by Scott Jack
Content Contributor, E-N Computers
15+ years of experience in systems administration including endpoint management, application deployment, and documentation.
New computers are supposed to make your day easier, but setup can become a headache if you don’t know what to expect. Here’s how we handle new computers at E-N Computers, from the time you get a quote through installation day.
QUICK ANSWER:
What should I expect when buying new computers?
Most computer replacements take a month to complete, once you approve the quote. Each computer user will need a completed New Computer Setup form so that our technicians know what they need. Files can be transferred using your company OneDrive or external storage. Starting to use the computer before we’ve set it up is a common cause of delays and data loss.
Getting a quote
As part of our quarterly executive business reviews, we work with you to set a hardware replacement schedule. This is usually 3 to 5 years for laptops and 5 to 7 years for desktops. When it’s time for new computers, your account manager will put together a quote in one to three weeks. You’ll have up to 30 days to approve it.
We currently recommend computers with 16GB of memory and at least 512GB of storage. To give you a general idea, costs for standard workstations are:
- Laptop: $1300 to $1700
- Desktop: $800 to $1200
- Labor per computer: $1000
While you can buy computers yourself, we strongly recommend not buying them from retail stores. Keep in mind that buying computers yourself shifts the burden of research, procurement, configuration, support, and lifecycle management entirely to you. The process can become a time-consuming headache. Allowing us to handle procurement can reduce your frustration while still getting you a good deal on your new hardware.
Ordering and lead time
Once you approve the quote, we place the order within five to ten business days. If the hardware is in stock, it typically arrives within three business days. Built-to-order machines take longer. In 2026, parts that most commonly cause delays include DDR5 memory, PCIe 5 SSD storage, and high-end or workstation-class graphics cards.
Keeping your computers on a regular replacement schedule reduces the likelihood of a hardware failure. If you’re concerned about component failure on a mission-critical machine, you can consider keeping spare parts around, especially if they have long lead times. It costs extra but can offer you some protection against unexpected downtime.
A word of caution: if a computer ships straight to you and you’re tempted to unbox it and start using it before we’ve touched it, please resist that urge. Setting up a local account and saving files on a computer before we join it to your domain or Intune can cause delays and data loss.
Getting it ready
Whether your new computer is shipped to our office or yours, we erase its storage and do a fresh install of Windows to get rid of bloatware and extras nobody asked for, giving you a faster, cleaner machine. Then we install the software listed on your New Computer Setup form, using the checklist we keep for your organization so our technicians know exactly how your setup should look — standard, or through Intune and Autopilot if you’re taking advantage of those modern device management tools.
At E-N Computers, we prefer that clients purchase their licenses directly whenever possible. Licenses can follow users (e.g., Microsoft 365, Adobe CC), so they carry over when the user logs in to the new device. Licenses that follow devices (e.g., pre-installed Windows Pro) do not transfer over. Floating or concurrent licenses, common with many CAD and engineering tools, live on a central server that the new computer will need to be linked to. Some software requires vendor support to reactivate licenses, and the vendor might charge a fee to do that.
Most computers are ready in two business days once they’re in our hands.
Installation day
We will schedule your installation day in advance. We ask that each person getting a new computer be available during setup. A typical setup takes one to four hours of hands-on work; it can run longer if you use a lot of specialized software. You can work on your old computer while the new one is being set up.
Before your appointment, have your laptop charger handy, along with any passwords (including BIOS password, BitLocker recovery key, and Microsoft account) and the phone you use for multi-factor authentication (MFA). In some cases, we may have BIOS and BitLocker passwords saved in our documentation.
Many monitors, docks, and peripherals are plug-and-play, meaning they will work with generic drivers as soon as they’re plugged in to your new computer. But some, like printers with advanced features like stapling and collating, may have special drivers that need to be installed to access all their functionality.
Install day looks the same whether we’re on-site or working with you remotely — the only difference is whose hands are on the keyboard. If it’s remote, a technician walks you through each step until our tools are installed; after that, we can manage the rest without needing you at the keyboard.
Moving your data
If you use OneDrive, this part is mostly automatic — sign in on the new computer, and your files sync over. If you don’t, copy them to external storage like a flash drive so they can be moved over manually. You’re able to keep your old computer for 30 days after the swap, since you may need a file or a piece of software from the old computer.
Browser bookmarks, Outlook email signatures, mapped drives, and application settings are not migrated through OneDrive. It’s important that each user knows what they use on a regular basis and export their bookmarks to OneDrive.
If a file or an application isn’t where you expect it after the switch, let us know what’s missing and where it used to live. We’ll track it down and get it moved over.
What happens to your old computer
Once we’ve confirmed everything transferred, your old computer gets wiped and recycled. If you’d rather have the drive physically destroyed, we can do that for about $20 per drive. Financial services firms and defense contractors are generally required securely or cryptographically erase drives, or physically destroy them, and keep documented evidence that this was done.
If you’re a remote client, you can ship your old hardware back to us. At your request, we can provide a shipping label, billed to your account.
Some clients are interested in keeping an old computer for personal use. This typically requires a reset to completely wipe the computer of all business data. In many cases, the computer also must be returned to the version of Windows that was pre-installed and then upgraded using a personally purchased license. If you’re interested in doing this, please let us know and we will be happy to walk through your options.
Next Steps
Talk with your account manager to get the process started. If you need a strategic IT partner that can help you to develop a strategic roadmap, including a timeline and budget for replacing hardware, contact us for a free consultation.
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