First things to download on a new pc

Might as well load them up now, or you'll end up groaning when some program asks for one. Maybe none? IrfanView - Optional You probably already know how to take screenshots on your PC or otherwise deal with images in bulk, but IrfanView can run automatically in the background taking shots at different intervals. It is also our favorite tool for mass resizing, cropping, conversion, and so on. Powerful automation tools, and good for just viewing images, too. Windirstat - Right now your new PC is whistle-clean, but it won't always be that way.

Windirstat gives you a nice visual breakdown of how all your storage is allocated, making it easy to locate some big chunky files you might want to toss in the recyle bin.

TeamViewer - A very handy tool for accessing your PC remotely. A free, easy-to-use remote desktop program. Also a good way to help parents troubleshoot their computers, if you can walk them through installing it.

Otherwise, grab the more bloated but more powerful Adobe Acrobat. If you're assembling your own installer, give each of the above programs a checkmark, then click "Get Your Ninite" to create an installer that bundles all of these programs together.

Then run it, sit back, and watch your PC fill up with the utilities you'll be using all the time. You probably know exactly which launchers you need, but depending on what games you play, or where you like to hunt for deals, you should consider installing the following:. Afterburner is an awesome free combo package for overclocking your GPU and making your games run better.

The graphics overclocking part of the program will let you tweak the settings of your GPU, getting even more performance out of a card with higher memory and processor clocks. The built-in hardware monitoring will help you tune in performance. But plenty of overclocking utilities can do all that. Some games deliver frames at an uneven pace, making performance choppy, and their own framerate controls aren't up to par. Oh yeah: it can capture screenshots, too.

Plenty of plugins allow you to expand its functionality, too. If you find Paint. Download: Paint. NET Free. Windows 10 includes Windows Defender, which is a good enough antivirus for most users. However, it's wise to keep a secondary security program installed. For this, you can't beat Malwarebytes. The free version lets you scan your system for malware that your antivirus might not catch.

And for a powerful blended security solution, upgrading to Malwarebytes Premium is worth the cost. Download: Malwarebytes Free, subscription available. Thanks to YouTube's ubiquity, you probably don't watch local videos too often. However, everyone should still keep a solid video player around on your desktop for when you need to play media files locally.

Even if it's not one of the things you think to download on a new computer right away, it will come in handy someday.

For this task, nothing beats VLC Media Player, which packs a ton of features and is capable of playing nearly every video and audio format imaginable.

You'll save yourself the hassle of messing with video codecs or using QuickTime, which isn't supported for Windows any longer. Download: VLC Free. Taking a screenshot on Windows is useful for everything from capturing funny moments to having a record of important information. You won't find a more powerful free screenshot tool than ShareX. With tons of capture methods, a solid built-in editor, the ability to run automated steps after you take a screenshot, and extra tools like a color grabber and ruler, ShareX has an impressive feature set for no cost.

If ShareX overwhelms you, give PicPick a try instead. It's a bit simpler, but doesn't compromise on features. Download: ShareX Free. Download: PicPick Free. Windows includes native support for simple zipped files, but anything beyond the basics requires a more powerful tool. While this isn't the most exciting software category, a file extractor is still a must-have PC app so you can work with any kind of archived files you might encounter.

It's small and installs in seconds, is easy to use, and stays out of your way when you're not using it. Those who needs advanced features will still find them in 7-Zip, though. The only drawback of 7-Zip is its aged appearance. If you can't get over that, take a look at PeaZip, which is a similar tool with a much more attractive interface.

Either way, you certainly don't need to pay for tools like WinRAR. Download: 7-Zip Free. Download: PeaZip Free. Chances are that you use at least one messaging service to stay in touch with your friends during the day.

But for slightly more complicated visual manipulation, Paint. NET is a free option. This program is actually so versatile, since it mimics some significant features found in more advanced image editors like Adobe Photoshop. Windows' built-in Notepad program is quite functional and works as advertised. However for those who write code web designers, web developers, programmers, etc. This very versatile text editor supports hundreds of formats, and even features support for plugins that make it much more useful.

Ninite is a bit of a cheat, in that it's less a program, and more an automated installer for a variety of popular PC utilities. Hop on over to the Ninite website, and you're presented with a menu of programs that you might want to install, such as browsers, productivity tools, and media players.

Check off the ones you want, and then download the custom Ninite installer, and the app will handle the rest on execution, downloading the latest installer for each app and installing it in the default location with extra crapware and bloatware offers automatically declined.

It's a handy one stop shop for getting your new machine in gear. Comments John Corpuz. Topics Software. See all comments You need to right-click your app and choose Pin to taskbar. Then, you can click the icon to launch it from Taskbar. You can personalize the operating system based on your needs to create the desired environment for yourself.

From here, you can customize many features, including background, themes, colors, lock screen, fonts, and more. By default, the power mode is set to Balanced. To let the PC get the best performance, you can change the power settings. Besides, you can change screen and sleep and battery saver options. When upgrading Windows 10 to Windows 11, the activation status of the system should be kept.

If Windows 11 is not activated, register it by following ways in this post - How to Activate Windows 11? Try 3 Ways Here Now!