After you install spin the wheel

The first hour after a spin the wheel install should prove the extract, not decorate the desktop. You already downloaded DemoWheel_release_v1.zip from tag v1.0. Now confirm Demo Wheel.exe runs with its themes folder, click SPIN once, and write the Releases URL on the ticket.

Home pillar: spin the wheel. Windows install: install on Windows.

Eight first-hour checks

1. Confirm the extract folder. Demo Wheel.exe must sit under release_v1 beside themes and images before you call spin the wheel installed.
2. Launch the exe once. Open Demo Wheel.exe from that folder (quote the path in PowerShell because of the space) and wait for the window on Windows.
3. Click SPIN once. Prove the wheel moves and lands on a title so mouse paths feel familiar.
4. Open Settings. Use the toolbar Settings entry to see Wheel, Titles, Colors, Text, Background, Button, and Themes tabs.
5. Add your real titles. Delete-and-add entries in the Titles list; keep at least one entry so the wheel cannot empty itself.
6. Save a theme if you customize. Name a theme without special characters before you Apply someone else’s look, because Apply overwrites without warning.
7. Bookmark Releases. Save the GitHub Releases URL for GradXL49/DemoWheel as the only update door.
8. Skip mystery mirrors. Refuse portal zips that claim to fix SmartScreen by wrapping a different binary.

Themes and images are part of install

Upstream ships sample themes and a starfield image inside the zip. Missing themes usually mean a partial extract, not a broken wheel. Re-extract from the same zip before you hunt alternate downloads.

Extract guide: zip extract. Portable layout: portable folder.

Settings.ini appears on first run

Let the app create settings.ini. README says not to edit it by hand. Comfort changes belong in the Settings UI and saved themes. Details: settings and themes.

Browser picker lists do not import automatically. Re-type titles when you switch. Guide: custom titles.

Update door and uninstall

Updates mean a newer zip from GitHub Releases, then a fresh extract. Uninstall means deleting the folder. Guide: update and uninstall. Do not invent winget upgrade lines; no winget id was found.

Offline expectation

After the first fetch, spin the wheel can run offline from disk. You still needed network to obtain the zip. Offline notes: offline use. Safety: is it safe.

Keep browser tabs as optional fallback

If SmartScreen blocks the exe during the first hour, keep a browser picker available while you re-verify the GitHub URL. Comparison: vs picker wheel sites. Switch plan: switch from browser wheel.

Avoid installing unrelated raffle or name-picker packs in the same hour unless those tickets already exist. The cluster covers spin the wheel only.

Lab sign-off sentence

Write: spin the wheel installed from DemoWheel_release_v1.zip, extract verified, one spin completed, Releases bookmarked. That sentence is enough for most club handoffs.

Computer setup recap: set up on this computer. Releases: releases. Download safety: download safely. GitHub: on GitHub. First run narrative: first run.

When the hour succeeds, stop downloading alternate wheel portals the same day. Extra mirrors undo the calm you just earned.

Folder layout worth screenshotting

Take a quick screenshot of release_v1 showing Demo Wheel.exe beside themes and images. Attach that screenshot to the machine ticket. Future you will thank present you when a student claims the binary “came empty.”

If Windows Search surfaces a second Demo Wheel.exe from Downloads, delete the stray copy so only the documented folder remains.

What success looks like on the ticket

• Releases URL written beside the OS version.
• DemoWheel_release_v1.zip noted as the download door.
• Extract verified with Demo Wheel.exe present.
• One local spin completed without a store account.
• No Softonic shortcuts left on the Desktop.

That checklist is the entire first-hour bar. Anything else can wait until tomorrow.

Spin the wheel desk checklist

Keep spin the wheel installs boring: named zip, full extract, one proven SPIN, Releases bookmark. Soft parks for macOS and Linux stay parked because upstream ships Windows only and no winget or brew id was found on the research date.

• Prefer DemoWheel_release_v1.zip from tag v1.0.
• Extract so Demo Wheel.exe sits under release_v1.
• Quote paths that include the space in Demo Wheel.exe.
• Refuse Softonic mirrors that only rank for spin the wheel.
• Write the folder path beside the OS version on the ticket.

Home pillar: spin the wheel. Windows install: install on Windows. Zip extract: zip extract. First hour: installed. Safety: is it safe.

Adjacent phrases such as wheel spinner, decision wheel, picker wheel, random picker, name picker, and raffle wheel stay out of scope. Keep those searches on their own doors so spin the wheel notes do not collide with sibling intent.

Club machines should receive the same documented extract. After every reimage, download again from GitHub Releases rather than restoring unknown Desktop shortcuts. Offline spins still need that first honest fetch. Travel USBs should copy the whole release_v1 tree only after one local spin the wheel session works.

Producer notes should list titles beside the Settings Apply warning. Classroom notes should pin DemoWheel_release_v1.zip beside the OS version. Family notes should keep the Releases bookmark labeled for spin the wheel instead of burying it in chat history.