Hello readers, I hope you had a great weekend. Sorry I didn’t post on Monday, it was my fiancé’s birthday. Someone recently asked me how they could upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista.

So here are the instructions on how to do a clean install as well as an upgrade to Windows 7.

First off I want to say; as a professional I don’t recommend upgrading to Windows 7. I recommend saving all your data and then do a clean install. But I will give you instructions on how to do both.

There is about a week left to decide whether users should make the move to Windows 7. I recommend everyone get Windows 7 one way or another. Windows 7 is the best operating system ever to arrive from Microsoft.

Either way, whether you are upgrading or doing a clean install, keep these reasons for doing a clean install in mind.

1. Clean Windows installations will always run faster and more efficient than an upgraded installation.

2. It is usually quicker to do a clean install than to do an upgraded installation of Windows. Keep in mind; you will need to reinstall any programs or files with a clean installation. A clean install will still be quicker than an upgrade installation.

3. Upgrade installations can be very buggy and there are also more issues that can arise. Your upgrade installation can even fail in the middle of the installation causing you to lose all your information.

4. If your upgrade installation fails or locks up, which Windows is known to do, you will have to do a clean installation anyway.

5. A clean Windows installation allows you to start fresh. If you had any Windows errors, they will be deleted instead of carrying them over to your new Windows installation. You won’t bring over any unused or unnecessary programs on to your new installation.

6. A clean installation will allow you to reformat your hard drive. It’s always a good idea to format the hard drive every now and again.

The only major reason you would have for choosing an upgrade over a clean install would be how easy it can be. If you are not used to formatting and installing a new operating system, there will be a small learning curve. But, this is very simple and easy to do as you will see in the next steps.

Previous versions of Windows were a bit more difficult to do a clean install. Windows 7 is the easiest clean install that I have ever seen. I will show you how to do a clean install, as well as an upgrade, of Windows 7 step-by-step for everyone not used to installing any Windows operating system.

Remember, before you install or upgrade any operating system: Backup, Backup, and Backup!
They say any information you don’t have 2-3 copies of, wasn’t important.

One of the most common and frustrating things when installing a new operating system is to install it and then, realize that you have deleted important files or documents without a backup.

For this reason, the first step in moving from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7 will be to backup all of your personal files – Files, Videos, Documents, Pictures, Music, Emails, or anything else important to you.

Programs cannot be backed up. Programs need to be reinstalled on your new operating system (The same is true even if you do an upgrade installation). So you will want to make sure that you have all your program discs handy.

If you downloaded a program from the internet, contact the company you bought it from and tell them you need the download link, because you upgraded to a new operating system. This will also give the company a heads-up to direct you to the proper Windows 7 download link.

Note: I suggest investing in an external hard drive to back up your data. You can get a good external hard drive with 500GB of space for just under $100.00. Western Digital is the brand I recommend to my customers.

Once you have everything backed up, start your Windows 7 installation by placing the proper Windows 7 CD into your disc drive. Note: Windows 7 comes with 2 discs. One disk is for a 32bit processor and the other disk is for a 64 bit processor. Make sure you install the correct one according to the hardware your processor supports.

First, you need to Boot (start your computer) from the Windows 7 CD
Getting your computer to boot from the CD will be the hardest part of your new installation. Don’t worry; I will walk you through it step by step.

To do a clean installation of Windows 7, you need your computer to boot to the CD, instead of booting to your hard drive as it would start up normally. Some computers will boot to the CD automatically and will ask you to press any key to continue. If you computer doesn’t boot to the CD automatically you need to change your boot order.

You can change your boot order on your computers splash screen.
Your splash screen is the screen you see as soon as you start your computer. Usually the manufacturers name will appear on your splash screen. The splash screen will give you an option of pressing F2, F10, or F12 in most cases to get to your setup menu, boot menu, or BIOS setup. Your set up screen is also called boot menu on some computers.

Once you get to your computer boot options, choose your cd-rom drive and hit enter. Now your computer will boot to your CD instead of booting from your hard drive.

If you are an advanced user, you can also choose to boot from your Windows CD in your BIOS. You can get to your bios screen from your splash screen also. When your computer begins to start you will need to look for which key it is that needs to be pressed to enter the BIOS setup on your splash screen. Look at the screen for a message similar to this: Press F2 for Setup or Press F10 to Enter BIOS.

Once you press the correct key, you will be taken to the BIOS setup. Now, you want to look for an option for the Boot Priority or Boot Order tab in your BIOS. The Boot Order tells the computer which devices it is to boot first, then second and so on. You will want the disc drive that contains the Windows 7 disc to be the first option in the boot order. Make sure your hard drive is chosen to boot second. Now save and exit the BIOS setup. It is usually the F10 or F7 key to save and exit, but it can vary from computer to computer. Your BIOS should tell you what key to hit in order to save and exit the BIOS.

When your BIOS is saved and exits, your computer will ask you if you want to boot from the CD. It will say something like; press any key to boot from CD. Now hit any key to continue.

The hardest part is done. Let’s install Windows 7!!

Now that you are ready to start your Windows 7 Installation
Everything is very simple from here on out to complete your Windows 7 installation. You just have to follow the simple the on-screen instructions. With the correct boot sequence selected, the computer should start Windows 7 setup from the disc.
Note: If your computer starts normally instead of the Windows 7 installation screen, the boot sequence is not set to boot from the CD. Maybe you didn’t save the settings in the BIOS. Just repeat the previous step and make sure you choose the corresponding key to save and exit.

To continue, “select your language” for the install and click Next. If you are reading this, your language is most likely English.


Now click on the “Install Now” button to begin the installation process.


Now, check the box that’s marked “I accept the license terms” and click the “Next” button.


On the next screen, click the “Custom/Advanced” option for a clean install (if you went this far, I suggest the custom/advanced option) But if you really want to upgrade, choose the upgrade button. Then follow the easy on screen instructions to finish upgrading.


Now, select the hard drive or partition that you want to install Windows 7 on. Then click on the “Drive Options (advanced) ” Button. Now that you have selected the correct drive or partition, click on the “Format” button to erase the previous version of Windows from the selected hard drive and then click the “Next” button.


The Windows 7 installation will begin automatically and the setup will proceed by itself. Then, the screen will turn off and on and the computer will restart itself during setup. Don’t worry, this is normal.
Once the installation process completes for Windows 7, you will choose a username and password. A password is optional but recommended. Now click the “Next” button.


On the next screen, you will be prompted for the Windows Product key. Enter your Windows 7 product key and click the “Next” button.

The next three screens will be personal options for Security, Time zone, Date, and setting up your Home Network. It is very self explanatory. Don’t worry; even the network setup is simple with Windows 7. Just follow the instructions.

Once you are finished with the personal settings, your computer will startup and you will be taken to the desktop. Congratulations, you are done installing Windows 7!!

Now for some finishing touches that are very important. Now, you want to run Windows Update from the Programs menu to update any drivers that may not be working correctly or need to be updated. I recommend this step, because if you don’t update Windows 7, you will surely run in to problems down the line.

At first, your new installation of Windows 7 can be confusing. Windows 7 has a newer look as well as being faster than your old operating system. Windows 7 also has newer and better features. Take a look around and get used to your new operating system. Windows 7 is very similar to Vista and XP. I would say a new user can get used to Windows 7 within 1 hour.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at
rc@rchubb.com