What Should I Do First?

I will be taking delivery of my new Acer Aspire One tomorrow (Fri 6 Feb)...Are there any steps I should take immediately before using the computer? I know that it is recommended that I remove much of the bloatware, but are there new drivers etc that I should download and install at once? And, if anyone would be so kind as to tell me where to download what I need, I would be grateful...Thanks, and I'm looking forward to using and learning about the Acer...

Steve

 

First step is to charge it completely (before you turn it on)(I know, it sucks and it's hard to wait...), then discharge it to 3 percent, and repeat that for a total of three times This ensures the most battery life you can expect to get from a given battery. Most up to date place to get drivers for a given device is from the manufacturer's site. There is a drivers/downloads forum down further on the main page here. My best advice would be just to read as much as you can here, and remember that anything just about that applies to a full size computer applies to the One.

Also, I would suggest making a signature that identifies your machine (XP or Linux, HDD or SSD, etc) to ensure that you get the best advice possible. (If this is your first forum, a signature is the message that is at the bottom of each user's post that is personalized. If not, then ignore this note... )

Welcome to the forums! You'll love your little machine!

 

In looking at some of the drivers I downloaded from the Acer site, they are ".exe" files...Do I need to delete any of the old drivers before I install the new ones, or will the install programs take care of that...Thanks...(Waiting for the FedEx truck!)

Steve

 

They should take care of everything (installing and updating) by themselves. Just make sure that they are newer versions than what are already installed.

You can usually find newer drivers at the device manuf. site, like Intel for the chipset/graphics, etc. The wireless card is Atheros, but their site is of little to no use. Think I deleted the ones I had stored when I changed my card...you can find links to them in the Drivers section here...

Nice sig, by the way... That will save you some hassle down the road, and help everyone help you when you need it...

OT: LOL at waiting for Fedex...I am waiting on UPS. Ironically, the other day it was like 10 degrees, so I ordered myself a new coat. It should be here this afternoon, but it is now 65 degrees here. :x

 

Thanks for the advice...I have downloaded most of the new stuff directly from the Acer site, so I guess it will be the latest...Still no FedEx...They promised by 3pm!

 

Not sure what they're shipping in XP today, but you should go to Windows Update right away and download all the critical XP updates, and also look for "optional" updates for the Atheros and RealTek drivers there. My system ran perfectly after that. From there on, plenty of good advice and alternatives on this site for utilities to keep XP happy and replacements for the demo software supplied by Acer.

 

Hope you folks don't mind another new user question...How do I find the version of a particular installed driver to determine if I have a newer version to install?
Thanks for your patience...I'm sure I'll be back!

Steve

 

Start menu-->Right click "My Computer"-->"Manage"-->"Device Manager"-->Expand whichever device heading you are interested in by clicking it-->Right-click the device-->"Properties"-->"Driver", and it will list the driver version that you have installed, by rrelease version and date...

 

Cool...After a few chores this morning, I plan to get into the Acer...I will report back on my progress! Thanks again for all of the help...

Steve

 

Have unpacked the Aspire and am really excited about it...Strangely, it came with a small portable mouse in the box...Didn't expect that...No carry sleeve, though...I am still in the process of downloading and installing the Windows updates for XP (248mb of them) so I have not really had the chance to play with the computer yet...Did come with the latest Bios (3309, listed on the label on the box) so maybe it has most of the updated stuff...Manufactured in Jan of 09...More later!

Steve