Reinstalling Windows for dummies: detailed instructions. Step-by-step instructions for reinstalling the operating system What to do to reinstall Windows

Any Windows 7 or XP operating system installed on a computer or laptop eventually begins to work slowly or freeze. You can solve this problem by trying to remove various types of debris. To do this, you can run cleaning programs, such as CCleaner and antivirus. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. If you have the second case, then nothing can be done with the PC. You need to reinstall Windows 7 or another operating system, such as XP, on a laptop or PC. In general, any OS is reinstalled according to the same principle. Moreover, the newer its version, the easier it is to remove the old system and install a new one.

This instruction will tell you about a clean installation of Windows 7 or XP via BIOS. You can do this yourself using one of two methods: using a USB drive or a disk with a system image (the image can be downloaded via the Internet). Using a flash drive is much easier. In addition, when reinstalling, the laptop may not have a disk drive. Therefore, installing from removable media may be the only way. Read how to make an installation flash drive with Windows 7 or XP yourself here. Whichever method you choose: from a USB drive or disk, the following instructions can help you. So, let's look at how to reinstall Windows 7 or XP on a laptop correctly.

How to reinstall Windows 7

To begin with, it is worth mentioning that when reinstalling the operating system on a laptop or PC, all programs and data located in the memory of the system drive (usually local drive C) will have to be deleted. Therefore, if possible, all files, as well as application data, should be transferred to the memory of another local PC drive, for example D, or saved on external media or on a cloud service on the Internet. Using File Explorer, move all files and folders to a safe location.

Additionally, now is the time to think about PC drivers. If you do not have the appropriate disk, you can find and download them via the Internet from the manufacturer’s official website. It would be wise not to use unreliable utilities and drivers found on the Internet, as they may contain viruses.

You will need drivers for a video card, sound module, network card (responsible for connecting to the Internet via a LAN cable), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. First of all, it’s right to worry about drivers for working online via the Internet on a laptop. If you only have one computer, then this will be appropriate. Since without them you will not have access to the Internet and will not be able to download everything else. To simplify dealing with drivers, you can download a program to automatically install them. DriverPack Solution, which works offline, is quite suitable:

Please note that the Windows 7 or XP operating system image must be the same version as that installed on your PC or laptop. For example, you have Windows 7 Home Edition or Ultimate. This means installing the same version correctly. Otherwise, your license key indicated on the computer case will not work. You can find out exactly what version of the system you have installed by clicking on the folder “ My computer» right-click and select « Properties" Here you can see what you have installed. Read how they differ on the Internet.

We start the installation correctly

Now, through the PC BIOS you need to boot from a flash drive or disk. The BIOS is the starting point - the program flashed into your motherboard. Typically, the computer starts from the hard drive on which the system is installed. But now you need to change the boot priority and start the computer via BIOS from a flash drive. To do this, when you turn on the computer, depending on the manufacturer, press the key or key combination correctly. In most cases, this is the Delete button. What to press on a particular model can be seen below in the picture. The BIOS will open on the laptop or PC - the device selection menu:

After this, the computer will boot through the BIOS from the flash drive or installation disk. Next, following the prompts, we begin to install the operating system on the laptop. We don't need BIOS anymore. Select the system and installation language:

After accepting the license agreement, a window will pop up with the hard drive partitions you have. If the old system was in the memory of the “C:/” partition of your hard drive, then you need to right-click on it and format it (delete all data). If you are doing this for the first time, then you can get by with a quick formatting of the disk (superficial cleaning). However, to completely delete the data, you need to use careful formatting (it will take a little more time). The speed of the operation also depends on the power of the device.

After that, select the formatted partition and click Next (we perform the same sequence of actions for any other version, including XP).

The reinstallation of Windows 7 will begin.

All that remains is to wait for the computer to complete the operation. If the installation is interrupted because the PC reboots and starts again from the flash drive, then this problem must be solved using the BIOS.

You need to set the initial boot priority in your computer's BIOS to boot from the hard drive again. After this, the installation will continue.

When installing Windows 7 or any other version of the system (XP) downloaded from the Internet, you will be asked for a product key. It can be found on the PC or laptop case. This is what the sticker looks like:

What can you do if you don't have such a sticker? In this case, enter the code that you purchased online on the official Microsoft website.

We hope that the instructions “for dummies” helped you and now you will know how to reinstall Windows 7 or XP. In this article, we wanted to shed light on such unfamiliar terms for beginners as BIOS, bootable flash drive, etc. So, as you can see, if you follow the procedure outlined here, reinstalling the system can be done quickly and not difficult.

Video on the topic

The Windows 7 operating system is gradually becoming a thing of the past, because Windows 8 appeared long ago, then Windows 8.1 and, finally, Windows 10, which will probably be the last. However, Windows 7 is still installed and running on the computers of a large number of users for various reasons. Some people prefer to switch to what they already have and are working, others don’t know how to reinstall the system to a newer one, while for others, Windows 7 works faster on their computer than new systems, due to the not very high performance of the computer. And since Windows 7 is still relevant, you need to be able to reinstall it or install it from scratch. I will talk about this in this article.

Important! Before reinstalling Windows, you need to remember to save all the files you need from your computer, i.e. photos, work documents, videos and everything else. Otherwise, if you perform a clean reinstallation (this is what is recommended in most cases), you will lose all this data and then you will hardly be able to recover anything on your own.

So, when you are ready to reinstall, i.e. you don’t have to worry about losing some important documents, then we proceed to start the Windows installation/reinstallation process. Here you will have 2 options: start the reinstallation directly from the Windows 7 interface, or boot your computer from the installation disk or flash drive. In both cases, you will need an installation disk or flash drive with Windows 7! The easiest option is to run the reinstall directly from the Windows interface, if you can boot the system. If for some reason you cannot load Windows 7 to start the reinstallation, then you are left with only the 2nd option: boot from a flash drive or disk where Windows 7 is recorded and perform the reinstallation.

The process of reinstalling (or fresh installing) Windows 7

Regardless of which reinstallation method was chosen (from the Windows 7 interface or from bootable media), the reinstallation process itself will be the same.

The first installation window prompts you to select the system language, time and money format, and keyboard layout. If you need to change something, select other values, and then click the “Next” button to continue.

In the next window, click “Install”.

At the bottom there is also a “System Restore” button, with which you can use various system recovery options, for example, restore Windows from a previously created image or roll back the system to a previous state.

In the next window, check “I accept the license terms” and click “Next”.

The next step is choosing the installation/reinstallation method. It is better to choose “Full installation”, since this method will allow you to completely reinstall Windows, leaving nothing from the previously installed system. This will get rid of viruses and, in general, the system will be like new.

For Windows 7, I would recommend choosing a partition with at least 100 GB. free space. This is because the system itself will “eat” about 15-20 GB. Over time, due to your constant updates, plus more programs, you will install, at a minimum.

If you are reinstalling Windows 7 and want to do it on the same partition where the system was already installed, then you need to first format this partition of the hard drive, otherwise the new installation will be performed next to the old one, i.e. the old folder with Windows will remain on your disk.

Attention! After formatting, all data on the disk will be deleted!

To do this, select the desired partition in the list (1) and click “Disk settings” (2).

Control buttons will appear at the bottom. Click “Format” there (1). Now, you can safely reinstall Windows 7 on the same partition. Click Next (2).

From this moment, Windows will begin reinstallation, i.e., it will copy files to the disk and configure the parameters of the installed system. This process can take 40 minutes to an hour, approximately.

During installation/reinstallation, the computer may restart. Do not press anything or remove the installation media from the computer.

After the installation is complete, you will need to go through a few simple steps for the initial setup of Windows 7. In the very first window after reinstallation, you need to enter the user name under which you will work (1), as well as the computer name (you can specify any).

In the computer name, indicate only Latin letters, Russian letters cannot be used!

In the next window, if desired, you can set your login password. To do this, enter your password twice and enter a hint that will help you remember your password if you suddenly forget it. If a password is not needed, then leave the lines blank. Click “Next” to continue.

The next step is Windows activation. If you have a Windows 7 license key, enter it in the appropriate line (1) and check “Automatically activate Windows when connected to the Internet” (2). After that, click “Next” (3).

If you do not have a license key, you can activate Windows later. To do this, click “Skip” (4).

Next, we configure the installation of Windows updates and other Microsoft products. It is recommended that you always select “Use recommended settings”, i.e. Windows will automatically search for and install updates for Windows 7 on a regular basis.

Selecting “Delay decision” should be made only if your computer will work through a metered Internet connection and you are afraid that updates for Windows 7 will “eat up” a lot of your Internet traffic.

You can always change your choice later in Windows 7 itself.

The next step is to set the date, time and time zone. As a rule, this window already automatically contains the correct data, but if something is set incorrectly, then set it as needed and click “Next”.

The last stage of installation is choosing the network connection settings, which will determine the level of security when connecting your computer to the Internet. I recommend that you always select “Public Network”, since this way the security settings will be automatically set to be optimal for working on any network. This setting can then be changed in Windows itself.

After completing this step, Windows 7 can still configure the settings for some time, after which the system will boot and you will see the desktop:

The installation is now complete!

Conclusion

The installation process of Windows 7 is very simple and intuitive; you don’t have to do any complex manipulations in the settings, so, in principle, almost any novice computer user who understands the basics of working in Windows can handle it. Subsequent releases of Windows (8, 10) are even easier to reinstall and this can be done directly from the system interface without any installation drive! This is talked about

In today's article we will look at the issue of reinstalling the operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) Windows 7.

Most users greatly exaggerate the complexity of reinstalling Windows 7; in reality, this process is quite simple, the main thing is not to rush and carefully follow the recommendations outlined in the article.

So let's get started.

Step 1: Back up your data

Before you reinstall Windows 7, you need to copy all important data from the system disk.

As a rule, this is the content of standard folders Videos, Documents, Downloads, Images, Music, Desktop, etc.

In the BIOS menu we need to select boot from DVD drive, save the changes, after which the computer will reboot.

After all the manipulations in the BIOS, it will boot not from the computer’s hard drive, but from the installation drive.

If everything is done correctly, then after the reboot you should see the following image on the monitor screen:

Step 3: Reinstall Windows 7

At this stage, the contents of the installation media are loaded into the computer's RAM.

The following 2 screenshots show the initialization of the Windows 7 installer:

Starting from this window we have the opportunity to customize our OS.

At this stage, we can select the language (the “Installed language” field), the display of the time format (the “Time and currency format” field), the keyboard layout or the input method on the tab of the same name.

As a rule, there is no need to change anything here and you can safely click “Next”.

And if this step was not completed initially, you should restart the computer, go into the BIOS, select boot from the hard drive, perform a backup, and then go through all the previous steps again.

If all data is saved, select the system disk and click “Format”.

Important: Do not confuse the system drive on which the OS is installed and the logical drive(s) on which you store data. In our case, “Partition 2” is the system disk, “Partition 3” is the logical disk on which the data is stored.

The system once again warns that all data on the disk being formatted will be deleted. Click "OK".

After this, the direct installation of the OS on the hard drive begins, which is divided into several stages.

At all stages, installation occurs automatically, without user intervention.

Installation time, on average, takes 10-15 minutes and depends on the characteristics of your computer.

After rebooting, you need to go to the BIOS menu and select boot from the hard drive, saving the settings.

If you did not have time to complete the BIOS setup procedure at this stage, you can do it later.

The installation media can be removed and the operating system is installed on the hard drive, but not configured.

The next step is to enter your username and PC name. User and PC names can be absolutely anything and can contain uppercase or lowercase Latin and Cyrillic letters and numbers.

To switch the language, use the layout switching panel (located at the top). Click “Next”.

After creating a user account, you need to set a password for it. We recommend creating a password containing at least 8 characters.

Since the password is not displayed as you enter, pay attention to which layout is selected. Letters, numbers and some special characters can be used as symbols.

Also a required field to fill out is the password hint field; the password hint, as intended by the Windows 7 developers, should make you associate with the password that was entered during installation.

Set the time zone, date and time. Click “Next”. After which the operating system is finally configured and loaded.

In the process, you will format the local drive that contains the current version of Windows. Simply put, before installing a new system there, you will have to erase all old data from it. The contents of the remaining disks should remain unchanged. But it’s better to play it safe and first copy absolutely all data from your computer that you are afraid of losing to the cloud or to physical media.

If paid programs are installed on your computer, be sure to read their documentation for the rules for working with licenses when reinstalling Windows, otherwise you may lose them.

2. Create a boot disk or flash drive

If you want to install/reinstall a licensed version of Windows, make sure you have the appropriate activation key. Even if you are already using an activated system and just want to install the same version again, the old activation key may come in handy again.

• If you already have a bootable USB flash drive or disk with the version of Windows that you are going to install, you can proceed to step 3. Otherwise, you need to download a Windows image from the Internet and burn it to any of the listed media according to the instructions below.
• Decide on the version of Windows you will be installing and check that your computer meets its system requirements. This information can be found on the official Microsoft website or on the disk with your purchased Windows. Don't forget to also check that your computer supports the new version's bit depth: 32 or 64 bits. To be on the safe side, you can install a version with the same bit depth as your current version of Windows.
• To create a bootable USB flash drive with any Windows image found on the Internet, you can use the program (with UEFI support) and proceed to step 3.

And below I will tell you how to create a boot disk or flash drive with an official system image using Windows 10 as an example.

3. Boot the system from a disk or flash drive

Now that you have physical media with the desired Windows image, you need to go to the special BIOS software environment and select a disk or flash drive here as the boot source.

Perhaps instead of the classic BIOS you will see a more modern graphical interface. In addition, even in different older BIOS versions, the settings may differ. But in any case, the procedure will be approximately the same: go to the boot menu, select the desired media as the source and save the changes.

After this, the computer should boot from the selected disk or flash drive.

4. Run the installation wizard

If you did everything correctly, the Windows Setup Wizard will appear on the screen. Further actions are no more complex than installing an ordinary office program. All you have to do is follow the system prompts and wait for the files to be unpacked. Unless you have to select a local disk to install the operating system and format it.

Also, be prepared to enter your activation key during the process. But if you are reinstalling Windows 10 that has already been activated on your computer, then you can skip the step with the key.

Once the installation is complete, your computer should boot into normal operating mode.

5. Install drivers

Modern versions of Windows load drivers themselves. But if, after reinstalling the system, you notice that the video card, speakers, or anything else is not working correctly, you can use the driver autoload utility. For example, the free Driver Booster is suitable.

Having completed all of the above, you can get to work. The computer must be ready.

Is it worth bothering yourself with the problem of how to reinstall Windows when you live two steps away from a service center, and next door you know a specialist who is always ready to come to your aid? In this case, knowing and being able to use several simple OS installation rules is everyone’s choice. On average, the cost of this procedure is low, and this despite the fact that 99 percent of it is performed automatically. Hand on heart, this money is better spent on this. This is where sometimes a real specialist really has to work hard, although this procedure can be mastered and carried out independently.

But often, by mastering science, we simply save time. Despite the appearance of the seventh version of the windowed OS from Microsoft, many users are in no hurry to part with the proven Windows XP, which was initially considered experimental. To reinstall Windows of any of the above versions, you will need to perform similar operations.

Immediately before starting the OS installation procedure, several preparatory measures must be taken. Since the system will format the disk while preparing space on the disk, you need to save all the necessary files on a removable device or transfer them to a nearby local disk.

Sometimes computers are initially configured so that the user has one large disk corresponding to the size of the hard drive. In such situations, it makes sense to split it into several sections. A convenient tool for performing this operation is Acronis Disk Director.

We launch the program, select automatic mode, in the appropriate item select the disk on which we will allocate “territory” for the new partition, and set its size. We notify the utility that we intend to create a logical partition. We will give preference to NTFS as a file system; select any letter for its name. You can make any entry to the “specify disk label” request, but usually leave it empty. In the new window, after admiring the expected result of the work, click the “finish” button.

Disk Director may reboot your system several times, but it will keep you informed of its progress. When everything is over and after the next reboot the familiar Windows window pops up, you can continue working.
Before reinstalling Windows, let's audit our files and folders, save only the most necessary things, and simply get rid of the rest of the garbage.
When all the preparatory operations have been completed, we proceed directly to the reinstallation. For example, we will describe how to reinstall Windows XP. The seventh version almost completely repeats these steps.

We insert the distribution disk into and the message “Press any key to boot from CD...” will appear, fulfill this requirement and press any button.
Sometimes in the BIOS settings the item “boot” is set not from the drive, but from the hard drive. Then you'll have to change them. To do this, you must press Delete before starting the system. So far, the most common are two BIOS options.

In an AMI BIOS with a dark blue design on a gray background, select the Boot tab at the top and install our drive there as the first boot device. For the hard drive we set the second place. We control either the “plus”, “minus” or PageUp and PageDown buttons.

For Award BIOS with a yellow-red design on a bright blue background, you need to go to Advanced BIOS Features and configure the First Boot Device line. Exiting the BIOS occurs by pressing the Save & Exit item or the standard F10 key.
Some modern motherboards use the Qiuck Boot Menu to determine the boot device. It is usually assigned to F8 or F12.

After the installation begins, we ignore all system suggestions until selecting a partition on the hard drive. Traditionally, this is drive C. We agree to quick formatting in NTFS.

At the final stage, when it is successfully installed on your computer, we will go into the BIOS again and return the hard drive to the place of the first device.

This is where the instructions on how to reinstall Windows can be completed, since what follows are the usual user settings, which are not difficult to deal with.