In other words, it’s the “erase everything and start from scratch” process for Windows 7, a procedure referred to as a “clean install” or sometimes as a “custom install.” It’s the ultimate “reinstall Windows 7” process. A clean install is often the best way to solve very serious Windows 7 problems, like a virus infection you can’t get rid of completely or maybe some kind of Windows issue that you can’t seem to solve with normal troubleshooting. Performing a clean install of Windows 7 is also usually a better idea than upgrading from an older version of Windows. Since a clean install is a true start over from scratch, you don’t risk inheriting any buggy situations from your previous installation. To be 100 percent clear, this is the right procedure to follow if:
You want to erase whatever you have and install Windows 7.You want to reinstall Windows 7.You want to install windows 7 on a new hard drive.
This guide is broken into a total of 34 steps and will walk you through every part of the Windows 7 clean install process. Let’s get started… One quick way to back up the list of programs you have on your computer is with the CCleaner tool. It doesn’t back up the actual program data but simply a list of what’s installed so that you don’t have to remember every program name. You should also locate the Windows 7 product key, a 25-digit alphanumeric code unique to your copy of Windows 7. If you can’t locate it, there are tools you can use to dig it up, but this must be done before you reinstall Windows 7. When you’re absolutely sure sure that everything from your computer that you want to keep is backed up, proceed to the next step. Keep in mind that once you delete all of the information from this drive (as we’ll do in a future step), the action is not reversible! You don’t need to do anything at this point either. Select Next. This will officially begin the Windows 7 clean install process. The Repair your computer link is used to start a Windows 7 Startup Repair or perform another recovery or repair task from System Recovery Options. No need to press any keys here–everything is automatic. Read through the agreement, check the I accept the license terms checkbox under the agreement text, and then select Next to confirm that you agree with the terms. Select Custom (advanced). Windows 7 setup considers partition management as an advanced task, so you’ll need to select the Drive options (advanced) link to make those options available. In the next few steps, you’ll delete the partitions containing the operating system you’re replacing with Windows 7, be it Windows Vista, Windows XP, a previous installation of Windows 7, etc. Highlight the partition you want to delete and then select the Delete link. If you have multiple hard drives and/or multiple partitions on those drive(s), take great care in confirming that you’re deleting the correct partition(s). Many people, for example, have second hard drives or partitions that act as backup drives. That’s certainly not a drive you want to be deleting. The message says “The partition might contain recovery files, system files, or important software from your computer manufacturer. If you delete this partition, any data stored on it will be lost.” Choose OK. To be clear: This is the point of no return! There’s no reason to be scared, I just want it to be very clear that you can’t undo the deletion of the drive you selected after you choose this OK button. For example, the Windows 7 installation I had on my PC previously created this special 100 MB (very small) partition to store system data in. This is most definitely related to the operating system that I’m trying to completely remove from my computer, so I’ll delete this as well. Highlight the partition and select the Delete link. Select OK to confirm. If you’re installing Windows 7 on a computer with a single hard drive on which you’ve just deleted all the partitions from, your screen should look like the one above, aside from your hard drive being a different size. Choose the appropriate unallocated space to install Windows 7 on and then select Next. This is the most time consuming of any of the 34 steps. Depending on the speed of your computer, this process could take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes. If you do nothing, your computer will reset automatically after 10 seconds or so. If you’d rather not wait, you can select Restart now at the bottom of the Windows needs to restart to continue screen. You don’t need to do anything here. There are a few more automatic Windows 7 setup steps to come. This starting of services will occur during every Windows 7 boot as well but you won’t see it like this again. Services start in the background during a normal Windows 7 startup. If the Windows 7 Setup process is complete, why are we only on step 21 of 34? The remainder of the steps in this clean install process include several easy but important configurations that need to take place before you can use Windows 7. No user intervention is required here. Windows 7 is now loading drivers, checking to make sure everything has been setup properly, removing temporary files, etc. You don’t need to do anything here. Windows 7 needs to know how well your video card and related hardware works so it can properly adjust performance options for your computer. For example, if your video system is too slow, Windows 7 may disable features like Aero Peek, translucent windows, and other graphically intense features of the operating system. In the Type a user name (for example, John): text box, enter your name. You can enter a single name, your first and last name, or any other identifiable text you like. This is the name you’ll be identified by in Windows 7. In the Type a computer name: text box, enter the name you’d like your computer to have when being viewed by other computers on your network. Otherwise, a good computer name might be Office-PC, Windows-7-Test-PC, Bob-Dell, etc. You get the idea. Anything identifiable that makes sense to you will work. Select Next when you’re done entering both the user name and computer name. Don’t treat this as a recommendation–consider it a requirement. In the Type a password (recommended): text box, enter a complicated but easy-for-YOU-to-remember password. Retype the same password in the Retype your password: text box. Type a hint to give yourself in the Type a password hint (required): text box. This hint will display if you enter the wrong password when logging on to Windows 7. As you can see in the example above, the hint I entered was What is my favorite food?. The password I entered (which you can’t see above) was applesauce. I recommend that you choose Install important updates only. This option is the safest because it restricts Windows 7 from doing anything with your data or to your computer automatically except when important security and stability updates are available. You are more than welcome to choose Use recommended settings but I do not recommend that you choose Ask me later. The time and date is likely already correct but be sure to verify the time zone and change if necessary. If your area observes Daylight Saving Time be sure to check that box here. Choose Home network or Work network if that applies to you. Most of you reading this will choose Home network. Choose Public network if you use a mobile computer and you connect to the internet or other computers away from home. Also, be sure to choose Public network if you access the internet via a mobile broadband network–no matter if you’re at home or not. You don’t need to do anything here. Everything is automatic. I do not show this additional screen in this guide. You don’t need to do anything here. All of these changes are done automatically in the background. In other words, any service packs and patches installed on your old operating system are obviously no longer installed. If you did enable automatic updates, Windows 7 will prompt you about any important updates needed.
