Install Windows 7 Final

8/2/2019 Install Windows 7 Final

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Page 1By: Calvin Xia

Installing Windows 7

A step-by-step guide

with screenshots


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WARNING: If you are installing Windows 7 onto your current and only working computer, it is

recommended you read this entire guide and double check you have everything you need. Once

you start the process, you may not be able to return to your old operating system. If you are

installing Windows 7 on top of an existing operating system, it is recommended you back up all

of your data before hand. Depending on the scenario, you may have to wipe your current harddrive clean before installing Windows 7.

There are many reasons to install a new copy of the Windows 7 operating system (OS) onto your

computer. You may wish to reinstall Windows 7 if your current system is a bogged down with

too many programs and you want a clean start. Maybe you caught a nasty virus that you just

can't get rid of. Reinstalling Windows 7 can solve these problems. With a little preparation, you

can even keep most of your files, like photos and music, as well. If you just got a new hard drive

and you would like to install Windows 7 onto it for the first time, the process is the mostly the

same. This guide can help you get through everything you need to install Windows 7, one screen

at a time.


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Page 3Table of Contents:

What you need Page 4

Step 1: Insert the disc Page 5

Step 2: Loading Windows 7 Installation files Page 6

Step 3: Choosing your language Page 7

Step 4: Begin the installation Page 8

Step 5: Starting the setup Page 9

Step 6: Windows 7 license terms Page10

Step 7: Choosing the type of installation Page11

Step 8: Choosing the Drive Page12

Step 9: Deleting your hard drive Page13

Step 10: Installing Windows 7 Page14

Step 11: Restarting your computer Page15

Step 12: Completing the setup Page16

Step 13: Preparing for first use Page17

Step 14: Naming your computer Page18

Step 15: Choosing a password Page19

Step 16: Entering the product key Page20

Step 17: Choosing how Windows 7 updates Page21

Step 18: Setting the time Page22

Step 19: Choosing a network location Page23

Step 20: Finishing the installation Page24


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Page 4What you need:

To get started, you obviously need a computer. The previous operating system doesn'tmatter. The computer will need a working disc drive, and there are some minimum

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 driveThe difference between a 32-bit and a 64-bit version of Windows is how the processor

handles information. If your computer has 4GB of RAM or more, the 64-bit version of

will be slightly faster for you. However, not all processors can support the 64-bit version

of Windows.

Note: While you can install Windows without a disc drive, this guide covers how

to install Windows from a disc. For more information on how to install Windows

without a disc, search online for "How to install Windows from USB."

The second thing you will need is the Windows installation disc itself. You can buy aWindows 7 package from any electronics retailer. The Windows 7 package comes with

both 32-bit and 64-bit installation discs. If you purchased Windows 7 online, you willmost likely download and burn a copy of Windows 7 onto your own disc. Make sure you

checked that you have the correct version of Windows if you downloaded a copy online.

The last thing you need is a Windows 7 product key. The product key is a 25 digitalphanumeric code that you use to authenticate your copy of Windows 7. The product

key can be found inside the Windows 7 package. If you got your copy online, you should

be able to find the product key along with the download. Before you start, you should

write down this 25 digit code. If you are reinstalling Windows 7, there should be a green

sticker on your computer with the product code on it. Once you start the installation

process, you will not be able to access your current files.


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Page 5Step 1: Insert the disc

The first step to starting the process for installing windows is to insert the correct installation disc

into the disc drive. Once the disc is in, you will need to turn your computer off and then back on.

Once you turn your computer back on, you should see something like this:

You must press a key within a few seconds here or your computer will proceed to your old

operating system as normal.

Note: If you get an error message "No Operating System Found" or "NTLDR is Missing"

instead of the above screen, your BIOS is most likely not set up to boot the disc drivefirst. If your computer proceeded to your old operating system normally, you may have a

similar problem. You can search online for "How to configure BIOS" for tips on how to

make your computer boot from the disc drive first.

WARNING: This will be the last time you can access your current operating system, make

sure you have everything you need backed up.


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Page 6Step 2: Loading Windows 7 Installation files

Once you get past the previous screen, it means your computer is ready to begin installing

Windows 7. You will most likely see a screen like this:

There isn't anything to do here but wait for your computer to finish loading the files. Once the

files are finished, you will see the Windows splash screen:

This means you are now ready to start installing Windows 7.


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Page 7Step 3: Choosing your language

Once your computer is finished loading, you will see the following screen:

You can choose your preferences for language as well as your time and currency format. You

can change this later once you are done installing Windows 7, but for now, this serves as the

default language for the rest of the installation. The keyboard or input method will remain "US"

for the most part, unless you use a special keyboard (a Chinese keyboard, for example). Click

"Next" when you are ready to continue.


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Page 8Step 4: Begin the installation

Once you have selected your preferences, you will be taken to the following screen:

If you wish to learn more about what you need to know before installing Windows, you can click

on that link. Most of the information there will be covered in this guide.

Note: If you are reinstalling windows because of viruses or some problems with your old

Windows 7 operating system, you may try to click "Repair your computer." It may save

you from having to completely reinstall Windows 7 and it will allow you to keep all of

your current files.

If you are ready to continue, click "Install now."


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Page 9Step 5: Starting the setup

Once you get past the previous screen, you will be shown the following:

There isn't anything to do here, simply wait for the setup to finish loading.


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Page 10Step 6: Windows 7 license terms

Once setup is finished loading, we are ready to finally begin installing Windows 7. You will be

taken to this screen:

You should read through the license terms before checking the box "I accept the license terms"

and clicking "Next."

Note: You will see a progress bar at the bottom of the screen for the rest of the

installation. This bar is a good estimate for how close you are to being finished with

installing Windows 7.


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Page 11Step 7: Choosing the type of installation

Once you are done with the license terms, you will move onto the following screen:

The "Upgrade" feature is used for users that are currently using some kind of Windows based

operating system. Though it may help save your files, it is generally better to select "Custom"

and start anew. You should have already backed up all of your important files before beginning

this installation. This guide will follow the "Custom" option. Click it when you are ready to

continue.


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Page 12Step 8: Choosing the Drive

Once you have selected "Custom," you will be prompted to select where you want to install

Windows with a screen like the following one:

This window shows you all of the hard drives that Windows 7 recognizes. You may choose to

install Windows in one of the existing hard drives (disks) or partitions (parts of hard drive). You

may click "Next" once you selected where you want to install Windows 7.

This guide, however, will show you "Drive options." You can use the Windows 7 installer to

manage your existing hard drives and partitions and it is generally recommended installWindows 7 on a clean disc, without partitions. Click "Drive options" if you want to delete your

hard drives now. Then proceed to the next step. If you are opting out of this option, skip to step

10.

Note: If you are using a brand new hard drive, you will need to format it instead. Follow

the instructions for step 9, but select "Format" instead of "Delete."


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Page 13Step 9: Deleting your hard drive

If you choose to format your hard drives and clicked "Drive options," you will be shown the

following screen:

Select the drives or partitions you wish to delete, and click "Delete." You will be shown a

warning and you must confirm choice. Repeat for all hard drives or partitions you wish to

delete.

Note: Older Windows OSs tend to install small partitions during installation.

Here you see there is a small 100MB partition of Disk 0 being used. You can delete

them so the space can be returned to the main hard drive for general use. Select a drive

and click "Next" once you are satisfied with your drive and ready to install Windows 7.

WARNING: Deleting hard drives or partitions deletes all the data that was stored on them. There is

no way to recover deleted data. If your computer has multiple hard drives, they will all show uphere. For drives or partitions you are not installing Windows on, you don't need to delete the data.


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Page 14Step 10: Installing Windows 7

Once you have chosen a destination and started the installation, you will be shown the following

screen:

You don't do anything here and should leave your computer alone while Windows 7 is installing.

You can track the progress of the installation through the bar at the bottom. This is the most time

consuming part of the installation, and can take 5 - 45 minutes, depending on your computer.

You may leave your computer unattended at this time, as it will automatically move onto the

next screen when this step is done.


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Page 15Step 11: Restarting your computer

Once the installation is finished, your computer will restart. You will be shown the following

screen:

It is possible to miss this step, but it doesn't hinder your installation of Windows 7. Your

computer will automatically restart after 10 seconds, but you can click "Restart now" if you wish

continue immediately.


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WARNING: During this step, you may see the same screen as in step 1. However, during this

step, you do NOT want to press any keys if you encounter this screen. Doing so will disturb the

automatic process and you will be asked to install another copy of Windows 7 on top of this copy.

Step 12: Completing the setup

Once your computer restarts, you will be taken back to the Windows splash screen. The screen

will look exactly like it did in the second screen in step 2. Setup will also update registry settingsand start services, and you will be shown the following screens:

Once this is completely finished, you will be taken back to the screen in step 10:

There is no need for input here either, and much like the previous step, this step is also

completely automatic. During this step, your computer will restart a second time to finalize the

changes. If you leave your computer unattended, the installation will proceed automatically.


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Page 17Step 13: Preparing for first use

Once your computer has restarted twice, you may see the following screens:

Your computer is preparing all the necessary drivers and double checking the setup to make sure

everything installed correctly. Your computer will also check video performance and adjust

settings accordingly. This step is also automatic and requires no user input.


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Page 18Step 14: Naming your computer

Once the setup is complete, you will be shown the following screen:

Here, you can create a username and name your computer. The username will be the name of the

account you log in under Windows 7. You can always change your username, as well as add

more users through the Control Panel once the installation is finished. The computer name is

what other computers will see when they try to connect to yours. Generally, a good idea is to use

"username-PC".

Note: If you have multiple computers in your house within the same network, it may beuseful to name your computer something like username-room to help identify which

computer you are accessing from the network.

Click "Next" once you typed in a username and a computer name.


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Page 19Step 15: Choosing a password

Once you have chosen a username, you may also choose a password from the screen below:

It is good practice to use passwords for all your accounts. This ensures that if anyone has

physical access to your computer, your data will be harder to steal. You can also provide a hint

that will display when you forget your password.

Note: While this step is purely optional, it is highly recommended you choose a

password.

Once you have decided on a password, type it into the fields and click "Next."


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Page 20Step 16: Entering the product key

Once you have chosen a password, you will be asked for your product key:

This guide asked you to write down your product key, and now is the time to type it into the

installer. Generally you should leave the checkbox checked for "Automatically activate

Windows."

Note: Activating windows will unlock certain features and allow Windows 7 to update

itself automatically when connected to the internet. It is a good idea to keep Windows

up-to-date because these updates often contain security patches to help combat viruses.These updates will also sometimes contain new features as well.

Click "Next" once you've entered your product key.


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Page 21Step 17: Choosing how Windows 7 updates

Once you've entered your product key, Windows will ask you how often you want Windows to

update:

You can pick what kind of updates Windows 7 will apply and how Windows 7 will improve

itself. You can always change these options later in the Control Panel. Once you've made your

choice, click the appropriate option.


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Page 22Step 18: Setting the time

Once you've selected how Windows 7 will update, you will select your current time:

You can set your time zone here, as well as the current time and date. As long as you selected

the right time zone, Windows will automatically try to correct your clock if you are connected to

the internet.

Note: If you check "Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time", Windows

will automatically adjust your clock for DST.

Once you have set the time, click "Next."


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Page 23Step 19: Choosing a network location

Once you've set the time and if you are connected to a network, you will be asked to choose a

network location:

These options will give Windows an idea as to how much security to put on the network. You

can manage your network later through the Control Panel. Choose the appropriate network

location to continue.

Note: If your computer isn't connected to any networks during the installation, this step

will be skipped.


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Page 24Step 20: Finishing the installation

Once you have chosen all of your settings, Windows will finish the installation and prepare your

new desktop:

Congratulations, you have just properly installed Windows 7. From here, you have full access to

everything Windows 7 has to offer. If you are connected to a network with internet access, you

can browse the web right away. You may also want to check for updates, as there probably have

been many updates to Windows 7 since this guide was written.

Install Windows 7 Final

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