BIOS Setup Program

TY2010 AARP Dell Vostro 1520 Laptop Tune-up November 5, 2010

In preparation for the Tax Year 2010 filing season in 2011, this procedure verifies software settings and applies maintenance and upgrades to Windows and other software of the Dell Vostro 1520 laptop computers that were purchased by the AARP Foundation in early 2010 for use by AARP Tax-Aide volunteers.

NOTE: Before you start this tune-up procedure be aware that there is another option this year that is highly recommended by the National Technology Committee. Complete image files will be available that bring this Dell computer completely up to date with a single install. Both a Windows 7 and an XP image file will be available for the Dell Vostro 1520. These images are much easier and quicker to use than the individual steps in this tune-up procedure. The image file will be available for download at a special website that will be announced in a TCS Bulletin or you can request a DVD be mailed to you by sending an email request to [email protected] – specify the model of your computer and provide your name, mailing address, and phone number.

In order to use the Windows 7 image, you will need to buy a Windows 7 upgrade license from TechSoup. Consult the person in your state who interacts with TechSoup to determine the latest price and ordering procedures. These tune-up procedures do not apply to laptops with Windows 7 installed. The Windows 7 image will have all of these procedures incorporated.

Some of the following steps verify settings that may already have been established. There is an Appendix of optional settings. In tailoring this procedure for your state, you may omit some or all of the optional material. However, all steps outside of the Appendix should be performed as part of this tune-up.

Several of the steps below assume that the target computer is connected to the Internet via a broadband connection for obtaining updates. If such a connection is not continuously available to you, or if you have several computers to tune up, you may prefer to download some of the large updates once onto a flash drive or CD and then run them many times from there, rather than download them onto each computer that needs to be updated. When this option is available it will be described below as an alternative to the online update step. Some of these downloads may be included in your state-level AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD.

The procedures use the Control Panel Category View, not Classic View. This can be determined by going to Start -> Control Panel and observing the text in the upper left-hand corner Control Panel box – if it indicates “Change to Classic View,” you are in the Category View. If it indicates, “Change to Category View,” you should click on that text.

If you did not see the options to change to Category View or Classic View, go to Start -> Folder Options. On the General Tab select “Show common tasks in folders.” Click OK and run the procedures in the previous paragraph. .

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The following table illustrates the various PC configurations and the procedures to be used for each configuration.

PC Usage Procedure Appendix - Optional Appendix - Optional Procedures for Procedures Procedures for Procedures for all TaxWise Desktop, for all TaxWise computers only laptops Desktop, only TWO X As desired Server X X As desired As desired Client-server X As desired As desired Workstation Standalone X X As desired As desired Transmitting X X As desired As desired computer

PROCEDURES FOR ALL COMPUTERS

1. The Numeric Lock shift may be turned on. The light above the keyboard that looks like an arrow with a 9 inside it should not be lit. If it is, turn it off by pressing Fn + NumLk. The NumLk key is in the first row near the right end.

2. Unplug any Ethernet cables from the computer and turn off the Wide Area Network wireless adapter radio. The WLAN switch is on the left side of the case on the end away from the hinges.

3. Log in to Windows using an administrator login – usually, Volunteer

4. Cancel any AVG scan that may be running.

5. This is important to your EROs. a. Double-click the time in the System Tray (right-hand side of the task bar). Under Time Zone, select the appropriate time zone, click Apply. b. Then set the clock to the correct date and time. c. Click OK

6. If any AVG software is installed on the computer, remove it. A replacement anti-virus will be installed, later. a. Cancel any AVG scan that may be running. b. Use Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs to remove any AVG software from the computer.

c. Accept the option to activate the Windows Firewall. d. You do not need to restart Windows yet

7. In Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance ->Administrative Tools > Computer Management > System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users: a. Select the “Volunteer” user. [If there is no “Volunteer” user, then click “Create” and create the user, “Volunteer,” with Administrator privileges. DO NOT change any accounts from their present name to “Volunteer.” You must create a new user]. b. Change the password of the volunteer user account to the password of the user account used on the TY 2010 IRS depot computers. c. NOTE: If your state/local authority has a different convention for username and password, get that information from them and modify this step, accordingly.

8. In Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> System a. Verify/change the Computer Name to the AARP Asset Tag bar-code number preceded by a “T,” e.g., T0000211568. b. Verify/change the workgroup to VOLGROUP. NOTE: If your state/local authority uses a different workgroup name, use that name. c. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables. Look both in the User variables and the System variables for the variable name “workstation”. If you find it in either place, delete that variable. NOTE: If your state/local authority recommends not changing the value, leave it as it is. d. You do not need to restart the computer yet.

9. If you are not logged on as Volunteer, log off and log back on as Volunteer, so that the following changes will apply to the Volunteer user.

10. In Control Panel -> Appearance and Themes a. Click on Folder Options.. b. On the View tab, verify that the following boxes in Advanced settings are UNCHECKED: i. UNCHECK Automatically search for network folders and printers ii. UNCHECK Hide extensions for known file types c. UNCHECK Use simple file sharing (UNCHECK even though Windows says it is recommended to be checked)

11. In Control Panel > Power Options > Advanced tab

a. Check the box for Prompt for password when computer resumes from standby. b. Under “When I close the lid on my portable computer” select “Standby” c. Under “When I press the sleep button on my computer” select “Shut down” d. Click “Apply” e. Click OK

12. In Control Panel > Network Connections, Disable the 1394 connection.

13. Change the following settings if they have not already been changed: a. In Control Panel > Network and Internet Connections -> Display i. On the Desktop tab, click “Customize Desktop” 1. In Desktop Items, uncheck ‘Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days” 2. Select My Documents, My Computer, and My Network Places 3. Click OK ii. On the Screen Saver tab, 1. Select the Windows XP screen saver 2. Change the Wait interval to 30 minutes 3. Check the box “On Resume, password protect”

15. In Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance -> Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options i. Double click on “Interactive Login: Do not require CTL+ALT+DEL” ii. In the box that opens, select “Disabled” iii. Double click on “Interactive Login: Do not display last name” iv. In the box that opens, select “Disabled” v. Click OK vi. Close all open windows

16. Connect the computer to the Internet using a network cable or by turning on the wireless radio – blue light at top of keyboard will be lit. Restart the computer.

17. Turn on the WLAN Radio and connect the computer to the Internet with a safe high-speed connection – wired or wireless. The WLAN Radio button is near the top of the keyboard with a WLAN icon on it – the blue LED will light when it is on. Launch Internet Explorer and then choose “Windows Update” from the Tools menu. If that page indicates that Automatic Updates are turned off, turn them on. In the “Windows Update” page, click on, “Microsoft Update.” Choose the Express option. Accept all High Priority updates. Install the selected updates.

After these updates are all downloaded and installed and Windows has restarted, launch Microsoft Update again. Choose the Express option again. A few High Priority updates may still be recommended. Install the selected updates.

18. Finish the AVG uninstall process by deleting the folder: C:\Program Files\AVG.

19. Install Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), the replacement for AVG AntiVirus. The MSE installer may be included in your state’s AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD. If not, it can be downloaded or installed using this link: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/ . Alternatively, do an Internet Search for “Microsoft Security Essentials” and choose the link

that goes to Microsoft to find and download the file.

Detailed instructions for installing and configuring MSE and for configuring the Windows Firewall are contained in a separate document, “Antivirus Program for TaxWise Computers,” posted in the “AntiVirus and Firewall” topic of the “Software” section of the Technology page of the AARP Tax-Aide Extranet www.aarp.org/tavolunteers.

20. In My Computer, right click on Local Disk C: and select “Properties”. On the Hardware tab, select the first entry of type “Disk drives” and click on Properties.” In the Properties window, click on the Policies tab and UNCHECK the box that says “Enable write caching on the disk.” Click OK, OK.

21. Open the Adobe Reader and click on Help/About. If you don’t have at least version 9.3.X, upgrade Adobe Reader – do not upgrade the reader by clicking Help/About Adobe Reader… - if you have a version less than version 9.0.0, it will just upgrade that prior version. You can use a CD with the upgrade on it or you can use this link to download it from the Adobe web site: http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/. If the download has an option to download other software as well, e.g., Google Toolbar, uncheck that box.

22. If you have a state-level AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD or from local resources:

a. Copy your district’s current year “Printer Drivers” folder to the Desktop b. Delete all printers other than CutePDF Writer from the computer c. Ins tall appropriate printer driver(s) for your district

PROCEDURES FOR TAXWISE DESKTOP, ONLY [Not for TWO or workstations in a client-server configuration]

23. Installation or adjustments to TrueCrypt volume(s) for the coming season. The Version 7 TrueCrypt installer and the Tax-Aide TrueCrypt Utility – User Guide For Tax Year 2010 can be found in the “Encryption” topic of the “Software” section on the AARP Tax-Aide Extranet Technology web page. a. If there is no TrueCrypt volume on the computer’s local hard drive, Install Version 7.

b. Highly recommended: If the version of the Tax-Aide TrueCrypt Installer last used on this computer is earlier than version 6.2 (for Tax Year 2009), install Version 7 to automatically convert the TrueCrypt for Tax-Aide installation on this computer.

c. Recommended: If the version of the Tax-Aide TrueCrypt Installer last used on this computer is version 6.2 or version 6.3 (for Tax Year 2009), install Version 7 to automatically convert the TrueCrypt for Tax-Aide installation on this computer.

d. With your TrueCrypt volume(s) dismounted, change the TrueCrypt password on volumes P: (and S:, if used), using files TPDATA.TC (and TSDATA.TC, if used), to the new encryption password that you have chosen for your district for this season. We recommend that you use the “Tax-Aide TrueCrypt Volume Password Changer” tool available for download in the “Encryption” topic of the “Software” section on the AARP Tax-Aide Extranet Technology web page.

APPENDIX – OPTIONAL PROCEDURES THAT YOU MAY WANT

OPTIONAL PROCEDURES FOR ALL COMPUTERS

Although OpenOffice is already installed, you may want to install the free viewers for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Power Point), if they are not already installed. Once you install the viewers, they will become the default viewers for the Microsoft Office files, unless you manually associate these files with OpenOffice. You can download the viewers from the Microsoft Office downloads web site:

1. Word Viewer 2003 – wordview_en-us.exe from this page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3657CE88-7CFA-457A- 9AEC-F4F827F20CAC&DisplayLang=en

2. Excel Viewer 2003 - ExcelViewer.exe from this page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1cd6acf9-ce06-4e1c-8dcf- f33f669dbc3a&displaylang=en

a. PowerPoint Viewer 2003 - PowerPointViewer.exe from this page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=048DC840-14E1- 467D-8DCA-19D2A8FD7485&displaylang=en

b. To use these three viewers for Office 2007 documents you also need to first run Microsoft Update, (and the Office Compatibility Pack) from this page: http://www.update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

c. After running Microsoft Update you need to install this Office Compatibility Pack from this web page: http://www.microsoft.com:80/downloads/details.aspx? familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en

3. Programs that you may want to install, depending on the use of this machine, from your state-level AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD or from the software vendors’ websites: a. Copy your district’s current year “Printer Drivers” folder to the Desktop b. Delete all printers other than CutePDF Writer from the computer c. Install appropriate printer driver(s) for your district d. CutePDF writer and its Converter e. FastStone - screen shot capture

f. CDcheck - test the CDs you burn for others g. Print Folders utility

5. To prevent the process “Sigmatel-IDT-Systray” from failing to stop when shutdown is requested, you can delete the following file: C:\Program Files\IDT\WDM\sttray.exe.

OPTIONAL PROCEDURES FOR TAXWISE DESKTOP, ONLY

1. If you are using the TaxWise Mapping Tools (TWMapTools) to allow a computer to be used in multiple roles at different times during the tax season; and if you have installed TrueCrypt Version 6.2 or higher; then you will need to upgrade your TWMapTools installation to the July 2009 or later version that includes support for TrueCrypt for Tax- Aide Versions 6.2 and higher. The installation package and instructions can be downloaded from the “Networking” section on the Technology page of the AARP Tax- Aide Extranet.

2. Mount your Local TrueCrypt volume using the “Start Tax-Aide Drive” icon and your new encryption password. TaxWise 2009 is probably installed on TrueCrypt volume P: from last season. It is recommended that you uninstall TW2009, clean the desktop of TW2009 icons, and delete the UTS09 folder from P: and reinstall TW2009 from your 2010 state- level AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD.

3. Things you may want to install for training user from your state’s TaxWise 2010 clone CD or state-level AARP Tax-Aide Resource CD:

a. TaxWise 2009 (version 24.10 with US Individual Module Version 11, the last version of your state program, and paper filing defaults), including any Site References documents for TY2009 that you may have made available from within TaxWise. b. Later TaxWise 2010 version 25.00 (federal only) for one of your EFINs after you have added it to your state’s clone CD

4. Things you may want to install from your District TaxWise 2010 clone CD (after you create it):

a. TaxWise 2010 fully configured for your state and district - Including any Site References documents for TY2010 that you may have made available from within TaxWise b. Set the unique starting DCN for this machine from your district-level DCN control document that you placed on your District clone CD

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