Getting Started with Shadow PC Gaming

Requirements and FAQs

Introduction with Shadow PC Gaming

General

Technical Assistance - General

Technical Assistance - Apps, Ghost, and Box

Getting Started with Shadow PC Enterprise

Getting Started with Shadow Drive

Account Management

Contact Support

What's the difference between Ready to Play and Custom Installation?

Updated 

Each time you purchase a new Shadow subscription or reset Shadow to factory settings , Shadow installs Windows 10 for you and lets you choose one of two configurations: Ready to Play or Custom Installation.

Ready to Play lets Shadow configure Windows for you. If you'd like to configure your privacy settings, OneDrive, and other setup options, choose Custom Installation. You can always modify these settings after Windows is installed.

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Ready to Play

Choose Ready to Play to select your language and keyboard layout and let Shadow preconfigure the rest. 

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By choosing Ready to Play, you will not be required to configure any other Windows settings or sign in to a Microsoft account, but you can set this up later.

Custom Installation

Choose Custom Installation to have Windows guide you through the setup process. To learn more about Windows 10 installation, click one of the settings below, or read through the remaining sections in this article.

Choose the language you'd like to continue using. Applications, websites, and other content may use your Shadow's IP address to determine your language.

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You can choose a region of your preference if you'd like Windows or Cortana to show you relevant content from time to time. Applications, websites, and other content will use your Shadow's IP address to determine your region.

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Windows needs to know how to interpret the keystrokes from your keyboard. For best results, choose the country most relevant to your spoken language and country from the options provided. You will have the option of choosing a second keyboard layout.

Many keyboards have different letters, symbols, and other unique keys based on the country they are manufactured. If, for example, you select the United States as your language, you may find it difficult to use some symbols and letters (i.e. €, £, À).

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Second Keyboard Layout

If you typically switch between two or more keyboard layouts, click Add Layout. to choose your country/language. Click Skip if you do not want to add another keyboard layout.

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To use Windows 10, Microsoft requires you to accept their Software License Terms, confirming you will abide by their terms when using this operating system. Click Accept to continue.

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Sign in to your Microsoft account using the email, phone number, or Skype username you registered with Microsoft. If you don't have a Microsoft account, click Create account. Click Next to continue.

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Enter your phone number (a) to link Windows to your phone and PC using the Your Phone app from Microsoft. To skip this option, click Do it later (b).

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To use Microsoft's cloud storage service OneDrive, click Next (a). If you prefer not to use OneDrive, click Only save files to this PC (b). Shadow recommends storing your content in a second location and OneDrive is compatible with Shadow.

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Let Microsoft keep track of the apps, services, files, and other activities you perform on this device to personalize your experience and make relevant suggestions to you. This adds features like Timeline and increases the functionality of other features like Cortana. To learn more, see Microsoft's article Windows 10 activity history and your privacy.

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Cortana is Microsoft's own personal assistant, similar to the assistant available on your smart device. To let Cortana give you personalized experience on Windows, click Accept (a), or click Decline (b) to disable Cortana. For more information about Cortana, see Microsoft's article Getting started with Cortana.

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Next, choose your privacy settings. You may enable or disable any of the options shown here. To turn a setting off, click the toggle icon Snag_610b7aa.png next to it. To continue, click Accept.

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Let Windows finish applying your preferences. This process typically takes 3 to 10 minutes. Windows will display a login screen when it's ready. Log in to Windows, then install your favorite software and games, or start browsing and streaming on the web.

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If setup takes longer than 30 minutes or you need assistance with the setup process, contact a Support Hero.

Still have questions after reading this article?

Feel free to check out our other articles.

You can also contact Shadow support via our form.