Step 2: Run All Windows Updates

No matter how recently your notebook left the factory, there are still plenty of important Windows updates you need to install. There's a good chance that the moment you connect your laptop to the Internet it will start pulling down updates automatically. However, to be on the safe side, you should manually get Windows Update started.

To manually download Windows updates:

• Click the Start button. A search box will appear.
• Search for Windows Update and click the icon for Windows Update that appears.
• Click the Check for Updates link in the left panel. Windows will take a few seconds to check Microsoft's servers for available updates.
• Click on the link which shows the number of important updates that are available (ex: "13 important updates are available"). Make sure all the boxes are checked and click Ok.
• Click the link for the optional updates (if there is one). Then make sure you check off updates for any of your hardware (touchpad, network card, etc) so you have the latest drivers.