What to install first after reformatting
Get the order wrong and drivers conflict, or everything installs but performance is off. This is the sequence that works.
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Check the internet connection
The network comes first. If the wired or wireless adapter has no driver after a fresh Windows install, you cannot download anything at all. If wired networking does not come up, fetch the LAN driver from your motherboard maker onto a USB stick beforehand. Laptops usually include a working driver and connect straight away.
Run Windows Update before anything else
Finish Windows Update before installing programs. It restarts several times along the way, and it often installs graphics and chipset drivers for you. Repeat from Settings until nothing further is offered.
Graphics driver
The driver Windows supplies puts a picture on screen but does not deliver the performance the card is capable of. Download the current driver from NVIDIA or AMD directly. If you game, do not skip this.
Browser
Install a browser early because everything after it gets easier. Edge is already there, but signing in to the browser you normally use syncs bookmarks and passwords, which smooths the following steps.
Antivirus
Windows 11 and 10 include Microsoft Defender, which is enough for ordinary use. If you plan to install something else, this is the point to do it. Running two antivirus products at once makes them fight each other and slows the machine down.
Everything else, in one pass
From here the rest can be handled together. Archivers, messengers, document readers, media players — there is no need to visit each vendor site in turn.
What to catch during first-run setup
The setup screens right after installation mix in a few things that are awkward to change later. Knowing these four saves hunting through settings afterwards.
- Starting with a local account
- Windows 11 asks you to sign in with a Microsoft account during setup. Proceeding without an internet connection reveals a "limited setup" or "offline account" option that creates a local account instead. You can link a Microsoft account later.
- Turning off privacy settings
- The privacy screen during setup lets you disable location, diagnostic data and the advertising ID. Most are on by default, so read that screen once. Settings → Privacy & security has the same options later.
- When the keyboard layout is wrong
- If a language key or layout does not behave, go to Settings → Time & language → Language & region, open the language options and check the keyboard layout assigned to it.
- Checking activation
- Settings → System → Activation shows the state. Machines with a key embedded in the motherboard activate automatically once online; otherwise you enter a key.
Watch out for these while installing
- Read the bundled-software checkboxes during setup. A good number of free Korean programs leave affiliate software ticked by default.
- On a work PC, check the licence terms first. Some programs — ALZip and ALYac among them — are free for individuals but licensed for companies and public institutions.
- Always download from the vendor’s own site. The ad links above search results are not always the official one.
- When asked where to install, send large programs to another drive. Game launchers and AI models take tens of gigabytes and fill the C: drive quickly.
Tidying up once everything is installed
With the programs in place, three last things. These have the most effect on keeping the machine as quick as it is right after a reformat.
Trim startup programs
Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Startup apps shows what launches with Windows. Game launchers, cloud storage and messengers are usually registered there. Turning off the ones you rarely use noticeably shortens boot time.
Set default apps
Settings → Apps → Default apps is where you assign your browser and PDF reader. Windows 11 assigns per file type, which is why links keep opening in Edge even after installing another browser.
Check drive health
While you are reformatting anyway, check that the SSD or hard drive is sound. CrystalDiskInfo shows health status and total power-on hours, so you avoid building a fresh setup on a drive that is about to fail.
Do I need to install antivirus?
For most people, no. Microsoft Defender ships with Windows, scores comparably to commercial products in independent lab tests, and costs nothing to install or run. Two antivirus products scanning each other only slows the machine, so unless you have a specific reason, keep one.
Do not count on optimisation tools
The claim that cleaning the registry speeds up a PC has little basis on modern Windows. Two things make a difference you can feel: trimming startup programs, and moving to an SSD.
Common questions
Does reformatting lose my Windows activation?
Machines with a key embedded in the motherboard — most prebuilt desktops and laptops — reactivate automatically once online. A separately purchased key can be restored by signing in, provided you linked it to a Microsoft account.
Where do I get drivers?
Windows Update supplies most of them. For anything still unrecognised, search your motherboard or laptop maker’s site by model number. Programs that promise to bundle every driver often install files of unclear origin, so they are best avoided.
How much space should the C: drive have?
Windows plus basic programs takes 60–80GB. Games and local AI models need far more. If you partition, giving C: at least 250GB saves trouble later.
What should I back up before reformatting?
The desktop, Downloads and Documents folders first. Browser bookmarks and passwords sync if you are signed in; game saves depend on whether each game supports cloud saves. If you use a password manager, write the master password down separately without fail.
What happens if I install in a different order?
Usually nothing. But installing the graphics driver late can leave games configured for weaker settings, and installing antivirus first sometimes blocks other installers and makes them fail.
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