 11, the maximum path length limitation is disabled by default, so you shouldn’t need to change anything.

8. To type Spanish accents and special characters using a US keyboard layout in Windows 11: Enable US International Keyboard Layout (Navigate to Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region). Click Add a language and add English (United States) if not already installed. Click English (United States), ···, Language options. Under Keyboard layouts, add United States-International. Switch to this keyboard layout by clicking the language icon on the taskbar or pressing Win + Space to toggle layouts.

   Shortcut: accented vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú): the apostrophe key ’ (single quote) + vowel. ñ: the tilde key ~ (usually Shift + key next to 1) + n. ü: the double quote key " (Shift + ’ key) + u. Inverted question mark (¿): Right Alt (AltGr) + /.

9. Change your sign-in settings: Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options. You can sign-in using a PIN, a security key (a physical security key, e.g., YubiKey 5 NFC or Titan Security Key, is highly recommended), password, or a picture password.

10. Install some apps: Google Chrome and some Extensions, ninite (VLC, 7-Zip, Putty, Visual Studio Code, NotePad++). Consider using Barrier for multi-computer setups. Install a terminal emulator: Warp (an AI command line power user on day one) or Wave, productivity tools: AutoHotKey or Espanso; Power Toys, DaVinci Resolve, GIMP, LibreOffice/Only Office, OBS Studio, qBittorrent, ShareX, KeePass XC, Obsidian, and LocalSend.

11. Disable notifications: System (Windows + I), Notifications, turn off Notifications from apps and other senders. Furthermore, navigate through Settings, System, Notifications, and toggle off the Notification slider. Uncheck Additional settings, Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and when signed in to show what’s new and suggested, Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device and Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.

12. Disable Taskbar Icons: Personalization, Taskbar. You may want to disable unwanted icons: Search (set to Hide), Task view, Microsoft OneDrive, and Widgets.

13. Configure your power management settings: Settings, System, Power, Power mode, and choose Best performance (it prioritizes speed and responsiveness over battery life)/Recommended or Best power efficiency (it delivers longer batter life)/Balanced.

14. Activate Windows’ God mode, a super quick and convenient access to many Control Panel settings. Right-click on a free space on your desktop, click on New, Folder, and enter the following name _ GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}_

    This provides centralized access to advanced system settings.

15. Create a System Restore Point. Start, type Create a System Restore Point, press the button Create, and type a description to help you identify the restore point (Fresh Windows 11).

16. Use WinScript, an Open-source tool to build your Windows script from scratch. It includes debloat, privacy, performance & app installing scripts. A. Tools, performe a Clean-up and Create a Restore Point.
    B. Debloat. Disable unnecessary Windows Apps and Windows Features (Disable Consumer Features, Disable Recall, Disable Internet Explorer, Hyper-V, Fax & Scan, Media Player); Remove Edge, OneDrive, Widgets, and Taskbar Widgets.
    C. Privacy. Disable Telemetry and enhance privacy; Gaming (On).
    D. Performance, Set as DNS, Quad9 DNS; enable Ultimate Performance; Set services to Manual; Disable HAGS and unnecessary features (Defender CPU Usage, Core Isolation; Superfetch, Storage Sense, Search, and Hibernation.)
    E. Miscellaneous. Enable all except disabling Snap Layout (leave it enabled).
    F. Execute by clicking Run Script, Run. \

17. Enable WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux 2). Right-click the Start menu and select Windows Terminal (Admin mode) or PowerShell (Admin mode). Run the command: wsl ‐‐install to download and install WSL2 from Microsoft’s repositories. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect. Launch Ubuntu by entering the command wsl.exe -d Ubuntu in Windows Terminal (Admin mode).

18. Install Ollama and Docker Desktop for Windows (download the latest Docker Desktop .x86-64 installer from docker.com). Log in to Docker Hub inside the Docker Desktop app. Visit the Ollama website and download the Windows installer to get up and running with large language models. Run the installer and follow the prompts. Reboot your computer.

19. Install Open WebUI, the best open-source user‑friendly web interface for running local AI models: Getting Started, Quick Start, Docker (it is usually already selected and follow the instructions). Pull the Open WebUI Docker image by typing on the terminal: docker pull ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:cuda (For NVIDIA GPU with CUDA support) or docker pull ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main (For CPU-only setups).

    Then, run the container docker run -d -p 3000:8080 --gpus all -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:cuda (Nvidia GPU support) or docker run -d -p 3000:8080 -v open-webui:/app/backend/data --name open-webui ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main (CPU-only).

    Go to Docker.desktop, Container, and ensure open-webui shows as running. Click on the link under port (Open your browser to http://localhost:3000) and Create your admin account by entering a name, email, and password.

    

    Add and pull a model. In the WebUI, navigate to Models, Add Model, type the identifier (eg. deepseek-r1), choose Pull deepseek-r1 from Ollama.com and wait for the download to complete.

    

20. Tricks: To take a screenshot in Windows 11, you can use the Windows key in combination with PrtScn or Shift + S; use keyboard shortcuts and Virtual desktops;

21. Choose your best monitor refresh rate. System, Display, Advanced display.