Don't pay someone to install on your computer, install it yourself using a bootable CD/DVD

Idea

How many times has one of you suffered financial loss because the operating system on your computer crashed? Various computer repair centers charge hefty amount of money to install operating system a computer. We can save money by learning how to install Windows on computer hard disks ourselves.

First of all I shall explain what is a bootable CD/DVD? A bootable CD is basically a CD for any program that allows you to run the program without logging into the operating system. In even simpler terms, it means that you will insert CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive and the program will load even before operating system starts. Now a Windows bootable CD/DVD will allow you to install the Windows without logging into the operating system that may be already be installed on your computer. Use of a bootable CD/DVD to install the operating system is the most common method and easiest method of installing Windows on your computer.

You may need to install a copy of Windows because you want to upgrade your current operating system, or your operating system crashed or expired. The procedure below explains how to install Windows with a bootable CD/DVD. The procedure will work, with slight variations, on all versions of Windows including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

• The First step for any application installation in general, including Windows, is to check System Requirements. You can find them usually on the cover of your CD/DVD. Once you have confirmed that your computer matches the system requirements for the application, you can begin to install the program.
• Before you install Windows, make sure that you have created backup of all data for the hard disk drive that your operating system is currently installed on. During the installation, we will format the drive that will cause all data for the drive to be erased.
• Now you will need to enter BIOS. BIOS is the basic input/output system (software) of the computer that controls keyboard, mouse, disk drives, display screen. To enter BIOS, you will need to start your computer and immediately start pressing one or more of the following keys/key combinations: F2, F1, Del, Ctrl+Al+Del, Esc, F10. If none of these work, you may need to check specific key for your Motherboard by searching on the Internet (good place to start: Access/Enter Motherboard BIOS). So once you are inside BIOS, you'll see a black and white interface which may seem like an old version of a software that can only be controlled through the keyboard.
• Open your CD/DVD Drive and insert Windows Bootable CD/DVD in it. You can identify a bootable CD easily as such CDs are always mentioned as bootable on their cover. You can always ask the store keeper, that you get it from, for assistance.
• Now use your keyboard arrow keys to navigate to the Boot Tab. Once in the Boot Tab you should see the Boot Priority Option. If there is no Boot Tab, this means that you have an older version of BIOS and can find the Boot Priority under Advanced Options Tab.
• Boot Priority refers to the order or preference given to various drives on your computer (hard disk, floppy drive, CD Rom) to load windows from.Use the Enter key on your key board to get into the Boot Priority options and then use arrow keys to select devices against different boot priorities. Now we want the first priority to be given to our bootable CD so select option of CD/DVD ROM in the first boot priority.Keep your Hard Disk as the second boot priority device
• Once you have selected the CD ROM as the first boot priority device, use F10 key to select the save and exit option.
• This will cause your computer to restart. Now as soon as it restarts, you will see the message "Press any key to boot from CD". Press any key then to start loading windows from CD/DVD
• Your computer will load installation files from the CD now
• Once the files are loaded, you will see Windows Sign which indicates that the files are successfully loaded and installation is about to begin
• If you are installing Windows 7, you will see prompt screen to select language and then will be taken to an install now button. You can press install now button and begin the installation. In previous versions of Windows, these two prompt screens may not appear
• After this, you will be taken to the license agreement screen for the respective Windows Version. Accept the license version and proceed with the installation
• You will be prompted now to select the type of install. Select option to install fresh copy of Windows, in case of older versions, or custom install option, in case of Windows 7.
• Now you will be taken to the Hard Disk Drive Selection Menu. Here, select the hard disk drive that Windows was previously installed on and choose to format it using NTFS File System. NTFS File System is preferred due to its enhances security, compression and encryption features that protect Windows from getting corrupt easily. The Drive Selection Menu Appearance may vary for different versions of Windows but all Drive Selection Menus offer the same options
• The Hard Disk Drive Format will take some time depending on your System Specifications and the size of the Hard Disk Drive. Once the formatting is complete, the system will automatically reboot (restart). Congratulations, the tough part of installing windows is over now.
• On Reboot, you will again view the message "Press any key to boot from CD". Ignore this message and let the computer move to Hard Disk for Windows Installation. You will now enter windows setup with easy navigation options and mouse functionality enabled.
• Windows setup from here onwards takes approximately 30 minutes. During these 30 minutes, you will be prompted several times to select certain options. The options may vary slightly depending on the Windows Version but will generally entail Data and Time Settings, Language Settings, You Name and Organization, Computer Name etc
• The Computer will also prompt you for an Administrative Password. Be very careful in choosing this password as you will need this password to recover your Windows Installation if it gets corrupted later
• The Windows Setup will prompt you for Network Settings. You can enter these settings if you are connected to a network and are familiar with these settings. If not, choose the typical settings and you can later adjust these settings through Windows Control Panel
• The Setup will also prompt you for User Name settings. You can enter multiple User Names if you want
• The Setup will also prompt you to register your Windows with Microsoft online. Internet connectivity is required for that and this part is optional.
• Congratulations, your windows setup is complete. Windows now will begin to launch