# Your first day

> Sign in for the first time, finish the setup, and spend ten minutes making WolOS yours: Wi-Fi, updates, looks and your first apps.

Source: https://wolos.org/manual/first-day

## What it is

The first start after the install, and the few things worth doing in the first ten minutes. When WolOS starts it shows the **login window**: the time, the date and one round picture per account. You click yours, type your password, and the desktop appears.

If WolOS was installed for you without an account (for example by a shop, a school or the person who looks after the computer), a short **Setup Assistant** opens instead and asks five questions, one card each: language, Wi-Fi, your account, a look, and, on some computers, one step for Secure Boot.

## Why WolOS does it this way

A new computer should not greet you with a list of chores. So WolOS asks only what it cannot guess (who you are and how you sign in), takes good defaults for the rest, and does any downloading in the background. Everything the first day touches can be changed later in System Settings, and every change you make there can be undone.

## How

### Sign in

1. **Click your account** (1). A password field opens under the picture; **Back** returns to the list of accounts.
2. **Type your password** and press Return. The eye button in the field shows what you typed. While Caps Lock is on, a line under the field says so.
3. **Or leave the computer for later:** **Sleep**, **Restart** and **Shut Down** (2) work without signing in.

![The login window: the time and date, one picture per account (alice, dinah, Mad Hatter); 1 marks alice's picture, 2 marks Sleep, Restart and Shut Down.](/img/manual/login-annotated.png)

After three wrong passwords the login window shows the password hint of that account under the field, as "Hint: …", if one was set. It never shows the password.

> **Tip:** If you turned on **Log in automatically** in the installer, the computer goes straight to the desktop and you never see this window at start. It still locks when you step away; see [Lock Screen and login window](/manual/lock-screen).

### The Setup Assistant (only on a computer without an account)

The assistant shows one card at a time over the blurred wallpaper. **Continue** (or Return) goes to the next card, **Back** (or Escape) to the one before.

1. **Welcome.** You see "Welcome to WolOS" and "Let’s get you set up." Click **Continue**.

   ![The Setup Assistant's welcome card: Welcome to WolOS, Let's get you set up, and Continue, next to the White Rabbit at a rabbit-shaped door.](/img/manual/setup-welcome-1280.png)

2. **Language & Region.** You see "WolOS uses this language and keyboard. You can change them later." Click your language and country in the list (1), check the **Keyboard** menu (2), then **Continue** (3).

   ![Language & Region: 1 marks the list with English (United States) ticked, 2 the Keyboard menu set to U.S., 3 Continue.](/img/manual/setup-language-1280-annotated.png)

3. **Wi-Fi.** You see "Choose a network to get online. You can skip this and join later." Click your network (1); a lock means it asks for a password, which you type in the field that opens. **Not Now** (2) skips this card, and a computer on a network cable skips it by itself. **Continue** (3) joins.
   While it joins you see "Joining “…”…". If the password is wrong you see "“…” didn’t accept that password. Check it and try again."

   ![Wi-Fi: 1 marks the list of networks (Wonderland, ticked; Rabbit Hole 5G; Tea Party), 2 Not Now, 3 Continue.](/img/manual/setup-wifi-1280-annotated.png)

4. **Create Your Account.** You see "You’ll use this name and password to sign in." Pick a colour for your picture (1). Type your **Full name**; the **Account name** fills itself in from it. Type a **Password** of at least 8 characters twice, and if you like a **Hint** that is shown after three wrong passwords (2). The line under the fields reminds you: "This account is the administrator: it can install apps and change any setting." **Continue** (3) stays grey until every field that is needed is filled in.

   ![Create Your Account: 1 marks the row of colours for the picture, 2 the fields Full name, Account name, Password, Verify and Hint, 3 Continue, grey until the fields are filled in.](/img/manual/setup-account-1280-annotated.png)

5. **Appearance.** You see "Choose a look. You can change it any time in System Settings." The top row (1) is **Light**, **Dark** or **Auto** (light by day, dark from the evening). The second row (2) is the colour family: **Wonderland**, **Ocean** or **Slate**. Click **Continue** (3).

   ![Appearance: 1 marks Light, Dark and Auto, with Auto chosen, 2 marks Wonderland, Ocean and Slate, with Wonderland chosen, 3 Continue.](/img/manual/setup-appearance-1280-annotated.png)

6. **Finish Secure Boot Setup** (some computers only). You see "This computer hasn’t accepted its WolOS key yet. At the next restart a blue screen asks once." The five steps (1) say what that screen asks, and the password it wants is shown large (2): `boot`. Read them, then **Continue** (3). You can also start this later from System Settings > Privacy & Security.

   ![Finish Secure Boot Setup: 1 marks the five numbered steps of the blue screen, 2 the password boot in large letters, 3 Continue.](/img/manual/setup-key-screen-1280-annotated.png)

7. **You're All Set.** You see "Your account is ready." Click **Get Started**; the screen fades into your desktop.

   ![You're All Set: Your account is ready, with Get Started.](/img/manual/setup-done-1280.png)

### The first ten minutes

You see your desktop: the menu bar along the top, the Dock along the bottom, and nothing else asking for your attention. [The desktop](/manual/desktop) explains every part of it. These five things are worth doing now:

1. **Get online,** if the computer is not online already. Click the Control Center icon near the right end of the menu bar, click **Wi-Fi** and pick your network. See [Control Center](/manual/control-center).
2. **Look for updates.** Open System Settings (the gear icon in the Dock, or Super+,) and click **Software Update**. If a new version is listed, click to install it; it is prepared next to the running system and takes effect at the next restart. See [Updates](/manual/updates).
3. **Choose your look.** System Settings > **Appearance**: Light, Dark or Auto, and an accent colour. See [Looks and themes](/manual/themes).
4. **Get your apps.** Open the **Store** (the shopping bag in the Dock) and click **Get** next to an app. See [The Store](/manual/store).
5. **Learn three keys.** **Super+Space** opens Search, which finds apps, files and settings as you type. **Super+Tab** switches between open apps. **Shift+Super+/** shows every keyboard shortcut on one sheet. Super is the key with the Windows logo.

> **Tip:** If you ticked modules or media formats in the installer while the computer was offline, they install by themselves in the background as soon as it is online. You can keep working; System Settings > Modules shows their progress.

## A worked example

Dinah's new computer came from a shop with WolOS on it and no account. She switches it on and the Setup Assistant greets her. She picks English (United Kingdom), and the keyboard follows. She chooses her home network, types the Wi-Fi password, and sees the next card a moment later. She types "Dinah Liddell"; the account name becomes `dinahliddell`. She picks the orange colour for her picture, a password, and "the cat" as a hint. She chooses **Auto** and **Ocean**, clicks **Get Started**, and lands on her desktop. In System Settings > Software Update she finds the computer is up to date. In the Store she gets a web browser she knows and a music app. Ten minutes, and nothing to type but her name, a password and the Wi-Fi password.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| "Incorrect password" | Check Caps Lock and the keyboard layout, then type again. After three tries the hint shows, if the account has one. |
| "Your password can’t be checked right now. Try again, or restart." | The password check did not answer. Wait a moment and try again; if it keeps saying this, click **Restart**. |
| "Passwords don’t match." | The two passwords on the account card differ. Type both again. |
| "Use at least 8 characters." | The password is too short. |
| "Use lowercase letters and digits, starting with a letter." | The account name has a capital, a space or another character. |
| "The hint can’t be the password." | Choose a hint that reminds you of the password without being it. |
| "That account name can’t be used. Press Back and choose another one." | The system uses that name for itself. Go back and change the account name. |
| "Your account couldn’t be created just now. Press Continue to try again." | Something stopped the account from being made. Press **Continue** again. |
| "No networks found" | Move closer to the Wi-Fi and click **Look Again**, or choose **Not Now** and join later from Control Center. |
| "“…” didn’t answer. Try again, or choose Not Now and join later." | The network did not respond in time. Try again, or skip and join later. |
| The desktop shows, but there is no internet | Click the Control Center icon and turn on **Wi-Fi**, or check the network cable. See [Control Center](/manual/control-center). |
| A blue screen at the next restart | That is the one-time Secure Boot key screen. Follow the steps from the card, or [Secure Boot](/manual/secure-boot). The password is `boot`. |