How to Install Windows 7 (Beginners)

Are you installing Windows 7? You don't need to be a professional or refer to a confusing manual
in order to do so. Just follow this guide, and you'll have Windows 7 installed on that computer in
no time!

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INSTALL

Part One of Three:

Installing Using a Windows installation DVD

Clean Install

A clean install is intended for users who want to freshly install Windows on their computer (by
deleting all of the data on the hard disk and then installing Windows) or computers that do not
have an operating system yet.
1 Enter your computer's BIOS. Turn off the computer that you want to install Windows on
then turn it back on. When the BIOS screen appears or you are prompted to do so, press
Del , Esc , F2 , F10 , or F9 (depending on your computer’s motherboard) to enter the system
BIOS. The key to enter the BIOS is usually shown on the screen.
2 Find your BIOS's boot options menu. The boot options menu of your BIOS may vary in
location or name from the illustration, but you may eventually find it if you search around.

If you can't find the boot options menu, search the name of your BIOS (most likely located
in the BIOS menu) online for help.
3 Select the CD-ROM drive as the first boot device of your computer.

Although this method may vary among computers, the boot options menu is typically a
menu of movable device names where you should set your CD-ROM drive as the first boot
device. It can also be a list of devices that you can set the order of their boot on. Consult
a manual or the internet for help if you're stuck.
4 Save the changes of the settings. Press the button indicated on the screen or select the
save option from the BIOS menu to save your configuration.
5 Shut off your computer. Either turn off the computer by choosing the shut-down option in
your current operating system, or hold the power button until the computer powers off.
6 Power on the PC and the insert the Windows 7 disc into your CD/DVD drive.
7 Start your computer from the disc. After you have placed the disc into the disc drive,
start your computer. When the computer starts, press a key if you are asked if you would
like to boot from the disc by pressing any key. After you choose to start from the disc,
Windows Setup will begin loading.

If you are not asked to boot from the disc, you may have done something wrong. Retry the
previous steps to solve the problem.
8 Choose your Windows Setup options. Once Windows Setup loads, you'll be presented
with a window. Select your preferred language, keyboard type, and time/currency format,
then click Next.
9 Click the Install Now button.
10 Accept the License Terms. Read over the Microsoft Software License Terms, check I
accept the license terms, and click Next.
11 Select the Custom installation.
12 Decide on which hard drive and partition you want to install Windows on. A hard drive
is a physical part of your computer that stores data, and partitions "divide" hard drives
into separate parts.

If the hard drive has data on it, delete the data off of it, or format it.

Select the hard drive from the list of hard drives.

Click Drive options (advanced).
Click Format from Drive options.
If your computer doesn't have any partitions yet, create one to install Windows on it.

Select the hard drive from the list of hard drives.

Click Drive options (advanced).
Select New from Drive options.
Select the size, and click OK.
 13 Install Windows on your preferred hard drive and partition. Once you've decided on
where to install Windows, select it and click Next. Windows will begin installing.

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Upgrade
An Upgrade installation upgrades an older version of Windows on your computer (E.G.
Windows Vista to Windows 7.)

1 Start your computer normally into your current operating system.

2 Check to see if your computer is compatible with Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade
Advisor scans your computer to see if you can upgrade it to Windows 7. Download it
here .
3 Prepare your computer to install Windows.

Scan your computer for malware. Malware can prevent Windows from installing correctly.
Disable or uninstall any antivirus software because they may interfere with the Windows
installation.
Uninstall some unnecessary programs to speed up the upgrade. You can install them
after Windows 7 has finished.
Update Windows with Windows Update.
Delete some unnecessary files to speed up the upgrade.
Back up your hard drive in case the installation fails and you lose your files. (optional).
4 Insert your Windows 7 installation disc into the computer at this point.
 Start Windows Setup. After the disc has loaded, click Start →Computer, double click the
5 disc drive that Windows 7 Setup was placed in, and double-click setup.exe on the disc.
Allow Setup to start.
6 Click Install Now.
7 Decide whether to install updates for Windows Setup. The updates are intended to fix
known problems with Windows Setup and installing updates makes your installation
smoother and more stable. To get updates, click Go Online to get the latest updates for
installation (recommended). To skip updates, click Do not get the latest updates for
installation.
8 Accept the License Terms. Read over the Microsoft Software License Terms, check I
accept the license terms, and click Next.
 9 Select the Upgrade installation.

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Part Two of Three:

Installing Using a Flash Drive or External Drive

Installing Windows Setup to the Flash Drive or External Drive

You will need to extract the Windows Setup files to a drive before continuing any farther.
1 Plug a drive with a minimum of 4 gigabytes of memory into a computer.
2 Move any personal files off of the drive.
3 Download the Windows 7 Setup ISO. An ISO file is a disc image. Note: This download
may take a while, depending on your internet speed.

A list of download links is available here.

If the link to the website does not work, click here to download a list of the links.
4 Download and install the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from this link .
5 Once the ISO has finished downloading, open the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool.
6 Select the ISO. On the Step 1 of 4: Choose ISO file screen of the Windows 7 USB/DVD
Download Tool, select the downloaded ISO file by clicking Browse, then click Next to
continue.
7 On the Step 2 of 4: Choose media type screen, choose USB device.
8 On the Step 3 of 4: Insert USB device screen, choose the drive you want to extract the
Setup files to, then click Begin copying.

If you receive an error that says Not Enough Free Space, click the Erase USB Device
button, which will erase all of the files on the drive.
 9 Once Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool has finished extracting the ISO to the flash
drive, your drive is ready to install Windows.

You may delete the ISO file now, as it is no longer required.

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Clean Installation

A clean install is intended for users who want to freshly install Windows on their computer (by
deleting all of the data on the hard disk and then installing Windows) or computers that do not
have an operating system yet. (Note: Older computers may not be able to perform a clean
installation with the drive.)
1 Make sure the drive that Windows 7 Setup was extracted onto is plugged into the
computer.
2 Enter your computer's BIOS. Turn off the computer that you want to install Windows on
then turn it back on. When the BIOS screen appears or you are prompted to do so, press
Del , Esc , F2 , F10 , or F9 (depending on your computer’s motherboard) to enter the system
BIOS. The key to enter the BIOS is usually shown on the screen.
3 Find your BIOS's boot options menu. The boot options menu of your BIOS may vary in
location or name from the illustration, but you may eventually find it if you search around.

If you can't find the boot options menu, search the name of your BIOS (most likely located
in the BIOS menu) online for help.
4 Select the drive as the first boot device of your computer.

If your drive doesn't show up as a boot device, then your computer doesn't support it.
Although this method may vary among computers, the boot options menu is typically a
menu of movable device names where you should set your drive as the first boot device. It
can also be a list of devices that you can set the order of their boot on individually.
Consult a manual or the internet for help if you're stuck.
5 Save the changes of the settings. Press the button indicated on the screen or select the
save option from the BIOS menu to save your configuration.
6 Shut off your computer. Either turn off the computer by choosing the shut-down option in
your current operating system, or hold the power button until the computer powers off.
7 Turn your computer back on. Your computer should enter Windows Setup.

If your computer asks you if you want to boot from a CD by pressing any key, boot from it.
Windows Setup will load.
Important Information: If you receive a CD/DVD device driver missing error during Setup
at any point, simply click Cancel on the error message which will return you to the
Welcome screen. Once you reach the Welcome screen, un-plug the USB drive and plug
in into another USB port on your computer, then continue with the installation.
8 Choose your Windows Setup options. Once Windows Setup loads, you'll be presented
with a window. Select your preferred language, keyboard type, and time/currency format,
then click Next.
9 Click the Install Now button.
10 Accept the License Terms. Read over the Microsoft Software License Terms, check I
accept the license terms, and click Next.
11 Select the Custom installation.
12 Decide on which hard drive and partition you want to install Windows on. A hard drive
is a physical part of your computer that stores data, and partitions "divide" hard drives
into separate parts.

If the hard drive has data on it, delete the data off of it, or format it.

Select the hard drive from the list of hard drives.

Click Drive options (advanced).
Click Format from Drive options.
If your computer doesn't have any partitions yet, create one to install Windows on it.

Select the hard drive from the list of hard drives.

Click Drive options (advanced).
Select New from Drive options.
Select the size, and click OK.
 13 Install Windows on your preferred hard drive and partition. Once you've decided on
where to install Windows, select it and click Next. Windows will begin installing.

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Upgrade

An Upgrade installation upgrades an older version of Windows on your computer (E.G.

Windows Vista) to Windows 7.
1 Check to see if your computer is compatible with Windows 7. The Windows 7 Upgrade
Advisor scans your computer to see if you can upgrade it to Windows 7. Download it
here .
2 Prepare your computer to install Windows.

Scan your computer for malware. Malware can prevent Windows from installing correctly.
Disable or uninstall any antivirus software because they may interfere with the Windows
installation.
Uninstall some unnecessary programs to speed up the upgrade. You can install them
after Windows 7 has finished.
Update Windows with Windows Update.
Delete some unnecessary files to speed up the upgrade.
Back up your hard drive in case the installation fails and you lose your files. (optional).
3 Make sure the drive that Windows Setup was extracted onto is plugged into your
computer.
 Start Windows Setup. Click Start →Computer, double click the USB drive that Windows 7
4 Setup was extracted to, and double-click setup.exe on the disc. Allow Setup to start.
5 Click Install Now.
6 Decide whether to install updates for Windows Setup. The updates are intended to fix
known problems with Windows Setup and installing updates makes your installation
smoother and more stable. To get updates, click Go Online to get the latest updates for
installation (recommended). To skip updates, click Do not get the latest updates for
installation.
7 Accept the License Terms. Read over the Microsoft Software License Terms, check I
accept the license terms, and click Next.
 8 Select the Upgrade installation.

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Part Three of Three:

Post-Installation

These steps carry off after you have finished installing Windows and your computer has started
in Windows 7.
1 Type your username and computer's name and click Next.
2 Type your password and click Next. If you don't want a password, leave the text boxes
blank and then click Next.
3 Enter your product key then click Next. Your product key is located on the case of your
Windows 7 disc if you purchased the disc. To skip entering your product key, just click
Next, but Windows will run on a 30-day trial, and you'll have to enter a key once the 30 day trial
time is up.
4 Choose your Windows Update settings.

Use recommended settings automatically sets update and security settings

recommended by Microsoft.
Install important updates only configures your computer only to install necessary
updates.
Ask me later disables your security until you have made a decision.
5 Set your time and time zone.
6 Set your network type.

If the computer is connected to your own personal network, choose Home network.
If you are connected to the network at your workplace, choose Work network.
If you're connected to a public network from places such as restaurants and shops,
choose Public network.
7 Your computer is now set up!
8 Once your computer is ready, format your USB drive back to its default settings (if you
chose the Installing Using a Flash Drive or External Drive method). You can format your
USB drive back to its default settings and place your files back onto it by right clicking your
USB drive in Start→Computer, clicking Format, clicking Restore Device Defaults in Format,
then clicking Start, which permanently deletes any data off of the drive. After the drive has
formatted, you can move your files back onto it.
 9 Be sure to reinstall any software you uninstalled, install any device drivers, and re-
enable your security software. Also, to improve your security, run Windows Update to
install the latest security updates.

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Community Q&A

If my hard drive already has partitions, can I install Windows on one that will be formatted and
leave the others untouched?

Answered by khajanayeem uddin

Yes, you can. But make sure that you have made changes only to that partition which has OS.

11 2

If I have a bunch of programs and files on my Local C: drive, will they all be erased?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

Yes, because formatting erases all content from a hard drive. Back up your data to a USB drive or the
cloud before beginning.

19 6

My laptop is not playing CD/DVDs, and the CD-ROM drive does not appear in my PC. What can
I do?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

You can use your flash drive, make it bootable and install your OS, or you can follow Part 2 for further
details.

11 3

What can I do if it did not finish installing?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

Run an analysis test on on your computer. It may be a hard drive error or the program may simply not
be compatible with your computer build.

18 7

In booting from disk, once the "Windows is loading files" progress bar finishes, I get the
"starting Windows" screen, then I get the blue screen of death saying "iqrl not less or equal."
What does this mean, and how can I get Win 7 to install on this PC?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

Make sure the files on the disk are not corrupted and retry the installation.

6 1

What do I do if I don't have sound drivers after installing Windows 7?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

Download the sound card drivers for your sound card from the website of the manufacturer of the
sound card.

11 5

How do I install Windows 10 in my PC by pen drive?

 Answered by wikiHow Contributor

You must require pen drive as boot-able, then you precede to install OS by ISO image,other
procedures are in article.

8 3

How do I install Windows 7 from an ISO file onto a laptop?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

Burn it to a disk or copy it to a USB drive and use the bios to boot into it.

17 11

How do I proceed when I get to the part where I have to click "Install Now," but I have no
keyboard or mouse?

Answered by wikiHow Contributor

If you have a screen touch monitor, simply touch where it says "Install Now." If you don't, then you'll
need to get a keyboard or a mouse to click it, as well as to generally use your computer.

8 4

Can I change my Flash drive back to its original state after it has been changed to bootable?

Answered by khajanayeem uddin

Yes. Just format it. Formatting will erase all your data from your pen drive.

Show more answers

How do I change the language?

Answer

How can I set up my PC through a pen drive?

Answer

How can I format a computer and install Windows if it will not start?

Answer
 How can I install software using pendrive?

Answer

When I restart and my PC asks me to press any button to boot from CD, it doesn't recognize my DVD
even though I set the DVD to be the 1st bootable device. What's wrong?

Answer

Show more unanswered questions

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Things You'll Need

Windows 7 System Requirements

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Resources Needed
Disc Installation

Windows 7 Setup Disc

Disc Drive
Compatible Computer

USB Installation

Clean Installation

USB Drive (4 GB minimum size)

Internet Connection (to download the ISO and USB extraction software)
A computer to extract the files to the USB drive on.
USB ports
 Compatible Computer

Upgrade Installation

An existing installation of Windows (Windows XP or Vista recommended)

USB Drive (4 GB minimum size)
Internet Connection (to download the ISO and USB extraction software)
A computer to extract the files to the USB drive on.
USB ports
Compatible Computer

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About This Article

Co-authors: 54
Updated: 4 weeks ago
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Categories: Windows 7

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