Performing a Clean Installation

To perform a clean installation of Windows 7, complete the following steps:

1. Start the Setup program using one of the following techniques:
   • For a new installation, turn on the computer and insert the Windows 7 distribution media into the computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. Press a key to start Setup from your media when prompted. When prompted, choose your country or region, time and currency format, and keyboard layout. Click Next.
   • For a clean installation over an existing installation, start the computer and log on using an account with administrator privileges. Insert the Windows 7 distribution media into the computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. Setup should start automatically. If it doesn't, use Windows Explorer to access the distribution media and then double-click Setup.exe.
2. Start the installation by clicking Install Now. If you are starting the installation from an existing operating system and are connected to a network or the Internet, choose whether to get updates during the installation. Click either "Go online to get the latest updates for installation" or "Do not get the latest updates for installation."
3. Read the license terms. Click "I accept the license terms" and then click Next.
4. Since you are performing a new installation or clean installation over an existing installation, select "Custom (advanced)" as the installation type.
5. Choose the disk drive on which you want to install the operating system and then click Next.
6. If the disk you've selected contains a previous Windows installation, Setup provides a prompt stating that existing user and application settings will be moved to a folder named Windows.old and that you must copy these settings to the new installation to use them. Click OK.
7. Setup starts the installation of the operating system. During this procedure, Setup copies the full disk image of Windows 7 to the location you've selected and then expands it. Afterward, Setup installs features based on the computer's configuration and detected hardware. This process requires several automatic restarts. When Setup finishes the installation, the operating system will be loaded and you can complete the installation.
8. You must next create a local machine account that will be created as a computer administrator account. Enter a username.
9. Type a computer name. Click Next.
10. Type and then confirm a password. Enter a password hint. Click Next.
11. If prompted for a product key, enter the product key and then click Next.
12. Select a Windows Update option for the computer. Usually, you'll want to use the recommended settings to allow Windows 7 to automatically install all available updates and security tools as they become available. Choose "Ask me later" only if you want to disable Windows Update.
13. Setup displays the date and time settings, and then makes changes as necessary. Click Next.
14. If a network card was detected during setup, networking components were installed automatically. Because of this, you'll need to configure detected networking components:
    • If your computer has a built-in wireless adapter and it was properly configured during installation, you'll have the opportunity to select and connect to a wireless network.
    • If network connections are detected, you can configure each detected network connection. Depending on the type of location and connection, click Home for a home network, Work for a network in a workplace, or Public Location for a public network. Windows 7 will then configure networking as appropriate for this location.
    • If there are multiple networks, you'll see a prompt for each network. You can configure each detected network in a different way.
    • When you select Home as the connection type, you have additional options. If your home network doesn't have a homegroup, you'll be able to set up a new homegroup. If your home network already has a homegroup, you'll be able to join the homegroup and set sharing options.
15. After setting up your networking, Windows 7 will prepare your desktop.