wreathinvictus
started: 08 de ago. del 2025
finished: ongoing

setting up my new laptop

90s desktop computer with indistiguishable writing and a diagram in the screen
old_mach.png
navigation
[01] preamble [02] game plan [03] things to do [04] software [05] customization [0] exporting files [0] [0] [0] [0]

preamble

This actually all began bc I was watching tiktoks, came across a frameworks laptop unboxing, and got hooked. I was already planning to buy a new laptop, but one w replaceables? Perfect. Upon customizing my laptop in their website, the quote was pretty steep. ...They did they had a lilac version, so I had to ask myself; is spending CA$2,700 in a pretty lilac laptop feasible?

It really, really wasn't.

Anyway, I went into bestbuy. It wasn't hard to find much cheaper alternatives for the same specs. It came at the cost of sacrificing ease of repair, but maybe in the future I'll invest in a better laptop. Or just build a desktop.

There was a surprising number of options that were close enough to what I wanted, luckily enough! Some of them were clearly duds from the first web search, like the Dell Inspirion. Def not getting that one.

parameters for picking a laptop
parts specs I wanted specs I got
cpu amd razen 7 amd razen 7
ram 16gb 32gb
gpu dedicated[1] integrated
ssd 1tb[2] 1tb
screen 14" OLED[3] 14" LED antiglare
price ~CA$1,750[4] ~CA$1,000

[1]at the v least, it should be able to handle 2d animation, video editing and gaming

[2]although since my bf emphatically advocated for less storage + hdd usage, so I was open to go for 512gb

[3]My straining eyes would prefer smth bigger, but I do need it to be portable, and 14" seems to be the sweet spot. The OLED I only realized I wanted until later, so no bgd I didn't get it

[4]as cheap as possible, but lasting at least 5 yrs

00s desktop computer with what looks like a blog format in the screen
puter.png

Older and wiser since the last time I had to setup a laptop, I want to get rid of bloatware from the get go and be able to login w/o a ms account.

Going down the rabbit hole, what they recommend is doing a clean install to get rid of bloatware. As for the logging in w/o a ms account, it is possible, but:

  • the methods that used to work for setting up w/o local account from the beginning seem to no longer work, and
  • not having your windows linked to a ms account makes it harder to do a clean install.

game plan

  1. Launch computer, get through the setup via creating a new ms account.
  2. Run a clean reinstall from advanced startup (only for win 11).
  3. Setup up clean win 11 with ms account created in step 1.
  4. Create a new profile in the computer and skip attaching it to a ms account, set it to admin, then delete the old profile attached to the ms account.
  5. Go in to see if there's anything left to debloat. To make sure the changes stick post-restart, you might have to go into the registry editor.
  6. At this point, change your DNS settings as well. It helps avoid some of your ISP's restrictions. I used Quad9.
  7. Tweak settings for gaming.

Yes, most of my sources are how-to-geek. I simply find them v useful, I'll try to find indie-er ones next time u^u

setup sources
[01] clean install (limits bloatware) [02] login w/o ms account (source 1) [03] login w/o ms account (source 2) [04] debloat for performance [05] bloatware after reset [06] custom debloat settings [07] stop suggested installs [08] privacy settings to tweak [09] dns settings [10] settings for gaming
more
[01] privacy.sexy [02] aardwolf security [03] decent security

things to do

It's been a while since my computer usage wasn't constrained by my machine's cpu and ram whims. I'm excited to get back into the hobbies I used to have, plus hobbies I've held off on.

journalling

I love keeping track of my days and feelings via journalling. I've fallen of it, mostly because I have a hard time building the habit, but also, ofc, computer issues.

gaming

I used to spend houuuurss playing stardew valley. absolutely amazing, idk if I can ever get back that obsession with the game. But I've been wanting to get back into it and my laptop fucking screams at me when I try launching sdv (+my 45 mods).

Aside from sdv, I also want to play other games more consistenly. I've presently been burrowing my bf's desktop, but I'd rather not hog it!

bookkeeping

Fucking hell, I'm so behind on my accounting. Gotta get back on top of that. It'll be easier when loading screens between tasks are not excruciatingly slow.

neocities

I'm a bit shy about calling it coding just yet. I'm having a lot of fun with creating my site, and having a bit more room to test it with specialized software would be appreciated.

Some resources on using VS Code:

archiving

I'd like organize my media :)

animation

I've been dipping my toes into animation with krita, with extremely slow results. I think I can def make a whole thing there, but I'm hoping an animation-specific software might make the beginning steps easier for me.

software

basics

files/docs

games

finances

coding

libraries

digital art

relevant links
wallpaper options

customization

02. icons

The coolest website for icons is rw designer, I think. It did skeeve me out a bit when I started looking at it, just cause it looks kinda old, but nothing I downloaded was an EXE file, so I think we're off to a good start. This website has lots of unique icons, a bit messier than than what find in the other sites, which I quite liked.

Downloaded:

Icons I didn't get:

03. cursors

Here are the ones I downloaded:

Other ones I liked but decided not to get just yet:

04. translucent tb
01. wallpapers

So I definitely scoured deviantart for wallpaper. Lots of good options, but I was looking for something more fun!

I ended up finding a bunch of graphics on tumblr and putting them together in canva (1920x1080). I decorated it with some pngs (also from tumblr), and then edited it to add blurring in krita. I made little sections to organize my shortcuts in the wallpaper, which I'm finding extremely satisfying.

desktop view of wallpaper collage and icons in dark colours, white cat, and webcore visuals.
desktop_screencap.png
05. neko for windows
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