Recommended First Steps for Using a New Computer

This KB Article provides an overview for the initial steps you should take to setup a computer the first time you login.

1. Launch Outlook to begin the process of syncing your mailbox content, calendars, contacts, and settings.

  1. Launch Microsoft Outlook.
    Microsoft Outlook Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2

  2. At the outlook login page, enter or select your nine-digit account ID + @fvtc.edu (example: 123456789@fvtc.edu). Click Continue.




  3. Enter your password and click Sign in.


  4. You will then be prompted to multi-factor authenticate using the authentication method you set up.


  5. Outlook will then begin the process of syncing your mailbox content, calendars, contacts, and settings from the cloud. Depending on the size of your mailbox, this will take some time.

  6. Your navigation pane is located on the top left. This is where you access your folders 

 

Fox Valley Technical College - IT Helpdesk

[National Criminal Justice Training Center | ICAC Task Force Program | APICS/ASCM Partner]

Phone: 920-735-5644

Email: helpdesk@fvtc.edu


Appleton Campus - Room A120
1825 N. Bluemound Drive
Appleton, WI 54912-2277 

Hours of support:
Monday - Friday: 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM Central Time: UTC-5

 

 

2. Create your email signature.

Launch Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft Outlook Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2
Look in your top right corner and click the Settings gear icon.

 
In settings, go to Account> Signature
 

Click + Add Signature.
 
 
 
Insert a name for the signature and copy/fill-in your signature in the box below.
 

 
 
If you want this signature used for all messages including replies, in the section below, click Set default for new messages, set default for replies and forwards. 
 
When you are finished, click Save.
 

Fox Valley Technical College - IT Helpdesk

[National Criminal Justice Training Center | ICAC Task Force Program | APICS/ASCM Partner]

Phone: 920-735-5644

Email: helpdesk@fvtc.edu


Appleton Campus - Room A120
1825 N. Bluemound Drive
Appleton, WI 54912-2277 

Hours of support:
Monday - Friday: 7:00 AM - 4:00 PM Central Time: UTC-5
 
 
                             
 

3. Personalize your Outlook.

You may want to spend a few minutes in Outlook setting it up to the look the way you prefer. Here are several ways you may want to personalize Outlook:

 
Use and configure the Reading Pane to preview messages

When you select a message in the message list, you can see the message in the Reading Pane and access many different types of file attachments. You can customize how the Reading Pane works and appears, or you can turn it off.
In addition to using the Reading Pane to help you quickly scan your messages, you can also preview the first few lines of messages in your message list, and you can break up long emails by splitting the message window.
The Reading Pane is turned on by default. Do one of the following:
  • To turn off the Reading Pane     On the View tab, in the Layout group, click Reading Pane, and then click Off.
  • To turn on or move the Reading Pane     On the View tab, in the Layout group, click Reading Pane, and then click Right or Bottom.
Reading Pane
 
Selecting Off closes the Reading Pane only for the folder you’re in. To turn off the Reading Pane quickly for multiple folders, on the View tab, click Change View > Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders, and then select folders in the Apply View dialog box.
 
Use and customize the To-Do bar

The To-Do bar is one of the panes you can add to Outlook for PC. You can use the To-Do bar to display your upcoming calendar events, your task list, or your favorite contacts.
  1. To display the To-Do Bar, select View > To-Do Bar.

    Use and customeze the To-Do bar

  2. Select either Calendar, Tasks, or People. You can pick one type of item to display in the To-Do bar, two types of items, or all three.

  3. To turn the To-Do Bar off, select View > To-Do Bar > Off.

  4. Click here to learn more about customizing the To-Do Bar.
 
 
Setup Your Favorite Folders

Favorites is the section located at the top of the folder pane and lets you keep frequently used mail folders easily available. You won’t have to scroll through the Folder Pane to find the folder that might be several levels deep within the Folder Pane.
There are several ways to add or remove folders to Favorites. Pick the way that’s most convenient for you.
  • Click a folder and drag it to Favorites. (You can’t remove a folder this way.)

  • Right-click the folder you want to add or remove, and then click Show in Favorites or Remove from Favorites.

  • In the Folder Pane, click the folder you want to add, and then click Folder. In the Favorites group, click Show in Favorites. The ribbon command is highlighted when the selected folder appears in Favorites.
When a folder is added to Favorites, it’s a shortcut to the folder. The actual folder and its content remains at the original location in the folder list. Removing a folder from Favorites doesn’t delete the folder or contents—it removes only the shortcut that appears in Favorites.
By default, when a folder is added to Favorites, it appears at the bottom of the list. To re-arrange the folders, drag the folder to the new position in the Favorites list.
Favorites can be turned off if you don’t use the feature and want more space to view the mail folder list in the folder pane. 
No folders are added or removed when you turn on or off Favorites—it only changes whether the section appears in the Folder Pane. There is also no effect on folders in the main folder list.
  • In Mail, click View > Folder Pane > Favorites.
If you turn off Favorites, and then turn it back on, the same folders appear.

4. Login to the OneDrive Client.

Install OneDrive

NOTE: If using an FVTC managed computer, OneDrive is already be installed. 

To Install OneDrive on your home computer:  
  1. Login to the OneDrive Sharepoint site
  2. Open the settings menu
  3. Select Sync this OneDrive 
  4. Follow the instructions on your screen.

Once you have OneDrive installed, continue your set-up:

  1. Hit Windows key or click Windows button and type OneDrive
  2. Select OneDrive App
    OneDrive App
  3. A Set up OneDrive window appears.  Type in your FVTC ID including @fvtc.edu (e.g. 123456789@fvtc.edu)
    Setting up OneDrive
  4. Click the Sign in button.
  5. Select Work or School Account if prompted.  Please note - if you are not asked this question, go to Step 6
    Select work or school if you see this
      
  6. In this window, click Next (Do not click change location)
    Within existing window Click Next
  7. Welcome to OneDrive should now appear.  Click arrow in bottom right to continue until you see "You’re good to go!"
    Welcome to OneDrive should now appear in existing window. 
  8. Click Open my OneDrive folder
    Click Open My OneDrive Folder
You now have OneDrive available on your File Explorer to be able to view your documents.

5. Install additional software from Software Center.

Many software applications not pre-installed on FVTC computers can be installed through Software Center.

Scheduled releases of computer security and software updates can also be manually installed through Software Center during a more convenient time prior to their automatic upgrade dates.


Search for and select the Software Center Desktop app from the Windows start menu. 

Search for "software" in the Windows start menu.


In Software Center, along the left:

  • Select Applications to view and install additional software.

  • Select Updates to install scheduled updates and patches prior to the automated update process.

    Click Applications or Updates along the left of Software Center.


To install an Application,

  1. Browse/search for an application.

  2. Click to select the application. A red Install button will display if the selected software is available.

    It is strongly recommended that you close all open programs prior to installing a new application or upgrade. Some open programs can interfere with the installation process.

  3. Click Install and wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Once the installation has completed, locate and run the new application in the Windows start menu.

6. Install necessary software from outside Software Center.

Idira Endpoint Privilege Administrator is software designed to protect our network from unknown software installations on FVTC computers.

Process

  1. When you run or try to install an application that requires administrative privileges, a box like this will pop up:

    Screen Shot of CyberArk prompt window

  2. You will be asked to enter a justification into the box

  3. When you click OK, an email is sent directly to the Information Security team for approval
    This can take 15 minutes or so to approve.
  4. After the software is approved, you will be able to reattempt installation without administrative credentials.
 

7. Modify your default applications.

Microsoft has built-in applications in Windows 10 to handle just about every file you want to open, however you may want to modify which applications are used by default for certain tasks.


For example, you may want to use Outlook as your default email application rather than Windows Mail. Or you may prefer to use Google Chrome as your default web browser rather than Microsoft Edge. Also, you may wish to modify which application is used when you double-click to open certain file types, such as PDFs.

To begin, in the Windows start menu, search for 'default' and launch the Default app settings option.

Click the Windows start menu, search for 'default', and launch Default app settings.


For example, here you can change your default Email application from Windows Mail to Outlook.

Click the current Email default application. Select your new preferred default Email application.


For example, here you can change your default web browser from Microsoft Edge to Google Chrome.

Click the current default Web browser application. Select your new preferred default Web browser.


If you scroll down and select Choose default apps by file type, you can select which application you prefer is used to open specific file extensions.

Scroll down and click Choose default apps by file type.


For example, here you can modify which application is used when you double-click to open PDFs.

Click the current application for your desired file extension. Choose your new preferred default application.


Finally, if you wish to open a file using an application other than the current Windows 10 default, you can right-click the file in File Explorer, hover over Open with >, and choose an alternate application.

Right-click the file in File Explorer, hover over Open with, and select an alternate application.

8. Set your web browser homepage.

FVTC recommends that all staff set the Campus Hub as their homepage.

Google Chrome icon  Google Chrome

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click MoreSettings button> Settings.
  3. Under "On startup," select Open a specific page or set of pages.
  4. Click Add a new page. Enter the web address and click Add. FVTC recommends you use "https://foxvalleytechnicalcollege.sharepoint.com/sites/campushub".

Firefox icon Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
  2. Click the menu button Menu button and choose Preferences.
  3. Click the Home panel.
  4. Click the menu next to Homepage and new windows and enter the URL of the site you want to set as a homepage. FVTC recommends you use "https://foxvalleytechnicalcollege.sharepoint.com/sites/campushub".

9. Create or import your web browser favorites & bookmarks.

Google Chrome icon  Google Chrome

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. Go to the site you want to visit again in the future.
  3. To the right of the address bar, click Star Star.
To open bookmarks faster, use the bookmarks bar. Your bookmarks will show under the address bar. Click a bookmark to open it. To turn the bookmarks bar on or off, click More More> Bookmarks > Show Bookmarks Bar.
To take all your Chrome bookmarks with you, simply export them.
  1. At the top right, click More More..
  2. Select Bookmarks > Bookmark Manager.
  3. At the top, click More More > Export Bookmarks.
To import your bookmarks from an exported file:
  1. At the top right, click More More.
  2. Select Bookmarks > Bookmark Manager.
  3. At the top, click More More > Import Bookmarks.

Firefox icon Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
  2. Go to the site you want to visit again in the future, and click the star in the address bar.

    Click on the star in the address bar.

    The star will turn blue when the page is bookmarked and a window will pop up so you can name, move, or tag your bookmark.
To backup or export your Firefox bookmarks:
  1. Click the Library button Library button , then click Bookmarks. Scroll to the bottom and click Show all bookmarks.
  2. In the Library window, click the Import and Backup button Import and Backup button and then select Backup....
  3. In the Bookmarks backup filename window that opens, choose a location to save the file, which is named bookmarks-"date".json by default. Your Documents directory is usually a good spot, but any place that is easy to remember will work.
  4. Save the bookmarks json file. The Bookmarks backup filename window will close and then you can close the Library window.
To restore or import your Firefox bookmarks:
  1. Click the Library button Library button , then click Bookmarks. Scroll to the bottom and click Show all bookmarks.
  2. In the Library window, click the Import and Backup button Import and Backup button and then select Restore.
  3. Select the backup from which you want to restore. Choose File... lets you restore from a manual backup (see above).
  4. After choosing a backup, your bookmarks from that file will be restored. Close the Library window.

Still Need Assistance?

Contact our Helpdesk at helpdesk@fvtc.edu or  920-735-5644


Keywords:
first,new,imaged,replaced,refreshed,computer,default,install newcomputer 
Doc ID:
88204
Owned by:
IT Helpdesk in FVTC
Created:
2018-12-05
Updated:
2026-07-09
Sites:
Fox Valley Technical College
Clean URL:
https://kb.fvtc.edu/newcomputer