OK, so I have the OS on and SP2 on, and automatic updates are pulling down the latest patches right now - so thats phase one over. In phase two I typically set about connecting myself up to the company network so that I can log in using my domain credentials. This involves establishing a VPN connection whilst I am logged in as the local administrator and adding the laptop to the domain.

Once I have done that I give my domain user account system administrator rights on the local machine (just temporarily while I set things up). This is also the time that I download and install any anti-virus software and set up my offline-files. I'll check back here once that is done - it could be later tonight.