iTunes, Vlc, Winamp, MSE, Microsft office, I understand I will have to get them, I just thought I'd have to download or install certain programmes or features just to run windows properly.
So I go to HP site to get drivers I need do I need to do that for Windows after activation. Or is activation it for windows
Unless you have issues, why think about more drivers? You got a pile of drivers when you installed Windows. Does all of your hardware work? Do you have any exclamation points in Device Manager?
You have 30 days to activate. It has no connection to drivers.
No, you don't need to download a bunch of stuff. Just go to Windows Update periodically to get critical and important updates. Make sure you have SP1.
Concentrate on configuration:
How much space is devote to System Restore?
How large is your page file?
Consider turning off hibernation if you don't use it.
Check Windows Disk Management to get a visual look at your partitions.
Get anti-virus going and make sure it is updating. Consider an anti-malware application such as Malwarebytes.
Run Windows Experience Index to get a general benchmark of your hardware.
Set Windows Update the way you want it--notify only, automatically install, whatever you want.
Check your defrag schedule.
Look in the BIOS a few times. Is all of your memory acknowledged? Are your fans spinning?
Download a program such as HWInfo32 so you can track temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds.
Take a look at the startup tab of msconfig and try to restrict the number of apps shown running at startup.
Run Disk Cleanup periodically.
Take a look at Task Manager and Resource Monitor to get an idea of your processes and RAM usage.
Etc, etc.
Then install your needed programs.
