I recently bought a laptop to replace my aging desktop computer and the migration process has been quite fun. It wasn’t difficult by any means, but was so tedious that I had Google running all the time to look for solutions. I’m going to post some of the work I did, to either help you or bore you to tears if you’re not interested.
The notebook I got is a Lenovo Thinkpad L412. With an Intel Core i5 processor, 14″ anti-glare screen and excellent build quality, it fits my needs perfectly for Word/Excel, Internet, Python, some CAD, and Web development (no gaming, though). It will be used mostly as a desktop replacement, but its 5.1lb weight isn’t too bad for mobility either. It did, however, come pre-installed with a 32-bit Windows 7 Professional. So the first thing I’ll do is to clean install the 64-bit version. Some people would clean install the OS anyway just to remove the bloatware loaded by PC manufacturers. I don’t feel Lenovo installed too much junk, compared to HP and Dell computers I owned before, but it does have Norton which I’ll do everything in my power to get rid of.
While I’m at it, I might as well slap a Solid State Drive (SSD) in for its speed, reliability, quietness and free-falling prices in recent months. Here it goes:
1. Burn recovery disks
2. Backup data on old PC
3. Download 64-bit Windows 7
4. Burn a bootable Windows installation disk
5. Prepare SSD
6. Replace hard drive with SSD
7. Upgrade memory
8. Install Windows
9. Install drivers
10. Install software programs
11. Install Python and xlrd
12. Print through router
13. Use laptop cooler
14. Displayport to DVI
15. Attach a NAS