SP4 arriving Feb 1. What do I need to do to get prepared?

[jtcb]

Hi,

Finally ordered the SP4 i5 256GB. It will arrived Feb 1. What do I need to do to get prepared? There is my first ever tablet so I don't want to mess it up. Please post what you did for your SP4?

I am planning to do an update first. Then, I will make a backup copy of the disc. I don't know how yet. Is there a specific website for the surface to get update?

What backup program comes with Win 1o?

Is window defender good enough for anti-virus and internet security?

What else do I need to aware of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[leeshor]

You need to know what software you'll want to install, just as if it was a laptop or desktop.

Windows 10 get's it's updates from Microsoft through an update app in settings.

There is a free program cal;led Macrium Reflect that does a great job of doing a full image backup but Windows also has a facility for doing that. I would opt for the Macrium.

Defender is good enough if your a cautious surfer and don't open any attachments you aren't sure of.

 

[bradl79]

i always do a backup before doing pretty much anything, so u r clean, the SP4 reset or refresh is a PITA and heard can take hours and hours just to do a factory reset, a system image restore will be so much faster if u need to clean install, so i'd rather do a system recover of just a clean install, then do what u need to do and update (also i also do a backup before an update, b/c ms updates can screw things up too)

 

[jtcb]

Do you save the image on the SP4 or somewhere else?

 

[leeshor]

It must be saved off the SP4. I save then to my NAS but any USB drive that will work on the SP4 will be fine.

Most imaging (backup) software won't let you backup to the local device unless you have a secondary drive anyway.

 

[jtcb]

Do I really need to create a Microsoft account to use/login to surface pro?

 

[leeshor]

No, you don't, but you should even if it's only to use OneDrive. Any Windows 10 device can operate only with a local account. The exception may be if you plan to install Office 365 or something that requires you to log into the Microsoft account to download, (even then you can still only be logged into a local account), or if you want to use the Store app.

 

[Zkyevolved]

You need to know what software you'll want to install, just as if it was a laptop or desktop.

Windows 10 get's it's updates from Microsoft through an update app in settings.

There is a free program cal;led Macrium Reflect that does a great job of doing a full image backup but Windows also has a facility for doing that. I would opt for the Macrium.

Defender is good enough if your a cautious surfer and don't open any attachments you aren't sure of.

In regards to Macrium Reflect Free... I'm getting another SP4 in the mail, and it's always pain to install and reinstall everything. Does this change the license or anything important that identifies one surface from another?

 

[leeshor]

It mages an exact duplicate of the entire system. Everything is retained, SNs, Bootrec, files, OS, settings. Everything.

 

[Zkyevolved]

It mages an exact duplicate of the entire system. Everything is retained, SNs, Bootrec, files, OS, settings. Everything.

So then I'd have two devices activated with the same Windows license?

 

[leeshor]

Unless you're doing a corporate deployment I would not want to restore an image from one Surface to another unless the first one was taken out of service/returned/broken.

 

[Zkyevolved]

Unless you're doing a corporate deployment I would not want to restore an image from one Surface to another unless the first one was taken out of service/returned/broken.

Mine is getting returned because it has a few different faults (fan doesn't sound good, it disconnects from projectors and monitors even after changing cables and adapters, and etc problems...) I guess I'll just do a normal install as always ... probably the 8th or 9th time I'm installing EVERYTHING ALL OVER AGAIN! Arg!!!