Starting October 22nd, many people will start the process of upgrading from previous versions of Windows to Windows 7 RTM. After spending a long while with Windows 7 as my main OS since January 7th, I am excited about this major release that introduces many benefits to daily experiences on the PC at home and work. I want to take a look at installing Windows 7 and I will also be doing an
Upgrade Story in a future post, just to get an idea of what its like. Let’s get started!
Windows 7 Install window - are you ready?
Depending on how you acquire/receive Windows 7, either by downloading through Microsoft subscription services such as MSDN or TechNet or through a retail purchase on DVD, there are a number of ways you can get it installed on your PC. If you downloaded Windows 7, you can burn the ISO file, which is a replica of a disk image that contains the operating system to a blank DVD or you can install from the image itself by using a free utility such as
CloneDrive or
Daemon Tools that mounts the ISO file as a virtual disk. My installation was done from a physical DVD since that replicates a real world scenario, in a future post, I’ll take a look at burning the ISO file.
Note: Microsoft recently launched a special Student Upgrade program, which allows students with a valid .edu account to purchase Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional Upgrade versions for $30. You have a choice of downloading the operating system or purchasing it on physical DVD for $13. To learn more about the program, click
here
Windows 7 Copying Temporary Files and Starting the Install Process.
Beginning Setup
To begin the installation, click the
Install Now button on the
Install Windows window. If the
Install Windows does not appear on screen, click
Start > Computer > open the
Windows 7 dvd, and double click file
Setup.exe then click
Install Now. Setup will start copying temporary files that assist the installation of the operating system. If you have installed Windows Vista before, the procedure is pretty much identical.
Please note, that I started my installation from within a running installation of Windows Vista SP1. If you are doing a clean install, you could also boot from your Windows 7 disk and proceed with installation just the same. If you are planning on upgrading from Windows Vista SP1, you must launch Windows 7 setup from within a running installation of Windows Vista SP1.
You have the option of obtaining necessary drivers and software patches before installing.
Before Windows 7 starts copying Windows files to disk, you can check Windows Update for any important files and hardware drivers that might make the installation go as smooth as possible. It is always recommended you do so to prevent unexpected problems with incompatible hardware and software. Next you accept the Windows 7 End User License Agreement.
Windows 7 provides multiple options for installing.
Choosing your installation:
You have multiple ways of Installing Windows 7, you can do an upgrade from an existing version/edition of Windows such as Windows Vista SP1. Custom Install features advanced options that allows you to select a partition that you have created to install the OS on. In addition to that you can choose to do a clean install of Windows 7 which will remove any data currently stored on the disk you plan to install Windows. In my case, I have created a dedicated partition to install Windows 7 on.
Learn more about Windows 7 upgrade paths here
Phases that the Windows 7 installation goes through.
Installing Windows
Windows will now begin copying files and restart several times during installation. A clean Windows 7 Installation goes through a series of steps which include:
- Copying Windows files
- Expanding Windows files
- Installing Updates
- Completing installation
