"Install Windows Vista: The Step-by-step Guide with Graphical Illustrations (Part 1)"
Do you plan to install Windows Vista or upgrade from the existing Windows?
A clean install of the operating system is our preferred method for installing Windows Vista. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation.
Before you perform the installation I recommend that you check Windows Vista system requirements to ensure that your computer hardware meets the Vista minimum requirements.
Be sure to back up your important data before performing a clean install. Also, make sure you have all the installation disks for the applications and hardware drivers you'll need to reinstall after Vista is up and running.
Here are the step-by-step guides to install Windows Vista:
1. Start the computer and enter the CMOS setup screen by pressing the Delete key several times.
2. Windows Vista DVD disc is bootable. So, you need to set the boot sequence. Look for the boot sequence under your Advanced BIOS Features and make sure that the first boot device is set to CD-ROM/DVD-ROM. Then, save and exit CMOS setup.
3. PC will restart and you will see a message alerting you:
Boot from CD / DVD: Press any key to boot from the CD or DVD
Once you see the message, immediately press Enter. Windows Vista will start to boot up from the DVD disc and you will get the following progress screen will appear while the DVD content is read.
4. After a few moments you will see the first prompt that allows you to setup your language, time and currency format, keyboard or input method. Choose your required settings and click Next button to continue.
5. The next screen allows you to repair or install Windows Vista. Since we are doing a fresh install, so click on Install now button.
6. Next screen you're be prompted to enter the product key. Type-in the Vista product key.
7. If you do not enter the product key you can still proceed with the installation in which case Windows will ask you which version of Vista you have purchased. Choose the Vista version and check "I have selected the edition of Windows that I purchased" box. Click Next button to continue.
Note: Although you can select any version of Windows and proceed to next stage. Please do not select a different version to the one you have purchased because you will NOT be able to activate Windows at a later stage. Windows Vista can detect which version you have purchased once you enter your product key.
8. Read the terms and check "I accept the license terms" box then click the Next button.
9. Choose the type of installation you want to perform. You will notice that Upgrade option is disabled as we installed from the DVD disc. Choose this option only if you upgrade from the earlier versions of Windows. Therefore we can only select Custom (advanced) option to installs a fresh copy of Windows.
10. Choose where you would like to install Windows Vista. If you have a new unpartitioned hard drive you would get your hard drive listed as shown on the screen below.
If you have an old hard drive with data or other partitions, you can select the Drive options (advanced) to format, delete, or create new partitions.
11. Since we are using a single unpartitioned new hard drive, click the New option and you will see the screen below. We just create a single partition, so click the Apply button. Click the Next button to continue. Windows will create a partition on all the available disk space and format it using NTFS files system.
12. Windows starts the installation process and starts copying all the necessary files to your hard drive and installing updates. This will take some time.
13. After some time (the exact amount of time will depend on your computer's hardware), the setup process will install updates for the operating system.
This is the part 1 on 'How to successfully install Windows Vista?' The part 2 will revealed the rest of the steps on installing Windows Vista.
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