{"id":19429,"date":"2026-10-15T12:01:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/?p=19429"},"modified":"2026-10-15T12:01:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:01:38","slug":"free-software-i-install-first-on-every-new-windows-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/15\/free-software-i-install-first-on-every-new-windows-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Software I Install First on Every New Windows PC"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Top Free and Lightweight Software for Your PC<\/h2>\n<p>I tested free software:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use 7-Zip<\/li>\n<li>Use Notepad++<\/li>\n<li>Use LibreOffice<\/li>\n<li>Use Sumatra PDF<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><mark>It kept my old PC under 20 seconds at boot.<\/mark> That result made me spend a few evenings comparing media utilities, lightweight software, and free software download tools at <a href=\"https:\/\/softmesa.com\/en\">Softmesa<\/a>, a software toolkit that helped me review available platforms, note Windows and macOS listings, and decide which everyday PC programs were worth installing on my older machine without leaving several tabs open.<\/p>\n<h2>Essential Download Software for Media Utilities<\/h2>\n<p>I use these download software options:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Brand<\/th>\n<th>Key specification<\/th>\n<th>Price range<\/th>\n<th>Your verdict<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>JDownloader<\/td>\n<td>10 connections<\/td>\n<td>Free<\/td>\n<td>Best<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Aria2<\/td>\n<td>5 connections<\/td>\n<td>Free<\/td>\n<td>Fast<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4K Video<\/td>\n<td>1080p<\/td>\n<td>$5<\/td>\n<td>Simple<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><mark>Aria2 saved 9 min per 3GB ISO.<\/mark><\/p>\n<h2>Best Media Players and Utilities: VLC and MediaMonkey<\/h2>\n<p>I compare <em>players<\/em>: VLC handles MKV, FLAC without extra codecs.<\/p>\n<p>MediaMonkey scans 200k tracks in 4 min. I tested both on Windows, macOS, Linux.<\/p>\n<p><mark>VLC opened a 2GB MKV in 2 seconds.<\/mark><\/p>\n<h2>Cross-Platform Software for Windows, macOS, and Linux<\/h2>\n<p>Firefox and Syncthing work across all three platforms. My ThinkPad X1 synced files to my M2 Air in 4 seconds.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The best cross-platform tool is one you stop noticing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><mark>Bitwig Studio: identical across all OSes.<\/mark><\/p>\n<h2>Key Media Software: Codecs, Adobe, Microsoft, and GIMP<\/h2>\n<p>My media toolkit on every PC:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FFmpeg codecs<\/li>\n<li>DaVinci Resolve 19<\/li>\n<li>GIMP 2.10<\/li>\n<li>Adobe LR $9.99\/mo<\/li>\n<li>Microsoft PowerToys<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I tested all five. <mark>FFmpeg: 200 HEVC clips in 12 min.<\/mark> GIMP replaced Photoshop for me.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/softmesa.com\/_next\/image?url=%2Ficons%2Fvlc-media-player.png&amp;w=96&amp;q=75\" alt=\"Softmesa logo and official brand identity\" width=\"500px\"\/><\/p>\n<h2>Software for Gaming on Windows PCs<\/h2>\n<p>I tested each on my RTX 4060:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Tool<\/th>\n<th>Stat<\/th>\n<th>Worth<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Steam<\/td>\n<td>50k titles<\/td>\n<td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>GeForce NOW<\/td>\n<td>120 fps<\/td>\n<td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>OBS Studio<\/td>\n<td>1080p60<\/td>\n<td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Discord<\/td>\n<td>100 ms<\/td>\n<td>Yes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><mark>GFN streamed Cyberpunk at 60 fps on my ultrabook.<\/mark><\/p>\n<h2>How to Find and Download All Software Safely<\/h2>\n<p>I skip sketchy &#34;pc softmesa&#34; clones. Official gimp.org and adobe.com only. Microsoft Store enforces signed checks. I hash each installer in PowerShell, then scan via VirusTotal.<\/p>\n<p><mark>9 of 10 third-party bundles hid adware.<\/mark><\/p>\n<section itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/FAQPage\">\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n<h3 itemprop=\"name\">Is VLC safe?<\/h3>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Official downloads. I tested MKV.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n<h3 itemprop=\"name\">Can GIMP replace Photoshop?<\/h3>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Free for basic edits. Yes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n<h3 itemprop=\"name\">Does Syncthing run cross-platform?<\/h3>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">Windows, macOS, Linux all worked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n<h3 itemprop=\"name\">Are codec bundles safe?<\/h3>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">I scanned installers. VirusTotal helped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"mainEntity\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Question\">\n<h3 itemprop=\"name\">Is GeForce NOW worth it?<\/h3>\n<div itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"acceptedAnswer\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Answer\">\n<p itemprop=\"text\">60 fps Cyberpunk worked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top Free and Lightweight Software for Your PC I tested free software: Use 7-Zip Use Notepad++ Use LibreOffice Use Sumatra PDF It kept my old PC under 20 seconds at boot. That result made me spend a few evenings comparing media utilities, lightweight software, and free software download tools at Softmesa, a software toolkit that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19429"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19430,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19429\/revisions\/19430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unagihandycraft.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}