Not quite sure what you mean Grr. Just start downloading and installing mate. I don't think I really need to tell you that a decent anti-virus should be first cab off the rank.....but I just did anyway. LOL

I see you have written another post about creating a system image. Your new laptop already has a "Recovery Partition" which can be used to restore the system back to factory settings so creating an image at this early stage would be pretty much a duplication.

I would wait until you have all your favourite/usual programs installed, mail and everything else set up and[i:1j4vmv6r] then[/i:1j4vmv6r] create an image. That way, if ever you need to restore the image, you would not be going all the way back to the very beginning again but would be restoring a system with all your programs already in place and everything configured and ready to go.

Cheers mate....Jim

Nice machine BTW!!

Hey Grr - The system image creation software built-in to Windows 7 is quite good, certainly better for backups than what has previously been included, but it does still have some drawbacks. The biggest of those would be that there is no image compression so they can be quite large.

If it were I, I would be installing the free version of Macrium Reflect. It is the absolute best freeware imaging program available. The free version does not include features for incremental or differential backups but it is brilliant for creating and saving compressed images. It is pretty quick and also includes the ability to create a bootable recovery disc (from within the software) for disaster recovery too.

[url=http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp:2ydes2al]MACRIUM REFLECT.[/url:2ydes2al]

Cheers....Jim

Late to the party... Again.

-What I do is immediately create any system restore disks - This covers me if something goes horribly wrong.
-I then use Acronis to create an image of the entire drive - This is primary recovery option until I finish.
-Next I visit the manufacturer's site and download the latest drivers and software for my laptop/computer and store them on external media.
-Now I would research and see which programs I don't need. An example would be extra media apps or a wireless controller program that isn't needed because the one in Win 7 is excellent. Not installing this added bloat is what makes a nice clean computer!
-Next I would use Activation Backup Restore and follow the [url=http://www.davescomputertips.com/articles/vista/clean_vista_install_without_activation.php:3ejpdrw1]Vista Clean Install with NO Activation[/url:3ejpdrw1] article to backup the OEM Windows 7 activation.
-Insert a Win7 Install DVD, blow out all partitions on the drive, install the correct version.
-Use Activation Backup Restore to restore your Win 7 activation.
-Install all drivers and the OEM programs you determined would be needed.
-Run Windows Update and select Microsoft Update so you receive updates for any installed Microsoft software.
-Run Microsoft Update and install all updates.
-Reboot and create a new image using Acronis. If you want to be double safe you can create a second image to DVDs.

Done.