What softwares do a hardware engineer needs?

[Chadopen]

i started a new hardware shop, I will be installing OS to many of my customers. Can u please help me what softwares bundle i should have to make my customers's computer rich in software.




South Beach java (http://southbeachjavareview.net/)

[Cabalo]

Does it have to be freeware necessarily, or do your clients don't bother paying extra for software?

[Expeto]

a real hardware engineer uses stuff like Kicad, gschem, eagle, qCAD, etc.
The thing is, you are not an hardware engineer, you are a hardware store owner who installs software to peoples PC's. The bundle I install is;



clam or CIS or avast
7zip
K-lite Mega
firefox
vlc player
foobar(not on desktop)
adobe flash/ shockw/ reader
open office
true combat elite and a bunch of miniclip/armorgames game links in a folder
deluge or halite
avidemux
gimp
infra recorder
facebook, google and etc links on the desktop



extra : a grub and a linux based restore system. If user choses linux at boot screen(which is named as "Set Factory Defaults") and enters the password, a restore suite fires up and restores the computer to a clean state and reboots automatically.

[tesco]

You install their basics like winrar/7zip, codecs, drivers, antivirus, etc.
Then ask them what they need and install that.

[anon]

I've reinstalled Windows for many people a lot of times. These are my usual software picks:

7-Zip, free archiver supporting many formats.
CCleaner, to clean crap files and the registry.
NOD32 2.7 plus its fix (antivirus, not free)
Media Player Classic Home Cinema, ffdshow-tryouts, and CoreAVC (not free). These can play just every video file out there.
Foxit Reader for PDFs, although recently I discovered an app called Sumatra PDF that's even lighter and easier to use.
ImgBurn to burn CDs and DVDs. It's light, non-invasive, and easy to use.
IrfanView plus its plugins, to view images.
PowerISO (to open and mount disc image files, not free).
The free SoftMaker 2008, to read and create Word documents. If a full office suite is required, try OpenOffice.
A decent browser just as Opera or Firefox, as well as the Flash Player and Java Runtime Environment, so that your customers can enjoy all the bells and whistles inside Web sites. :P
A software firewall never proved necessary since everyone used a router with such capabilities, but as far as I know Outpost had a free version. Give that a shot.
Tweak UI to customize a few things in Windows.


If installing paid software is an issue for you, just look for free alternatives for the apps I marked as "non free". This (http://alternativeto.net/) page will help. Also, depending on the Windows OS you install, you may need to add a few more things:

The .NET Framework. As far as I know, nothing below Windows 7 includes it out of the box.
DirectX 9.0c runtime, for some games and emulators.


Don't forget all updates and service packs, as well as device drivers. Usually, I can leave a system up and working in 1-2 hours using MicroXP plus the apps above (in my country, no one cares about piracy :D). As tesco noted, take note of any specific software your customers may require, and install that, of course.