How To Clean Install Windows 7 From XP or Vista

Finally, Windows 7 Installation

If you have made it to this point, everything else is fairly simple. It will be a matter of following the on-screen instructions. With the correct boot sequence selected, the computer should start Windows 7 setup from the disc (if you see the windows loading screen instead of the Windows 7 installation screen, the boot sequence is not set to boot from the Windows 7 disc, repeat the previous step). To continue, select which language for the install and click Next.

Click on the Install Now to begin the installation process.

Check the box that’s marked I accept the license terms and click the Next button (after thoroughly reading the terms, of course).

On the next screen, click the Custom (Advanced) option

Select the hard drive or partition that you want to install Windows 7 on and click on the Drive Options (advanced) link. With the correct drive or partition still selected, click on the Format button to erase the previous version of Windows from the selected hard drive and then click the Next button.

The installation should begin automatically and the setup should proceed by itself. The screen will turn on and off and the computer will restart itself during setup, this is normal.

Once the installation process completes, you will chose a username and password (password is optional) and click Next.

On the next screen, you will be prompted for the Windows Product key, enter it and click Next.

The next three screens will be personal options for Security settings, Time zone and Date settings & Setting up your home network.

Once finished with the personal settings, the computer will prepare itself to startup and you will be taken to the desktop. You will want to run Windows Update from the Programs menu to update any drivers that may not be working correctly.

At first, for a new user, clean-installing a new OS can be a little daunting, but once you get past the boot sequence it’s as simple as following the on-screen instructions and moving from page to page. There are no DOS-like screens anymore, so any user that feels comfortable pointing and clicking their way on a Windows machine should be just fine performing a clean install of Windows 7.