Before installing Windows 7, you must know

Now that you have downloaded the ISO image and burned it to a DVD, you have two options to run the installer. The performance of the Windows Installer varies depending on the method you choose. If your system has been installed with Windows XP, Vista, or an earlier version, you can start the installer from the Windows operating system. Alternatively, you can start the system from the installation media. Either way, a dialog box is displayed.

1. Select the Installation Method

Now that you have downloaded the ISO image and burned it to a DVD, you have two options to run the installer. The performance of the Windows Installer varies depending on the method you choose. If your system has been installed with Windows XP, Vista, or an earlier version, you can start the installer from the Windows operating system. Alternatively, you can start the system from the installation media. Either way, a dialog box is displayed.

What is the difference? If you run the installer in windows.

1. You cannot run a 64-bit installer in Windows running x86.

2. Install Windows 7 in the same size as the existing Windows version.

3. existing partitions must be used and cannot be changed. The installer does not acknowledge that no space is allocated.

If you start from a Windows 7 DVD:

1. You cannot upgrade the existing Windows version. You can only customize the installation.

2. You can delete existing partitions, create new partitions, expand existing disk partitions, or specify an unallocated space as the installation location.

3. Install Windows 7 in the same size as the existing Windows version.

In addition, if you start the installer in Windows, you can choose to run the compatibility check on the existing system.

Ii. How to install

If you want to perform a clean installation, we recommend that you back up the installation program and then start the installation program from the Windows 7 DVD to remove any existing partitions. This saves you time and effort. Now, assume that you have backed up. Because all the data will disappear, you must first store the data and then start.

There are four steps for completely new installation:

1. Start the program from Windows DVD, select a custom (advanced) installation as prompted, and click Next To go to the screen;

2. Click the drive option (advanced) to display all available disk management tools;

3. Select a partition from the list and click Delete;

4. Repeat any other extra volume until nothing is left except the unallocated space.

Now you can use all the unallocated space on the drive to complete the installation.

3. Do not be afraid to retrieve the old driver

In my tests, so far, Windows 7 has done a lot of detail on the driver. However, it is not perfect, and some devices are blank or replaced by generic drivers.

If you have installed an earlier version of Windows Vista or Windows 7, you do not need to use a special program to back up the driver from the old system. Windows Vista and Windows 7 save local copies of all drivers in a folder named filerepository, which is in the subfolders of the driverstore folder. The complete path is C: windowssystem32driverstorefilerepository.

In a clean Windows 7 x86 installation, the filerepository folder contains more than 900 MB of files. If you have added new devices or updates, this number can easily exceed 1 GB.

After you complete the completely new installation of Windows 7, you can use the Device Manager to install or update any drivers, or simply click the old driver you saved to install.

4. No fear of overwriting old folders

When you instruct the Windows installer to perform a custom installation, it will move the old windows, program files, and user folders (Documents and Settings) to a Windows. in the old folder. The new installation will create a new set of top-level folders on the current system drive: Windows, program files and users. the advantage of this is that when a single disk on the system has only one partition and a large amount of free disk space, it will be completely installed and no data will be lost. Non-destructive new installation gives you a new start, and old data files are securely hidden in the windows. Old folder.

To perform a clean and lossless installation, you can start the Windows 7 installation program on Windows or from Windows 7 DVD, click the installation procedure, select the custom (advanced) option, and then, in the list of available disk partitions, select a partition that contains your current Windows installation. For most people, it is drive C. After clicking OK, you will see a warning dialog box. After completing the settings, when you start Windows 7 for the first time, you will see that all your data and program files are in windows. in the old folder. If you need to retrieve any old data files, you can find them in users folder (Windows Vista) or Documents and Settings.

5. Hard disk capacity needs to be restored

In the current standard, you do not need a lot of disk space to install Windows 7. At least 16 GB of available disk space is recommended for RC hardware released by Microsoft. But that is not a hard requirement. I have installed Windows 7 Ultimate on a 10g drive (in the 9.9g format) virtual machine, and there is still space available for 3.95g.

Later, I noticed that Windows 7 Ultimate x86 requires 6 to 9 GB space. Obviously, this amount will increase when you install additional programs or create data files. But how many system partitions should there be? Note that 15 GB is the smallest scale, but it will become tense sooner or later. Therefore, if you have enough spare disk space, we recommend that you reserve at least 30 GB.