SharePoint 2010 : Development machine

I got a brand new laptop and very powerful one. As its all for SharePoint, here some tips and steps I used to make it ready to ROCK

Hardware Configuration : i7 , 8 GB RAM , 320 GB HDD
OS Configuration : Window Server 2008 R2 Enterprise installed

Step by Step guide
Power
Make sure you have the power source hooked and you are not on battery backup.

Internet
Plug the hard wire for internet, we will use this to download latest hotfixes/patched and other big softwares.

Windows Update and Rebooting
Run the Windows Update and restart once all the updates are installed ( without fail )

Add Features
Desktop Experience
Ink
Quality Window Audio and Video
XPS Viewer

Windows Update and Rebooting
Run the Windows Update and restart once all the updates are installed ( without fail )

Mouse
Plug the USB mouse and make sure it get recognized

Internet Explorer
a) Configure Internet explorer startup settings using Wizard

b) By default Internet Explorer enhanced security is enabled , turn Off for Administrator.
Search for 'Server Manager' > Configure IE ES > select Off for Administrator

c) Change default search provider from BING to what ever u like

Machine Name
Rename machine to a better name before you start using it.

Activate Operating System
Activate the OS before you proceed furthur.

Add Role for Hyper V
Search for 'Server Manager' > Add Roles
Look for Hyper-V and install it
Reboot the machine to finalize the changes

Audio
Search for 'Services'
Look for Windows Audio Service - Set it to Automatic - and Start it.

Resolution
Adjust monitor's resolution so that you can utilize maximum screen space.

Time
Adjust time zone and server to reflect correct values

Drivers
Go to your laptop brand website and search for Support and Drivers
a ) Search for Wireless Drivers - Install it
Reboot the machine and Select your preferred network

b) Dual Monitor - Be careful as Hyper-V has issues with high end drivers and can crash your machine.
If you are confident install the graphic drivers

Command Line
As we will use the command window frequently , Launch cmd and set the font and adjust color to something smoother and better

Folder options
Windows Explorer > Press Alt key to get the File menu
Options > Uncheck Hide know file type ,

Softwares
Virtual PC 2007 -
Visual Studio 2010 - Lauch once and set the Keyboard layout to VB or C#
Install Office 2007/2010 ( 32 BIT please ) and Configure Outlook account

Windows Update and Rebooting
Run the Windows Update and restart once all the updates are installed ( without fail )

Communication
a ) Yahoo Messenger - Configure Alerts and Notification options to avoid surprises
b ) MSN
c) GTalk

Developer tools
Visual Studio 2010
Web Installer 2.0


Other productivity tools
Download Google Chrome - make sure to change the Download folder location
Download Firefox - make sure to change the Download folder location
Acrobat Reader
Adobe Flash
7Zip
Notepad++
Snipper Tool ( Its there actually in c:\Windows\System32 and look for Snipper Tool.exe > Right click to save a shortcut to desktop )