A system and method for installing a customized set of software on a personal computer, tailored to the requirements of the prospective user and avoiding unnecessary software and attendant license fees. Software (all that may be desired) in unusable form is loaded onto the personal computer then selected software (that which a particular user may require and/or desire) is converted (decompressed and/or decrypted) to produce usable versions of the selected software while the other software may be erased, if desired, to free up space in storage. The selection of software is done on the user's function (department and/or mission) and may be supplemented by a user selection from a menu, based on a selection utility.