What to install after a format

A longer list is not a better one. This starts with what you miss immediately, then explains why the habitual installs are no longer worth making.

Last updated 2026-09-09

Seven covers most of it

Less is needed straight after a format than people expect. The seven below are the ones you miss immediately; everything else can wait until you actually reach for it. Installing that way keeps programs you never open out of your startup list.

Browser — Google Chrome

First, because everything else is downloaded through it. Use the Edge that ships with Windows to fetch Chrome; bookmarks, extensions and passwords come back the moment you sign in.

Archives — 7-Zip

Windows opens zip and nothing else. 7-Zip handles 7z, rar, tar and the rest, weighs almost nothing, and is open source, so it is fine on a work machine too.

PDF — Acrobat Reader

Chrome opens PDFs well enough for reading. Forms with fillable fields and signatures need the real reader, and those turn up more often than you would like.

Video — VLC

Plays essentially any file without a separate codec install. As explained below, that is exactly why codec packs no longer earn their place.

File search — Everything

Windows search is slow and misses things. Everything indexes the whole drive in seconds and finds a filename as you type it. Small, free, and the one utility people miss most on a fresh install.

Messaging — Discord

Whatever else you use on a phone, Discord is the one that genuinely wants a desktop client. Voice, screen share and file transfer all work better than in a browser tab.

Hardware check — CPU-Z

Tells you exactly what is inside the machine, which is what you need before hunting for the right graphics driver. Use it once after the format and uninstall it if you like.

Once essential, no longer

Things people still install out of habit at every format. Windows either handles them now, or you are better off without them.

Codec packs

K-Lite and the rest solved a real problem fifteen years ago. Modern players carry their own codecs, and a pack now mostly conflicts with other software — which is how you end up with no sound or a broken picture.

A separate antivirus

Microsoft Defender is already on and scores as well as most paid suites in independent testing. Installing another one stands Defender down, and many of the alternatives carry ads or bundled extras.

The Java runtime

It used to be a prerequisite for half the web. Now almost nothing needs it, and the things that do — Minecraft, some corporate tools — install their own. Wait until something asks.

System optimisers

Registry cleaners, memory optimisers, driver updaters. On current Windows the effect is not measurable, and deleting the wrong key causes more problems than it solves.

Only if it applies to you

Install these alongside the rest if they apply, and skip them otherwise. Start the large downloads first and do something else while they run.

• Games — install the platform first (Steam, Battle.net, Epic). The games themselves run to tens of gigabytes.
• Documents — LibreOffice or ONLYOFFICE if you do not have a Microsoft 365 subscription. Both open and save Office formats.
• Development — VS Code, Git, Node.js. Those three cover most of what follows.
• Video and images — OBS Studio and GIMP, both open source and free for commercial work.
• Remote access — RustDesk. TeamViewer and AnyDesk become paid products the moment the use is professional.

The one ordering rule worth keeping

Graphics drivers and Windows Update come before any program. Leave them until later and you get a wrong resolution or a game that will not start, then spend the evening working out why. Beyond that, order barely matters.

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