Hi everyone,
Im new, my first post, please be gentle :-)
I was just wondering, having started this evening with a new PC, with Vista Ultimate as my os, I assume there must be a guide about that has a generally accepted list of tasks to undertake to set up the ultimate PC.
i.e what to install (e.g. spyware, AV, etc, etc)
what to switch off
what to tweak
what rules to follow to have the best experience possible

As each hour passes, I know that things start going wrong, more things are installed, things get corrupted, bit rot starts and the PC never runs the same again - I was going to try for something different this time - get it right at the beginning - purcase something like 'deep freeze'so that it will always be that same PC.

Hope I have asked the questions clearly, what do you experts do as first steps on new install to get things absolutely spot on & work best for you

THANKS SO MUCH IN ADVANCE :-)

Well first thing you need is vlite (which can be found Here)I then slipstream SP1 and all updates after that SP1 (do not remove anything before slipstreaming). I then go through all fo the programs that are being instaled (all microsoft progs) and remove all the stuff that is not needed (hover over the text to see if its needed or not). Tweak some of the services (you can use black vipers tutorial which is found Here). The you can make it unatended (dont have to put in key and such). Then make it into an ISO image (on the last tab in vlite) and burn it to a disc. Hope it helps alittle.