Install software properly in Windows 7

Isn't installing software easy? It is certainly supposed to be, but occasionally you can run into strange problems. It can start when you get a new PC or install a brand new operating system like Windows 7. With Windows 7's launch not far away now, here is a simple technique to avoid problems later.

What you might do is to boot up your brand new computer or install Windows 7 and then set about installing all the software you need. Later on you might then create user accounts for the other members of the household. However, this is the wrong way to do things.

What you should do is to create all the user accounts you will need as soon as you boot up. When they have all been created, log off and log back on with each account. Just logging on with an account and going to the desktop will create all the default settings for it.

Once this is done, you can install the software you want to use. During installation it can see the other accounts and set itself up for them. After each program you should log off and log on with each account. Start the new program and then close it and log off. What this does is to initialise the program settings for each account.

During installation the software might need to apply settings for each account, so by installing it after creating the accounts it can then see them if it needs to. And by logging on with each account and running the software once, it can create default settings and you can answer any setup questions it might display. You don't want other users of the computer to be faced with technical configuration questions when they first run the program.

You may do this anyway, but it's just something to remember when you get your hands on Windows 7 and it can avoid problems.