Performing A Clean Installation of Windows 7

Today, I will be doing a run through on how to perform a clean install of Windows 7 on a virtual machine.
There is a guide on how to create a new virtual machine here.
If you are performing this installation on a computer you already use, you will need to create a Windows Easy Transfer disk so that when you have your new system up and running you can easily transfer the data from your old computer. You can find out how to do that here

 

The first screen you see will be asking you to choose your language, time and currency format and keyboard layout

Now you will be able to start your installation


The setup will start:

You will be asked to tell the biggest lie on the internet (accept the terms and conditions)


Now you will be asked to choose whether you are performing a clean installation, or an upgrade.
For the purpose of this guide we will be performing a clean installation. You can find out how to upgrade from an earlier version of Windows here.


You will next need to choose the disk that will hold the primary partition, in most PC's there will be only one hard drive to choose from.

Windows will now proceed with the install








After your PC has restarted it will complete the installation.



Once the installation is complete your PC will restart again.

When your computer loads up again you will need to choose a username for your account and a name for your computer.

You will then need to choose a password, you will also need to provide a password hint. 
 

Now you need to decide how you want Windows to install updates. It is recommended that Windows does this automatically to keep your computer as secure as possible.


You will then need to choose your time zone.
 

Next you will need to select your network location

Your PC will then connect to the network.

Now Windows will finalise your settings.




Once everything is finalised you will be able to view your desktop.
 
Now that you have windows 7 installed on your computer there are a number of things you can do. There will be guides to follow for each of these, including configuring IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, among other things.