Are you going to install Windows 7? To do this you don't have to be a professional or read a confusing manual. You can install this operating system from a disk or a USB memory. You can also install it from an older version of Windows. Doing a "clean install" will erase all data and install the operating system as if the computer were new. If you upgrade Windows from an older version, the files will be preserved and the current version of Windows will be replaced by Windows 7. To do so, you will need to have a product key or purchase Windows 7 within 30 days of installation.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Use a Windows 7 installation disc
Step 1. Create a backup
During the installation process, all data on your hard drive will be erased. Before installing a new operating system, it is recommended to create a backup of all the files that you want to keep. You can create the copy on another hard drive, on an external drive, on a USB stick, or on a cloud-based storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
Step 2. Restart your computer
Press the shutdown button on your computer and then click Restart in the power options menu.
Step 3. Immediately after, press Delete, Esc, F2, F10 or F9 during reboot.
Pressing any of these keys immediately after the computer has turned on will enter the BIOS system. The exact key depends on the make and model of your computer.
Some computers indicate during startup which key to press to enter BIOS
Step 4. Find the BIOS boot options menu
The name and location of the BIOS boot options menu may vary from what is shown in the image, but if you search well, at some point you will find them.
If you can't find the boot options menu, search the Internet for help using the name of your BIOS (it usually appears in the BIOS menu)
Step 5. Select the optical drive as the primary boot device for your computer
While this method can vary from computer to computer, the boot options menu is usually a menu of movable device names where you can choose your CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drive as your primary boot device. It can also be a list of devices for which a boot priority can be set. If you have any questions, consult a manual or ask for help online.
Step 6. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc
Press the button for the CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drive. Then put the Windows 7 installation disc on the disc tray and then push it to close it.
Step 7. Save the configuration changes
Press the button indicated on the screen or select the save option in the BIOS menu to confirm the configuration changes.
Step 8. Turn off the computer
To do this, select the shutdown option in the operating system you are using or press and hold the shutdown button until your computer shuts down.
Step 9. Boot the computer from the disk
Once you've put the disc in the drive, turn on your computer. During boot, press a key if you are prompted to boot from disk. After confirming that you want to boot from disk, the Windows setup program will start to load.
If they don't ask if you want to boot from disk, you may have done something wrong. Follow the steps above again making sure to correctly select the disk drive in the BIOS boot menu
Step 10. Select Windows installation options
Once the Windows setup program has finished loading, a window will appear. Use the drop-down menus to select your language, keyboard type, and date, time, and currency format. Then click Next in the lower right corner.
Step 11. Click the Install Now button
It's a blue button in the center of the screen.
Step 12. Accept the license terms
Read the Microsoft software license terms. Then click the checkbox next to I accept the license terms and select Next in the lower right corner.
Step 13. Select Custom Install
Check this option to do a clean installation of Windows 7. Selecting it will erase all files on the installation drive.
- If you don't want to delete all files, then select Upgrade. To be able to select this option, you must have another version of Windows currently installed. You can only upgrade Windows to an edition equivalent to the previous one. For example, if you have Windows Vista Home Edition, you can only upgrade to Windows 7 Home Edition. You will not be able to upgrade to Windows 7 Premium.
Step 14. Select the hard drive and partition on which you want to install Windows
A hard drive is the physical part of the computer where data is stored. Partitions "divide" hard drives into different sections. Click on the disk or partition where you want to install Windows 7.
- If the hard drive has data, you will need to follow the steps below to delete or format the drive. Note that doing so will permanently erase all data on the disk.
- Select your hard drive from the list of drives.
- Click on Drive options (advanced).
- Click on Remove or Format under "Drive Options".
- If your computer doesn't already have a partition, create one to install Windows on it.
- Select your hard drive from the list of drives.
- Click on Drive options (advanced).
- Choose New under "Drive Options".
- Select the size and click To accept.
Step 15. Install Windows on the desired disk and partition
Once you've decided where to install Windows, select the appropriate option and click Next. Windows will now begin to install. Your computer may boot up and restart multiple times during the installation process.
Method 2 of 4: Upgrade to Windows 7 from another version
Step 1. Turn on the computer
Boot the computer normally using the current operating system.
Step 2. Check if your computer is compatible with Windows 7
There is a tool called Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor that can examine your computer to see if it is possible to upgrade to Windows 7. You can download it from here.
In order to upgrade your computer to Windows 7, you must upgrade it to the same edition of Windows that you currently have. For example, if you have Windows Vista Home Edition, you can only upgrade to Windows 7 Home Edition. You cannot upgrade from Windows Vista Home to Windows 7 Premium
Step 3. Prepare your computer to install Windows
Follow these steps to prepare your computer for Windows installation:
- Create a backup of your files. It would be good if you create a backup copy of all your files in case there are any problems during the update. You can do this using another hard drive, an external drive, a USB stick, or a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Dropbox.
- Examine your computer for malware. If your computer has malware, it could prevent Windows from installing properly.
- Disable or uninstall antivirus, as these could interfere with the installation of Windows.
- Uninstall unnecessary programs to speed up the update. You can reinstall them once the upgrade to Windows 7 is finished.
- Update Windows through Windows Update.
- Delete unnecessary files to speed up the update process.
- Create a backup of your hard drive in case the installation fails and you lose your files (optional).
Step 4. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc
Eject the CD or DVD tray and put the Windows installation disc in the disc drive. Then close it.
Step 5. Click on the Windows Start menu
It's the icon with the Windows logo located by default in the lower left corner.
- Alternatively, you can boot your computer from disk by following the steps in method 1 and selecting To update on the installation screen.
Step 6. Click Team
All the drives on your computer will appear.
- If you are using a newer version of Windows, you will need to click on Windows Explorer. Its icon looks like a folder with a blue paperclip. Then click This team or in the name of your computer.
Step 7. Double-click on the disk drive where the installation disk is
Your content will appear. Wait for the installation to start.
Step 8. Click Setup.exe
Doing so will start the Windows 7 setup program.
Step 9. Click Install Now
It's a blue button in the center of the screen.
Step 10. Decide if you want to install updates for your Windows installation
The purpose of these updates is to fix known issues in the setup program so that the process is smoother and more stable. To get these updates, click Get the latest updates from the Internet for installation (recommended). To skip this step, click Don't get the latest updates for installation.
Step 11. Accept the license terms
Read the Microsoft software license terms and click the checkbox next to "I accept the license terms." Then click Next.
Step 12. Select the Update option
It's the first option on the menu. Selecting it will perform a compatibility test and install Windows 7.
Method 3 of 4: Use a USB stick or external disk
Step 1. Connect the USB stick to the computer
Plug it into a free USB port on your computer. The memory you use must have at least 4 gigabytes of available space.
Step 2. Remove your personal files from memory
Before copying the Windows ISO, make sure there are no other files saved in memory.
Step 3. Download the Windows 7 installation ISO
ISO files are the raw data from a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray drive. They are also known as a "disk image". Keep in mind that this download can take a long time depending on your Internet speed..
- Here you will find a list of available download links.
- If the website link doesn't work, click here to download a list of links.
Step 4. Download and install the Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool using this link
This is the tool that you are going to use to copy the Windows 7 ISO file to the USB stick.
Step 5. Install the "Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool"
Once the "es-ES.exe" file has finished downloading, double-click on it. Then click Install to install the program. Follow the installation wizard instructions that appear on the screen.
Step 6. Open the Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool
Once the tool has finished downloading, open it from the Start menu.
Step 7. Select the Windows 7 ISO file
On the screen of the tool that says Choose ISO file, click Examine and then go to the location where you downloaded the Windows 7 ISO file. Click on it to select it and then click Next to continue.
Step 8. Click USB Device
It's a blue button in the lower-right corner of the "Choose the type of data carrier:" screen.
Step 9. Select the USB stick and click Start copying
Select from the drop-down menu on the "Step 3 of 4" screen the USB stick to which you want to copy the ISO and then click on the green button that says "Start copying."
- If you get an error message that says Not enough space available, click the button that says Erase USB device. Note that all files on the drive will be erased.
Step 10. Restart your computer
Press the shutdown button on the computer and select Restart among the shutdown options.
Step 11. Immediately after, press Delete, Esc, F2, F10 or F9 during reboot.
Pressing any of these keys immediately after the computer has turned on will enter the BIOS system.
Some computers indicate during startup which key to press to enter BIOS
Step 12. Find the BIOS boot options menu
The name and location of the BIOS boot options menu may vary from what is shown in the image, but if you search well, at some point you will find them.
If you can't find the boot options menu, search the Internet for help using the name of your BIOS (it usually appears in the BIOS menu)
Step 13. Select "USB Drive" or "Removable drives" as the primary boot device for your computer
While this method can vary from computer to computer, the boot options menu is usually a menu with names of movable devices where you can choose your USB stick as your primary boot device. It can also be a list of devices for which a boot priority can be set. If you have any questions, consult a manual or ask for help online.
Step 14. Boot the computer from the USB stick
Once you've placed the memory in a free USB port, turn on your computer. During boot, press a key if you are prompted to boot from memory. After confirming that you want to boot from memory, the Windows installation program will start to load.
Step 15. Select Windows installation options
After Windows Setup finishes loading, a window will appear. Use the drop-down menus to select your language, keyboard type, and date, time, and currency format. Then click Next in the lower right corner.
Step 16. Click the Install Now button
It's a blue button in the center of the screen.
Step 17. Accept the license terms
Read the Microsoft software license terms. Then click the checkbox next to I accept the license terms and select Next in the lower right corner.
Step 18. Select Custom Install
Check this option to do a clean installation of Windows 7. Selecting it will erase all files on the installation drive.
- If you don't want to delete all files, then select Upgrade. To be able to select this option, you must have another version of Windows currently installed.
Step 19. Select the hard drive and partition on which you want to install Windows
A hard drive is the physical part of the computer where data is stored. Partitions "divide" hard drives into different parts.
- If the hard drive has data, you will need to use the following steps to delete or format unit. Note that doing so will permanently erase all data on the disk.
- Select your hard drive from the list of drives.
- Click on Drive options (advanced).
- Click on Format under "Drive Options".
- If your computer doesn't already have a partition, create one to install Windows on it.
- Select your hard drive from the list of drives.
- Click on Drive options (advanced).
- Choose New under "Drive Options".
- Select the size and click To accept.
Step 20. Install Windows on the desired disk and partition
Once you've decided where to install Windows, select the appropriate option and click Next. Now Windows will start to install. Your computer may boot up and restart multiple times during the installation process.
Step 21. Remove the USB stick
Once Windows has finished installing, remove the USB stick.
Step 22. Restart the computer
After installing Windows 7 and removing the USB stick, restart your computer and wait for it to finish booting normally.
Method 4 of 4: Set up Windows after installation
Step 1. Enter your username, computer name and click Next
The first time you start your computer after installing Windows 7, you will need to go through a setup process.
Step 2. Enter a password and click Next
If you don't want to set a password, leave those fields blank and click Next. That is the password that you must enter to log into Windows with your account.
Step 3. Enter the product key and click Next
The product key is located on the Windows 7 disc box if you have purchased a physical disc. If you want to enter the product key later, click Next. So you can use Windows for a 30-day trial period. After that period, you must enter a product key.
Step 4. Select Windows Update settings
You can choose between "Use recommended settings", "Install only important updates" or "Ask me later".
- Use recommended settings- Security settings and updates recommended by Microsoft will be set.
- Install only important updates- The computer settings will be adjusted so that only the necessary updates are installed.
- Ask me later- Security settings will be disabled until you make a decision.
Step 5. Set the time and time zone
Select your time zone from the drop-down menu, and the current date and time on the calendar and on the clock, respectively.
Step 6. Select a network type
Once the computer connects to the network, Windows will go through a desktop setup process.
- If your computer is going to connect to your own personal network, select Home network.
- If your computer is going to connect to a work network, select Work network.
- If your computer is going to connect to a public network from a place like a restaurant or store, select Public network.