Most of the time, a clean install means to remove an existing (like, Linux, Windows 7,. It doesn't matter) and replace it with a fresh or 'clean' installation of Windows 7.
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 issues 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. 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% clear, this is the right procedure to follow if:. you want to erase whatever you have 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. Note: The steps and screen shots shown in these steps refer specifically to Windows 7 Ultimate edition but will also serve perfectly well as a guide to reinstalling any Windows 7 edition you may have, including Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Home Premium. Important: Microsoft has changed the clean install process for every new Windows release. If you're using Windows 10, 8, Vista, etc., see for links to specific instructions for your version of Windows.
How To Wipe A Computer Windows 7
Finding the Windows 7 Product Key. Back up & Locate Your Product Key The most important thing to realize before performing a clean install of Windows 7 is that all of the information on the that your current operating system is installed on (probably your C: drive) will be destroyed during this process. That means that if there's anything you want to keep, you should back it up to a disc or another drive prior to beginning this process.
One quick way to back up the list of programs you have on your computer is with the 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, a 25-digit alphanumeric code unique to your copy of Windows 7. If you can't locate it, there is a fairly easy way to from your existing Windows 7 installation, but this must be done before you reinstall Windows 7. Note: If Windows originally came preinstalled on your computer (i.e.
You did not install it yourself), your product key is probably located on a sticker attached to the side, back, or bottom of your. This is the product key you should use when installing Windows 7. Start the Windows 7 Clean Install Process 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! Windows 7 Clean Install - Step 2 of 34. To begin the Windows 7 clean install process, you'll need to if you're using a Windows 7 DVD, or if your Windows 7 installation are located on a or other external drive. Tip: See our if you have Windows 7 as an that you need on a flash drive or disc, or a Windows 7 DVD you need on a flash drive.
with the Windows 7 DVD in your, or with the properly configured Windows 7 USB flash drive plugged in. Watch for a Press any key to boot from CD or DVD. Message similar to the one shown in the screenshot above.
If you're from a flash drive, the message might be phrased differently, like Press any key to boot from external device. Press a key to force the computer to boot from the Windows 7 DVD or USB storage device.
If you do not press a key, your computer will attempt to boot to the next device in the, which is probably your. If this happens, chances are your current operating system will boot. Note: If your existing Windows installation begins to boot or you see a 'No Operating System Found' or ' error here instead of the screen above, the most probable reason is that your computer is not setup to boot first from the correct source. To correct this problem, you'll need to to list the CD/DVD/BD drive, or External Device, first. Note: It's perfectly fine if, instead of the screen above, the Windows 7 setup process begins automatically (see the next step). If this happens, consider this step complete and move on!
Reinstalling Windows is an important strategy for any geek, and a useful skill for anybody who doesn’t want to pay one. By starting over with a clean copy of the operating system, you can remove bloatware, wipe out malware, and fix other system problems. A full, clean reinstall is different from the Reset your PC option in Windows 10 and 8, or a manufacturer’s recovery partition or disk for Windows 7. Those built-in options will set your PC back to its factory-default state—which could include some vendor-installed junk you never wanted anyway. A clean install uses the generic Windows installation media that you can download from Microsoft, and it’ll have just the OS, no other frills. You shouldn’t need to regularly reinstall Windows to keep it performing well. But, by startup programs, context menu items, and years of junk, reinstalling Windows may be the quickest way to speed it up again.
Reinstalling Windows can also save a computer or afflicted by and other system problems caused by software issues. Before we begin,. While you should back up your data regularly, it is especially important to do so before reinstalling an operating system. Reset or Refresh Your PC (Windows 10 and 8) Windows 8 added that attempt to make installing Windows easier. Both of these options actually perform a Windows reinstall in the background, quickly installing a fresh Windows system from the recovery files on your computer’s drive, a Windows installation disc or USB drive. On Windows 10, this option is just named Reset this PC. You can reset your PC and keep all your personal files and Windows Store apps, or reset your PC and wipe everything from your disc.
Either way, y ou’ll have to install all your desktop programs again, but that’s the point: You get a fresh Windows desktop system with all your system files in a known-good state. The 'Reset this PC' option will reset Windows 10 to its factory default state. If you choose to erase everything, Windows can even so no one can recover your personal files later. This is the easiest way to remove your stuff from a PC before getting rid of it.
Resetting this PC will delete all your installed programs. You can choose whether you want to keep your personal files or not. On Windows 10, this option is available in the Settings app under Update & security Recovery. Click or tap Get Started under Reset this PC. You can then tell Windows to Keep my files or Remove everything. If your computer isn’t booting properly, it will boot to the advanced startup options menu, where you can select Troubleshoot to reset your PC.
You can also access these options by booting from a. On Windows 8, both of these options are available in the modern PC settings app under Update and recovery Recovery. In, Microsoft is experimenting with a new 'Give your PC a fresh start' tool that will allow you to reinstall Windows from here, erasing even all that manufacturer-provided junk. It should be just as good as installing Windows 10 from scratch. Look for a 'Learn how to start fresh with a clean installation of Windows' option at the bottom of the Recovery pane after upgrading to the Anniversary Update. With the Anniversary Update, Microsoft may allow Windows 10 users to reinstall Windows 10 and remove the manufacturer-installed junk much more easily. Use your manufacturer’s recovery partition or discs (Windows 7 or earlier) In Windows 7 and previous versions of Windows, it’s up to the PC manufacturer to provide a recovery partition or recovery discs.
Most manufacturers don’t include Windows installation discs with their computers. If your computer has a recovery partition, run your manufacturer’s recovery tool to reinstall Windows.
On many PCs, you’ll have to press a key during the boot process to access the recovery tool. This key may be displayed on your screen. It should also be printed in your computer’s manual. If your computer comes with a recovery disc, you can also insert it in your computer’s optical drive and boot from it to begin reinstalling Windows. You’ll end up with the manufacturer’s like-new Windows system on your drive. All the original drivers will be installed, which is good, but all that nasty bloatware will also come back—that’s bad. You’ll have to after you reinstall.
In case it's not clear yet: a clean install should be reserved for the most serious of Windows problems since all the data on your primary (usually the C drive) is erased during the process. How to Clean Install Windows A clean install of Windows is accomplished during the Windows setup process by removing the existing Windows installation (assuming there is one) before installing a new operating system or reinstalling your existing one. Note: In Windows 10, the process is an easier-to-do, and equally effective, way to clean reinstall Windows.
See for a walkthrough. In versions of Windows prior to Windows 10, the individual steps involved in completing a clean install can differ greatly based on the operating system you happen to be using:. Gather the original installation discs and downloaded program setups to any program you want to put back on your computer. No program outside of those that come bundled with an original Windows setup will be on your computer after the lean install is complete.
Note: If you only have a restore disc from your computer manufacturer but not an original Windows Setup disc or download, a clean install as described in the linked guides above may not be possible. Your restore disc may instead have a relatively similar process that will restore your entire PC, Windows, and programs, back to the factory default.
Please reference the documentation that came with your computer or for directions.
I made the dumb mistake of upgrading to windows 10 after getting a new laptop with Windows 8 and being annoyed by it and well let's just say those black bars on the side of my favorite games are taunting me when I realized there is no way to fix this other than wait aged for intel to maybe fix it in an update months down the road. So I just want to get rid of windows 10 completely and go back to 7 since I already own the installation disc for that. Problem is that there is no easy way I hear, I tried to install from the disc itself but it has a problem before it gets to the installation, and I can't restore the system back to windows 8 because it says there are missing files, so I am guessing the only way to do this would be to wipe the hard drive clean of the operating system then install windows 7 from the disc I own. However this could be very risky as I don't want to mess anything up, such as drivers or such and make the computer unusable by doing this, but I'm just really desperate at this point to get any older version of windows back so I can enjoy my games again. I just want to know how I could get an old operating system back running after installing Windows 10. I don't care about losing data or files as I have nothing of value installed.
I made the dumb mistake of upgrading to windows 10 after getting a new laptop with Windows 8 and being annoyed by it and well let's just say those black bars on the side of my favorite games are taunting me when I realized there is no way to fix this other than wait aged for intel to maybe fix it in an update months down the road. So I just want to get rid of windows 10 completely and go back to 7 since I already own the installation disc for that. Problem is that there is no easy way I hear, I tried to install from the disc itself but it has a problem before it gets to the installation, and I can't restore the system back to windows 8 because it says there are missing files, so I am guessing the only way to do this would be to wipe the hard drive clean of the operating system then install windows 7 from the disc I own. However this could be very risky as I don't want to mess anything up, such as drivers or such and make the computer unusable by doing this, but I'm just really desperate at this point to get any older version of windows back so I can enjoy my games again. I just want to know how I could get an old operating system back running after installing Windows 10.
I don't care about losing data or files as I have nothing of value installed. Click to expand.You have a couple things you need to investigate. If your laptop shipped with Win 8, it's fairly new and has UEFI rather than BIOS. You also have your OS 'key' stored in there (digitally) and SecureBoot enabled. While it doesn't seem like a helpful feature at the moment, SecureBoot was designed specifically to prevent you from 'messing with' your bootable volume / OS - you or anyone else that is. Trying to boot from a Win 7 disk is a perfect example. So you need to get into UEFI ('your BIOS') and see if you can disable SecureBoot.
If you can, you should be able to install Win 7. The second thing I would do before proceeding is to go to your motherboard manufacturer's website and see if there are Win 7 drivers for your machine.
Increasingly there are not and while this might not be a problem, it could be, especially relating to some peripherals. Best case, you might have to hunt down some drivers that work based on your hardware. Worst case, you might not be able to get something working.
Click to expand.For previous post 'motherboard' s/b 'laptop' I used to be flooded by requests from people to put Win 7 on the new Win 8 laptops they bought and immediately hated. I've done some but as time wore on, I've been telling them to 'get used to it'. That said, I don't have any machines in my house running Win 8/8.1 I wanted to point out that you may be able to do it simply because a lot of people bang their heads against SecureBoot without stopping to learn about it and why it is straight-arming everything you try to do. I could rant about yet another 'feature' that we're told is for us but is really for Microsoft but that's a different thread. Click to expand.For previous post 'motherboard' s/b 'laptop' I used to be flooded by requests from people to put Win 7 on the new Win 8 laptops they bought and immediately hated. I've done some but as time wore on, I've been telling them to 'get used to it'. That said, I don't have any machines in my house running Win 8/8.1 I wanted to point out that you may be able to do it simply because a lot of people bang their heads against SecureBoot without stopping to learn about it and why it is straight-arming everything you try to do.
I could rant about yet another 'feature' that we're told is for us but is really for Microsoft but that's a different thread. I made the dumb mistake of upgrading to windows 10 after getting a new laptop with Windows 8 and being annoyed by it and well let's just say those black bars on the side of my favorite games are taunting me when I realized there is no way to fix this other than wait aged for intel to maybe fix it in an update months down the road. So I just want to get rid of windows 10 completely and go back to 7 since I already own the installation disc for that.
Problem is that there is no easy way I hear, I tried to install from the disc itself but it has a problem before it gets to the installation, and I can't restore the system back to windows 8 because it says there are missing files, so I am guessing the only way to do this would be to wipe the hard drive clean of the operating system then install windows 7 from the disc I own. However this could be very risky as I don't want to mess anything up, such as drivers or such and make the computer unusable by doing this, but I'm just really desperate at this point to get any older version of windows back so I can enjoy my games again. I just want to know how I could get an old operating system back running after installing Windows 10. I don't care about losing data or files as I have nothing of value installed. Click to expand.Okay so here's what you want to do - You can download (legally) the Windows 8.1 ISO to burn to disc / copy to USB. I'd suggest copying to a USB flash drive, but either will work. Since it's a new laptop, you've already got your key stored in the BIOS, which takes care of that.
This is so that if your Win7 install goes horribly wrong, you can at least go back to Win8. Now that you've got that covered, go ahead and try to install Windows 7. It isn't really risky anymore, you can wipe the drive.
If it doesn't boot from your installation media on boot, try to hit the corresponding F# key to select the drive to boot from. If you're using a Windows 7 disc, it should be able to install through UEFI. If it still doesn't boot from your installation media, you can try the following after booting into the BIOS Setup (again, corresponding F# key at the top of the keyboard) 1.) Disable SecureBoot (if you can).
Reboot and try the installation media. 2.) If that doesn't work and/or isn't there, there should be an option to switch from UEFI to BIOS(or Legacy, or Legacy BIOS) in your boot order.
I had a computer I did a restore on last night that didn't have a SecureBoot option in BIOS, but switching from UEFI to Legacy allowed me to boot just fine. So, if all that doesn't work, then you've got your Windows 8 USB/Disc and you can revert to that. Before wiping anything though, I'd suggest making sure it can actually boot off of the Win8 media you made. And finally, if it DOES all work, then you've probably got your work cut out for your driver-wise.
If you can't find win7 drivers, there's a (pretty good) chance the Win8 drivers will work just fine, but sometimes it can take some messing around (and/or ripping hair out). I just completely formatted the hard drive and removed all the partitions, but now I have another issue. The laptop will completely turn off after booting up and it just wont boot the USB drive which has a portable ISO of Windows 8.1 on it. I was wondering if there is anything I need to do to the drive to get it working as I can hook it up to another computer and use it like an external drive. The drive is good, I just think that I formatted everything on it my laptop is confused and doesn't know what to do with all its files missing.
I really don't want to have to take this issue to a specialist for something that feels it can be fixed in a couple of simple steps that I probably already have the tools to do on my own. I just completely formatted the hard drive and removed all the partitions, but now I have another issue. The laptop will completely turn off after booting up and it just wont boot the USB drive which has a portable ISO of Windows 8.1 on it. I was wondering if there is anything I need to do to the drive to get it working as I can hook it up to another computer and use it like an external drive. The drive is good, I just think that I formatted everything on it my laptop is confused and doesn't know what to do with all its files missing. I really don't want to have to take this issue to a specialist for something that feels it can be fixed in a couple of simple steps that I probably already have the tools to do on my own. I just completely formatted the hard drive and removed all the partitions, but now I have another issue.
The laptop will completely turn off after booting up and it just wont boot the USB drive which has a portable ISO of Windows 8.1 on it. I was wondering if there is anything I need to do to the drive to get it working as I can hook it up to another computer and use it like an external drive. The drive is good, I just think that I formatted everything on it my laptop is confused and doesn't know what to do with all its files missing.
I really don't want to have to take this issue to a specialist for something that feels it can be fixed in a couple of simple steps that I probably already have the tools to do on my own. Click to expand. And I are giving you essentially the same advice but I'm worried that you are 'cherry picking' some of the information we're sharing and ignoring other parts. You can't simply copy an ISO of an OS to a thumb drive.
You need to prepare the drive (the link provided is the one I'd use). If you haven't disabled SecureBoot, your laptop will likely refuse to boot from USB or optical drive. It isn't confused.
It's behaving as designed. It's also important that the version of 8.1 you're trying to use matches the version that shipped with your laptop (OEM likely). Click to expand.I think laptops are like cars in that there's a strengthening trend towards keeping owners from getting 'under the hood'. We've had hidden recovery partitions for years with proprietary utilities (made by the laptop maker) designed to restore your machine to stock.
Now Windows is in that business too to the point of the one-touch 'reinstall'. I'm not seeing manufacturers that don't maintain driver pages for their laptops yet but I am starting to see Windows 7 missing from some of the lists. As you pointed out, you can still install it and many of your items in hardware manager will likely get a working driver out of the gate but for the ones that don't, some hunting and trial and error might be required.
In case it's not clear yet: a clean install should be reserved for the most serious of Windows problems since all the data on your primary (usually the C drive) is erased during the process. How to Clean Install Windows A clean install of Windows is accomplished during the Windows setup process by removing the existing Windows installation (assuming there is one) before installing a new operating system or reinstalling your existing one. Note: In Windows 10, the process is an easier-to-do, and equally effective, way to clean reinstall Windows. Unbound medicine serial number. See for a walkthrough.
In versions of Windows prior to Windows 10, the individual steps involved in completing a clean install can differ greatly based on the operating system you happen to be using:. Gather the original installation discs and downloaded program setups to any program you want to put back on your computer. No program outside of those that come bundled with an original Windows setup will be on your computer after the lean install is complete. Note: If you only have a restore disc from your computer manufacturer but not an original Windows Setup disc or download, a clean install as described in the linked guides above may not be possible. Your restore disc may instead have a relatively similar process that will restore your entire PC, Windows, and programs, back to the factory default. Please reference the documentation that came with your computer or for directions.