Setting up a new PC

This is a quick list to modifications I need to do to Microsoft Windows 10 and standard applications post installation of a new computer to get the working environment I need. It also contains notes on DIY maintenance in the Windows 10 environment. This list is to save me from searching the web for remedies every time I set up a new PC.

Table of contents

Introduction

This started as a checklist for “braindamage fixes” whenever I was issued a new PC at Ifi, and is now repurposed to be a checklist for setting up a standalone working enviroment on MS Windows 10 that is not part of the Ifi ecosystem (to get a feel for what it was like, see legacy notes from 2015. Some Ifi-related stuff remains. It serves as placeholders for specific tasks and are tagget “[ifi]” until I've found the time to update them.

noteInstalling new version of an app does not remove any legacy versions. You need to do this explictly. Having legacy versions around may result in an old version being started. This may be a security hazard, and also may start a version that simply no longer work. Use the search field on the toolbar to identify duplicates.

Security information

Security information for Microsoft account:

  1. Credentials: gisle@hannemyr.no, G…77!
  2. Restore key: B5TTL-88SUX-M854U-LACNH-WZF9X
  3. Product key: On cardbord – should also be in Clipperz.

MS Windows 10 configuration

Language

Using MS Windows 10 with another language than English is a PITA, as using web-baseed support resources needs guessing translations. Here is what do do to restore sanity. (I've put the Norwegian text in square brackets to make switching from Norwegian to English simpler.)

  1. From the windows meny (bottom left), click on the cogwheel (Settings [Innstillinger]).
  2. Click on Time & Language [Tid og språk].
  3. In the left sidebar, click on Language [Språk].

If the preferred display language is not available as “Windows display language” [“Windows visningsspråk”], you need to download it from Microsoft store first. If it is already available, skip to step 7.

  1. Click on “Add a Windows display language in Microsoft Store” [“Legg til et Windows-visningsspråk i Microsoft store”].
  2. Add “English (United States)”.
  3. Download and install. Note that doing so may also transform your keyboard layout to US.

Make the new language preferred as “Windows display language”:

  1. Check if the language is visible in the “Preferred languages” [“Foretrukne språk”] section. If it is not, click the “Add a preferred language” [“Legg til et foretrukket språk”] button to make it selectable.
  2. Search for the language you want and select the language package from the result.
  3. Click on the tiny icons in top right corner, and use the arrow to move the language to the top.
  4. Reboot to make the change effective.

Change language for welcome screen and new users:

  1. Navigate to Start » Settings » Time & language » Language » Administrative language settings » Copy settings. Make sure the settings for the current user are those you want. Tick “Welcome screen and system accounts” and “New user accounts”, and click “OK”.
w10_inpind.png
The MS Windows 10 input indicator.

Finalize the change:

  1. To restore the keyboard layout, click the “Input indicator” (see screenshot on the right) that by default appears at the right end of the taskbar. It controls two settings, input language, and keyboard layout. Select the option that provides the Norwegian keyboard layout.
  2. Fix date and time settings by navigating to Start » Settings » Time & Language » Date, time & regional formatting » Change data formats.

The source for these guidelines is WindowsCentral.com: default language, keyboard layout.

Settings

You should be able to do this without Admin-privileges.

Too see some information that Windows 10 hides by default open on the file explorer (bottom toolbar), and select the “View”, then:

Source: WindowsCentral.com.

To add a printer [ifi]:
Add printer: Start » Control Panel » Printers » Add a printer » Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer » The printer that I want isn't listed. Tick: “select a shared printer by name”.
Add: \\winprint\faber.

To assign user UIO\gisle Admin-priveleges [ifi]:

  1. Log in as .\gisle_adm
  2. Click Start
  3. Right click on Computer
  4. Click on Manage (if Manage is blocked, you're not Admin).
  5. Click on Local Users and Groups
  6. Double-click on Groups
  7. Double-click on Administrators
  8. Add UIO\gisle to this group.
  9. Log off- and log in again as UIO\gisle

Remember to remove this privilege as soon as everything that is necessary has been done.

Disable startup program

Navigate to Start » Settings » Apps » Startup. Locate the app you want to disable, and toggle it “off”.

Source: HowToGeek.com.

Backup disk

If the computer refues to boot with an USB drive backup disk connected, check the format of the drive. Some USB-drives ship formatted as “exFAT” for Window and Mac compatibility. For some systems this may present issues. If using on MS Windows 10 only, then use Disk Management to reformat the drive to “NTFS”. I.e. Win+R, run this snap-in: compmgmt.msc. Navigate to Storage » Disk Managemet). Locate the backup disk volume. If it is “exFAT”, right click on it and quick format it to “NTFS”.

Source: Seagate.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026268/windows-10-change-startup-apps

Windows Subssystem Linux

MS Windows 10 comes with something called Windows Subssystem Linux (WSL) that you may enable:

PS C:\> Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

Sources: CodingJungle: LAMP + Webmin with WSL in windows 10 and Polso.info: How to install Drupal 8 (and Composer) on Windows 10 Bash.

User administration

Run the following net command in the PowerShell to get a list of all user accounts on MS Windows 10 machine. This will show both active and inactive accounts. Example:

PS C:\> net user

User accounts for \\MY-PC

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrator            FirstUser                Guest
DefaultAccount           WDAGUtilityAccount
The command completed successfully.

noteIf MS Windows 10 initially was se up with a daiiferent language that English, the account names will be in the local language.

To remove a user, run PowerShell as administrator, and execute the following command:

PS C:\> Rename-LocalUser -Name "Current Name" -NewName "New Name"

Reboot to make the changes take effect.

In MS Windows 10, you can add or remove a user account from a group to grant or revoke access to certain Windows features, file system folders, shared objects, and more.

To get an overview over users and group, press Win+R, and run this snap-in: lusrmgr.msc.

Sources: WindowsCentral.com (GUI), Winaero.com (snap-in).

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/556003 https://www.lifewire.com/net-command-2618094

Enable the administrator account

When Windows 10 is installed on a new PC, you create the first user account during that process. This is the main account on the system and configured to be an administrator account by default. However it is not the only administrator accont that is available. There is also an account named “Administrator” that is part of the “Administrators” group that is inactive by default.

To activate using the CLI:

PS C:\> net user administrator /active:yes

To activate using the GUI, press Win+R, and run this snap-in: lusrmgr.msc. Right-click to examine the properties of the “Administrator” account, uncheck the “Account is disabled” checkbox, and click “OK”.

About the guest account

MS Windows used to come with a guest account designed for users who access a standalone device, but did not have a permanent account set up on it on it. These guest accounts were deliberately limited. I.e. they could not be used to install software or hardware, or modify system settings.

However, for reasons known only to Microsoft, they decided to remove this feature from standalone comput­ers. As of July 2015, starting with build 10159, this feature is gone from Windows 10, without much of an explanation from Microsoft. The account name “guest” still exists and the account name is reserved, but in recent versions, the guest account became part of the configuration of “shared PC mode” that is only meaning­ful for networked computers.

You can still assign user accounts to the Guests groups, but unless the account is actually named “Guest”, the account will not be restricted. And activating the inactive predefined account named “Guest” on a standalone computer will create a mess.

w10_guestacc.png
The description of the Guests group.

I.e. the description of the Guests group reads:

“Guests have the same access as members of the Users group by default, except for the Guest account which is further restricted.”

See alsoFor more about this, please see: Digital Citizen: You can't enable the Guest account in Windows 10, and SuperUser.com: What's up with guest accounts in Windows 10.

The short version is this: You can't create a real guest account on a standalone MS Windows 10 computer.

noteThis note about guest accounts @ in BusinessInsider.com is an example of a website that provides misleading information about this. The “Visitor” account created using this method will not be a guest account as they existed before July 2015 and MS Windows 10 build 10159, but an account with the same level of access as a regular local user account.

Local user management

https://www.digitalcitizen.life/create-local-non-microsoft-account-windows

The standard way of setting up an account is using the GUI, but this requires the user to have a Microsoft account an will fail if that isn't the case.

To add a new local user account “NewUser”, to this in the CLI:

PS C:\> net user NewUser /add /active:yes

The new user's home directory with corresponding data will not be created until the user logs in.

To delete a user account “NewUser” in the CLI, do: 

PS C:\> net user "NewUser" /delete

noteThis command: Remove-LocalUser -Name "NewUser" will also remove the user account “NewUser”, but not the data. This should not be done.

To delete a user account “NewUser” in the GUI, do:

  1. Navigate to Start » Settings » Accounts » Family & other users.
  2. Select the user you want to delete and click on “Remove”.
  3. Accept the UAC (User Account Control) prompt.
  4. Select “Delete account and data” if you wish to delete account and the data and follow onscreen instructions.

Pre-installed 2019 [Ifi]

MS Outlook 2016

Outlook comes pre-installed. In ifi, it stores personal folder data in outlookl.pst, in the M:\pc\outlook\ directory, where it will survive PC-changes.

I don't use Outlook for email. To stop Outlook from nagging about an email password, do: Tools » Options » Mail Setup » email Accounts, and remove the iMap account. Setting up the mobile device to not sync email may also be a good idea.

If you need to configure Outlook email: USIT: Outlook 2003 - konfigurasjon av epostkonto or Joakim Borger Svendsen: How to configure Outlook 2007 against UiO mail servers.

Get from vendor

S3 browser

To install, visit S3 browser home page and download the installer for latest version (it is a .exe-file. Run the installer. You need accept the license agreement and select all the defaults. The installer will install it as: C:\Program Files\S3 Browser\s3browser-win32.exe and create a desktop icon.

If it already installed, it will be replace, and the configuration and credentials will be preserved.

Firefox

Profile

Firefox now allow syncing of profiles across all devices. In 2020 it allowed me to successfully import settings from my Ifi PC to the HNM PC.
Credentials: gisle@hannemyr.no, G…77!
Restore key: AE1N S4M8 DF3J MF5K WKP4 8A41 KWQX X2SN

After changing machines, you can get the message “Firefox is already running, but not responding”. This may be caused by an old profile left behind. Fix:

  1. Start » [Run/Start search] type firefox.exe -P (starts profile manager).
  2. Delete profile » exit (delete old profile).
  3. Start Firefox normally and it will create a new profile for you.

Options

To make sure options have sensible values, do Tools » Options, and then:

Gnu Emacs

To get the binaries, visit Gnu Emacs Download and fint the link to the main GNU FTP server under “Windows”.

To install, go through the following steps (“XX.X” is latest vesion number, currently “26.3”):

  1. Download the binaries of the latest version of these two files: emacs-XX.X-x86_64.zip and the dependencies emacs-XX.X-x86_64-no-deps.zip. (You don't actually need the dependencies just to run emacs, but they will be needed for packages, so just get them.)
  2. Use the GUI to extract (right click, “Extract All…”) both to the same directory: emacs-XX.X-x86_64. When extracting the dependencies you will be told “The destination alreday has a file named X”. Choose: “Replace the file in the destination”.
  3. Check that it works by going to the root directory, navigate to the subdirectory bin, locate runemacs.exe, and run it. It should work.
  4. Create a new directory: C:\emacs (or anywhere else you may want it). Move the directory you extracted to (emacs-XX.X-x86_64) into it. To keep track of versions, don't rename.
  5. Finally create a desktop shortcut icon for runemacs.exe. Rename it “emacs”.

Source: YouTube: LigerLearn.

Gimp

Product page: Gimp.

IrfanView

A graphic viewer and editor with superior screen capture function.

Product page: IrfanView.

Just click “Download” (64 bit version) and click on the installer. Defaults seem OK.

Kindle reader

Download and install (went OK). Didn't record the steps.

Some books had to be deleted and then re-downloaded.

MobaXterm

Product page: MobaXterm.

This is a replacement for X-Win32 to install and Xterm-compatible terminal on MS Windows. The free "Home Edition" is suffiscient. Download the Installer edition (zip-file( but unzip before installing. Installing from inside the zip-folder will fail.

PuTTY

p>Product page: PuTTY.

In addition to the terminal emulator, this also provides pscp (compatible with Unix' scp) for the command line.

Select the package installer,not the binary. My computers run Intel i5/7 or AMD Ryzen 7. Both archtectures are compatible with "64 bit x86".

Sublime Text 3

Sublime Text

Just click “Download for Windows” and click the installer.

Thunderbird

Vendor home page: thunderbird.net.

Trivial to set up, wizard does a complete job, Does not require VPN to communicate with UiO via SMTP (outgoing) and IMAP (incoming).

UiO mail servers

To change or inspect configuration.

Main menu: Tools (top menu) » Account settings » Server Settings.
Hamburger-meny: Innstillinger » Kontoinnstillinger » Serverinnstillinger / Utgående SMTP-serrver.

Instructions:

Settings changes

To select screen language:

  1. From hamburger menu (i.e. main menu, top right): Options » Options » Advanced.

Pick screen language under “Languages”. You can install more languages if the one you want isn't available. For settings to take effect, there should be a setting to close Thunderbird, apply settings and restart.

To send forwarded messages inline:

  1. Main menu: Options » Options » Composition » General.
  2. After “Forward messages:”, select “Inline”.

To accumulate outgoing addresses in “Collected Addresses”:

  1. Main menu: Options » Composition » Addressing.
  2. For “Automatically add outgoing email addresses to my:”, select “Collected Addresses<”.

To send messages as plain text and classic quote style:

  1. Main menu: Options » Account settings » Composition & adressing.
  2. Untick “Compose messages in HTML-format”.
  3. Select “start my reply below the quote”.
  1. Main menu: Options » Account settings » Composition & adressing.
  2. Untick “Compose messages in HTML-format”.
  3. Select “start my reply below the quote”.

To add dictionaries for proofing:

  1. Main menu: Add-ons » Languages.
  2. In the search box, type in desired language (e.g. “Norwegian”).
  3. You're taken to the the “Add-ons” web page”.
  4. Click on “Add to Thunderbird” for the desired dictionary.
  5. Click “Add” after donload has completed.

Note that the dictionaries and language packs are different. Language packs are for screen language, dictionaries are for proofing. Added dictionaries will not show up under “Manage your languages” on the Add-ons page. They will, however, show under “Spelling” when composing messages.

Email structure

This is my structure for email, as sorted by Sieve.

Upper case is container, lower case in folder:

GnuPG/EnigMail

If EnigMail is not installed, Thunderbird will nag you about it. The wizard seems to do the job provided run as admin (no need to login, you will be prompted for an account). However, the wizard will generate a new keypair and demand you create a passphrase (I use “G…77”).

When you generate a key pair with EnigMail, it's really GnuPG that does the work. The keys are therefore stored in the GnuPG home directory. In order to use the same key on another machine, you will need to copy the the relevant files (see below) from the old computer to the new.

On Windows the default keyring directory is below %appdata%. (echo %appdata% in cmd shell). On Windows XP, this is: C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\GnuPG. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, this is: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\GnuPG. Note that the AppData folder is by default hidden.

For Linux, I mirror the same files in $HOME/.gnupg.

I know of no way to relocate this completely. If you're going to relocate your keyring files, leave gpg.conf where it is, and just move the three *.gpg files. Then point gpg.conf to the location of the keyring files. E.g. (assuming the keyrings are in M:\.gnupg\): 

no-default-keyring
keyring         M:\.gnupg\pubring.gpg
primary-keyring M:\.gnupg\pubring.gpg
secret-keyring  M:\.gnupg\secring.gpg
trustdb-name    M:\.gnupg\trustdb.gpg
% gpg -a --export gisle@ifi.uio.no > public.asc

To activate EnigMail on a new computer, do:

  1. Run the wizard to install GmuPG and the EnigMail plugin.
  2. Copy the following files: pubring.gpg, secring.gpg, trustdb.gpg into the GnuPG home directory.

There should already be a GPG on Gnu/Linux. You can use this (gpg --help, gpg list-keys, gpg --version) to list keys, etc.

Public key is in ~/www_docs/cache/ (files: ghpgp.html and ghpgp.asc).

WinSCP

Vendor home page: WinSCP.net.

Install: Just pick the defaults.
Update: Just download the installer and run it again.

Notes: WinSCP.net: After Installation.

To set up a site:

You may add your private key to the WinSCP Authentication Page.

As remote, try to use /home/gisle/sink.

Sites:

Get from UiO

For UiO owned PCs, get packages from the USIT Software Center (USC). Probaly not possible to use this for own machines, but some other apps, it is best to download from UiO.

Cisco VPN client

The recommended VPM vlient is Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client.

Microsofts remote desktop is also known as “MS Terminal Server Client”. To start, type mstsc in the Search windows field, or use: Start » All Programs » Accessories » Remote Desktop Connection. There are three servers, named windows, wind and windold, windows seems to take forever to log off. Log on in the UIO domain.

Tore Kristoffersen thinks Cisco's VPN 3000 VPN client makes machines unstable, and suggests to use remote desktop instead. This gives access to the M:-drive even when used from home. To be able to use drag & drop with local disks, click on Local Resorces » More… and tick local drives.

Tore Kristoffersen: Jeg installerte Adobe Framemaker 7.1 på windold.ifi.uio.no også nå. Windold kommer sikkert til å være i bruk fram til ifi2. Men man må bruke remote desktop fra UIO's nett for å komme til den. Dvs. at hjemmefra så bør du bruke remote desktop til wind.ifi.uio.no først.

EndNote

Ifi PCs no longer comes with MS Word and EndNote installed

OBSOLETE: and EndNote is pre-installed in MS Word as an add-in. This means that I only need to get my library and styles in place to be back in business.

To keep my libraries and styles when I change PCs, I keep all my customizations to EndNote as well as my bibliography library and custom styles in this the directory: M:\pc\Endnote\.

When you first start up EndNote on a virgin machine, you are given the option to select an existing library as the default.

EndNote also lets you specify a custom style folder through: Edit » Preferences » Folder Location » Style Folder. I keep my custom styles in M:\pc\Endnote\Styles\

MS Word like to disable EndNote, to re-enable, go to Add-Ins (Word Options), and enable it. Then use EndNote Configuration to remove, and then re-install the EndNote add-in. You need to tick Unified Cite While You Write to get the EndNote tab on the top menu.

The current version of EndNote is X4.

X-Win32

Starnet X-Win32 is commercial software.

To configure a Xterm window and install it on the desktop. To locate the download, go to: USIT: Fjerninnlogging or directly: USIT: X-Win32.

There are multiple versions available. The older version 14, and the latest (currently version 21). Version 14 is OK Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, but too old and unable to negociate the ssh protoc9l for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

You also need to download the license file. For version 21, this named "licence.lic" and is linked on the page. You need to configure this the first time you set it up. Instructions on the download page.

If you need to install from scratch, at Ifi, an even older version is located at winprog \\dist\site\kommunikasjon\x-win32\9.5\.

Can only update version while having Admin-priveleges.

If you cannot obtain a license, you may run a demo version in the meantime, or try \\dist\gratis\winprog\Internettapplikasjoner\SSH_tectia\ (older free version of XWin32).

To install new license for version 14, select lisens129240.txt from above directory, and install as floating license.

[If you are only looking for an application to use an secure Unix shell (ssh), check out PuTTY (free SSH client for Microsoft Windows.)]

Licensed by me

A-PDF.com

Purchased in May 2011. Registration key in Clipperz.

Adobe Creative Studio

Personal license (purchased in May 2019). Use @ifi.uio.no address to get educational discount.

Credentials: gisle@ifi.uio.no. G…77!.

First download Adobe Creative Cloud. Then use that to manage

I need to have these apps installed:

To change the screen language of an app, first change the install language setting in the Creative Cloud desktop app. Then uninstall the app in question, and reinstall it. Source. (This may take a lot of time for big apps, such as Photoshop.)

MS Office

I've paid for the premium version that provides local apps costs NOK 649,- pr. year (renewal 2021-02-01). It tied to the email address "gisle@hannemyr.no" (my phone number is currently tied to the free account). This includes 1 TB of OneDrive, To visit OneDrive, open the Office square and click on “Mer i OneDrive” (bottom right).

I have also registered Office 365 (cloud based) for teachers (tied to "gisle@ifi.uio.no" and "+47 90 55 36 59" from Office 365 Education (free). This version of MS Office requires documents to be in the cloud (OneDrive) to be able to use them. The free license provides 5 GB of cloud storage.

To inspect and open MS Office 365 files for editing (including those that lives on OneDrive, click on the Office icon in the start menu. Unlike the File Explorer, this does not require an upload step if the instance clicked is on OneDrive.

Slightly annoying:

  1. The file extension is hidden when the files are inspected using the Office square in the start menu.

Languages

The office I bought had a Norwegian screen interface and did not come with any additional languages. However, it looks like the premium version includes unlimited laguage pcks. To install laguages for screen and spelling, navigate to File » Options » Language. This let you configure default language preferences. To add languages, use the link “Install additional display languages from Office.com”. It also inclides dictionaries for proofing.

OneDrive

Getting started with OneDrive.

To inspect OneDrive, click on the OneDrive square in the start menu. In File Explorer, five different icons indicate status of the file:

There is at least one annoying feature with OneDrive:

  1. If the file explorer is used to browse the One Drive, opening a file that is both local and in the cloud (green circle with checkmark), you will still need to upload the local copy to the cloud to edit with cloud tools.

Manual install

Epson Perfection 2400 Photo [ifi]

Support.

Must install as local admin. Default install did not work for Windows 10. Do the following after autoinstaller unpacked zip to C:\EPSON\12180_twain…:

  1. Examine “Properties”.
  2. Check “Compatibility mode”. Run as “Windows 8” (“Windows 10” not available).
  3. Click “OK”.
  4. Run

Ifi kiosk

Licensed software can be used over remote desktop by visiting kiosk.uio.no in a browser. Those that interest me are under the “Office” tab.

Older versions with a site license can be downloaded from “reffum”. To install, type \\reffum in the Search windows field and press Enter. This shows the top directory structure. The directory programvare/lisens is the top of the relevant repo.

To install, copy the entire package to the C:\-drive, run the install program, and then delete the install directory structure.

(Didn't work out.)

Fonts

See: Personal notes about fonts.
Cached fonts: ~/www_docs/rot13/downloads/fontstore.
Fonts are in OT_ok with an obvious name unless otherwise noted.

Install by just clicking on the font and type in password of .\gisle_adm when prompted for admin rights.

These are fonts I've found useful, and install:

Flotsam

You can find, and download, a lot of useful stuff from ifi-cd, and some additional stuff in my own repository (C:\inetpub\wwwroot\local\@HNM-PC) .

Also, from an ifi computer, mounting \\dist\winprog let you install some licensed packages.

My setup should include the following that may or may not be Ifi standard issue.

Last update: 2020-03-28 [gh].