What is needed to reinstall the system. The process of copying a system image from the Internet

This article describes how to install or reinstall Windows 7.

Before installation begins, you need to complete several preparatory steps. At the beginning of the article we have placed detailed content so that you can quickly view the entire sequence of actions and move on to the necessary part of the instructions.

If you are interested in a specific question (such as installation errors, how to enter and configure the BIOS, etc.), the links in the content will take you directly to it.

If you are a beginner, then simply follow the guide from start to finish: each point is described in as much detail as possible and includes links to supporting instructions.

What should be ready before installation

Review the list below to ensure your computer and system are ready for installation or reinstalling Windows 7 and complete the necessary steps to complete the preparation.

What types of installation are there, how to save personal files and programs

There are two types of installation:
  • Complete reinstallation operating system(OS) when the partition is completely erased hard drive(or the entire disk), including all your programs, documents and files.
  • An OS update that only updates system files.
Updating the OS has a number of disadvantages. Therefore, it is recommended to carry out a complete reinstallation of the system, and for this you will need to save everything personal files and program settings.

If you haven't done this yet, read the article on preparing for installation, from it you will learn:

  • how to save all important personal data;
  • what programs will be needed immediately after installation and where to download them;
  • is it possible to copy installed drivers where to find drivers after installation;
  • analysis of some special cases;
Save all data and proceed to the next step.

How to legally download the original image of Windows 7 x64 or x32 for free.



Download original image can be done legally using the program « Windows ISO Downloader": the file with the Windows image will be downloaded with Microsoft official website.

Program file "Windows ISO Downloader" with version 5.21 (dated September 20, 2017) is attached to the article (to the right of this text).
How to download the image correctly is shown in the figure below:

Select Windows partition 7, then the desired edition of the Windows 7 image and the “Confirm” button.

Attention!
We strongly we do not recommend use Windows builds 7 – use only original images systems.

Microsoft Company has several aircraft hangars of various equipment designed to test the operation of the operating system on various combinations devices. Therefore, the official OS image works correctly for the vast majority of users.

The authors of the assemblies do not have similar opportunities for testing, so a certain percentage of users will have problems during the operation of the assembly, which will only be possible to solve with the help of a complete redesign Windows installations.

Which image version to choose: 32 bit or 64 bit

Everything is very simple: a 64-bit OS is needed in two cases: so that the computer can “see” 4GB or more RAM and so that you can work with “heavy” programs or games. Attention!
Some new programs and games may not run on 32-bit Windows.
Conclusions:

  • If the amount of RAM is 4GB or more, feel free to choose x64 (64 bits).
  • If your computer is old and complex programs(for example, audio and video editors, design systems, multimedia packages) are not used, select x32 (32 bits).
More detailed information The difference between a 32-bit and a 64-bit operating system is presented in this article.

The easiest way to see how much RAM you have is to right-click on the icon "My computer" → select item "Properties" V context menu.

The window that opens will indicate the amount of RAM, as well as the bit capacity of the system currently installed.

Which version of Windows 7 should I choose: Home, Professional or Ultimate?

There are different versions(editions) of Windows 7, some of which are very different in functionality. Read more about Windows versions you can read it.

Most often, when installing, they choose between versions of “ Professional " And " Ultimate ».
The best choice in terms of image version would be « Windows 7 Professional » .
But don’t worry if you have a different edition of Windows - the installation process will be similar.
In the edition " Professional » unlike "Ultimate" there are a number of services that most users will never use.
You probably haven't even heard their names: DirectAccess, Unix Application Launch Subsystem, BranchCache, BitLocker, etc. Accordingly, hard disk space version « Professional » will take less.

How to properly burn an image to a DVD or USB flash drive?

If you have already recorded the image and the installation from it went smoothly, then you can immediately move on to the next chapter. If you don’t know which programs can be used to burn an image to a disk or flash drive, then the following auxiliary articles will help you: Please note that installation from a flash drive is more reliable and also faster. If you have a flash drive with a capacity of 4GB or more, then it is better to install from it.

Windows reinstallation process.

So, preparation for installation is complete: all personal data has been saved, the media with the operating system distribution has been created, and the partition on which the image will be installed has been prepared.

Setting boot device priority in BIOS

  1. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS.
    • on personal computers Most often, buttons are used to enter the BIOS « DELETE» (« Del»), « F2", "F1", "Esc»
    • on laptops - keys « F8", "F9", "F12", "Esc»
  2. After going to the BIOS, you need to find the menu section responsible for installing devices to boot the OS.
    The section may be in different places(depending on the type of motherboard and BIOS version), so you need to find the menu « FIRST BOOT DEVICE », « BOOT » or « BOOT DEVICE ».
  1. You need to go to this section of the menu and set the drive to first place DVD or HDD(your Flash drive) depending on what media the image was recorded on.
  2. After this, you need to exit the BIOS and save the changes.
    Most often, to save changes, you need to press the key before exiting. « F 10" , and then confirm saving by pressing « Y » or by selecting « Yes » in the dialog box.
If you have difficulty entering the BIOS, saving changes, or finding priority settings boot devices, then read the article about setting parameters in the BIOS.

In the article you will find instructions with examples:

  • how to enter BIOS or UEFI with examples different screens BIOS.
  • how to find the option "BOOT DEVICA PRIORITY".
  • table with a list of keys for entering the BIOS on laptops from different manufacturers.

Autorun Windows installation from a DVD or flash drive

If you did everything correctly, then after restarting your computer you will see the following:

  • if you are using DVD media, you will see the message “Press any key to load from CD...” (press any key to boot from CD). You must immediately press any key, because after a short amount of time (about 10 seconds) the boot will begin from the next boot device installed in the BIOS.
  • if you used a flash drive, the installation will begin immediately
Remember!
When installing an operating system, you should be careful and careful with functions that you do not fully understand.
The site administration is not responsible for the results of your actions.

Start installation

Attention!
Your computer may have gray and blue color. If you are installing the OS from a flash drive, be sure to plug the flash drive into the connector USB 2.0 (gray) , otherwise the installer may not see it.
You can judge that the operating system installer has started working by the line that appears at the bottom of the screen.


Figure 1. Installer Windows 7 copies files from the media for further installation of the OS.
When preparation for installation is complete, you will see the message "Starting Windows" .
After this, the Windows 7 installation window will appear.

Figure 2. Starting installation Windows 7: Select the language, time format and layout to be installed.
We will leave the time format, installed language and keyboard layout unchanged (as shown in Figure 2). Click on the button "Next" , after which you can start the process by clicking on the button "Install" .

Figure 3. Start of installation Windows 7
You should now read and agree to the Microsoft License Agreement and click the button again "Next" .

Figure 4. License Agreement for installation and subsequent use Windows 7.

Selecting the installation type

  • A system update will allow you to reinstall Windows on top of your existing operating system.
  • Full installation will allow you to select an existing partition for installation or re-install separation of hard disk. The system will be installed completely, so this option more acceptable (we wrote more about installation types at the beginning of the article).

Figure 5. Selecting the operating system installation type.
Choose "Full installation ( additional options)», as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 6. Selecting hard disk for further installation Windows 7.

Hard disk partitions for system installation

After proceeding to the full installation, we will be presented with a list hard drives, on which you can create or select partitions for installation. At this step there may be several options for the development of events.

  • You only have one in your system hard drive.
  • You have a separate hard drive (possibly an SSD) where the operating system will be installed, and separate drives for storing data.
  • The installer does not see the hard drive or other errors occur (below are links to articles that discuss these problems step by step)
Attention!
If you have several hard drives, then transfer all important data to the drive where you will store personal files and disconnect it so as not to accidentally mix up the drives when creating partitions or formatting.
If you only have one hard drive (or SSD), then it is advisable to split it into parts (if the disk space allows it).

The disk must be divided into parts so that at least 50GB is allocated for the system, possibly even more, because For normal operation Windows 7 it is desirable that the system partition has at least 15-20% free space.
The disk is divided into partitions to make it easier to reinstall the operating system in the future.

For example, you have only 1 hard drive in your computer with a capacity of 500GB.

You split it into 2 parts: 120GB (disk " C:") and 380GB (Disk " D)

Now on disk « D you store music, movies, photos, program installers, folders with drivers, games, etc., and on the disk « C you install programs to work.

Files from the “Desktop” and “My Documents” folders are also stored on the disk « C:». When in the future you want to reinstall Windows, you just need to transfer (copy) everything important files from the desktop and other disk folders « C to disk « D, then do a complete reinstallation with disk formatting « C.
If the disk is not partitioned, then you will have nowhere to transfer data from the disk « C:», and you won't be able to format it.

Creating disk partitions

At this step, you can create partitions on your hard drive if:

  • the hard drive is not partitioned (new or all partitions were previously deleted);
  • There are no important files on the hard drive, and all information can be deleted.
New hard the disk is immediately displayed as a single partition and signed as “unpartitioned” (see Figure 6).
If you are going to repartition the disk (and all important files have already been transferred from it), then you need to:
  1. Sequentially delete all partitions of your disk using the button "delete" . Attention! All files on these partitions will be deleted!
  2. Select the unallocated partition that appears with the mouse, click the button "Create" (See Figure 6).
  3. Specify the size first for system partition(which will be the disk « C ), then create a partition for the disk « D (and other disks if necessary).
If the disk was not allocated, the OS installer will additionally create a 100MB partition for storing special system files.

Selecting a partition for installation

If disk partitions were previously created:

  1. Select the system partition (on which the OS was previously installed).
  2. Click on the button "Format".
  3. After formatting, select the erased partition and click on the button "Next."
If the installer does not see the hard drive, requires a device driver, or other problems occur, then search for and resolve your error using these two articles:
  • Analysis of various types of errors when installing Windows 7 (including by code).
  • What to do if the installer does not see the device (drive, hard drive, keyboard or mouse, etc.).
In Figure 6 you can see an unallocated 35 GB disk.

Figure 7. Creating a partition on the hard drive
In our case, no partition has been created yet, so we need to click on the button "Create" (Figure 7), then indicate the volume of the partition to be created (Figure 8) and click on the button "Apply" .

Figure 8. Selecting the volume for a partition on the hard drive

Figure 9. Partition creation confirmation window
After this, the operating system installer will notify you that it will create additional section for storing system files:

Figure 10. Installing Windows 7.
Click on the button "Next" after which the installation will begin (copying all system files and the process of setting up the OS).

The process of copying files will take 15-30 minutes and will not require any action from you.

Figure 11. Installation completion window
Once the files are copied and unpacked, the computer will restart.

At this point, you must remove the DVD or Flash drive from your computer, as the installation will continue from the hard drive you copied to. necessary files.

After the reboot, you will see a window indicating that the installation is complete.

Figure 12. Entering the username and network name of the computer for the installed system.
The completion process will take a few minutes, after which it will start initial setup operating system.

Completing Windows installation and initial setup

When the process settings will do towards the end, you will be prompted to enter a username to create your account, as well as the computer name for later network identification(under this name your computer will be visible in local Windows networks).


Figure 13. Setting a password for the account (optional).
Next, you will be prompted to enter a password and a password hint. If you want to protect access to your account with a password, enter it. Or you can skip this step by clicking "Next" .


the site has prepared step-by-step instructions on how to reinstall Windows 7.

Proper reinstallation of the operating system consists of the following steps:

  1. Saving data to external media.
  2. Creation boot disk.
  3. Formatting the hard drive (optional).
  4. System installation.
  5. Copy working system by using Acronis True Image.

First and last point Required if you are afraid of losing important files when reinstalling.

Saving data

There are two options for reinstalling the system:

  1. The system is installed on top of the old one.
  2. Everything is removed and reinstalled.

In the first case, all data is saved (settings, passwords on sites, files, etc.), but glitches may also be saved. If you install on top, then this section about saving data is irrelevant for you.

Formatting a disk deletes all data. There are several ways to avoid losing the necessary files:

  • Copy your personal information to another drive on your computer. Suitable if you have 2 hard drives.
  • Drop files to external storage(HDD, flash drive, memory card, smartphone).
  • Save files in the cloud (Yandex Disk, Dropbox, Google Drive).
  • Confidential files can be saved to WinRar archive with a password and send it to yourself by email. After reinstalling Windows, the archive will remain in the mail.

What to copy from old Windows? Check out the following places:

  • Desktop, My Documents, drive C.
  • Bookmarks in the browser.
  • Browser and torrent download folders.
  • Save games.
  • ICQ/Skype correspondence.

Additionally, you can take a screenshot of all installed programs (Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features) so that after installing a clean OS you can easily remember all your favorite programs. Upload the screenshot to VKontakte or Facebook, then it won’t be lost.

Creating a boot disk

If you have a licensed DVD with Windows, you do not need to create a bootable disk (flash drive, memory card), you can skip this section.

Most often there is no disk, then you need to download it from the Internet Windows image 7 and correctly write it to an external drive. We recommend looking for an image of Windows 7 Maximum (aka Ultimate); if you have more than 4 GB of RAM, then choose not the x86, but the x64 version.

Simply copying the image will not work, you need to do boot drive, for example, through UltraISO. To do this, you will need to download the program itself and find a drive with a capacity of 4 GB or more:

The device is ready, now you can reinstall Windows from it. Save it, it might come in handy later. By the way, you can use the drive after this - upload any files to the free space, the main thing is not to accidentally delete the “system” ones.
Video on burning an image to a flash drive via UltraISO:

It is not necessary to use a flash drive or special card memory with card reader. You can take a card from your phone as a memory card, and the phone itself will act as a card reader. Even the built-in memory of a mobile phone is suitable for a boot disk, if it is recognized as a drive in the system when connected via USB.

How to set boot via BIOS

Restart the computer, look carefully at the messages displayed, somewhere they will indicate which button to press during boot to get into the BIOS. This could be Del, F1, F2, Esc, Tab or another. As a last resort, use the “scientific poking” method.

The button to enter the BIOS is indicated when the computer restarts.
Bios are different. Something like the following will be waiting for you. In the first case, you need to go to the section “ Advanced BIOS Features".

In the second “Boot”, control the arrows on the keyboard.


In any case, this setting is somewhere nearby, you will find the boot order (may look like First/Second Boot Device), first select the drive where you installed the Win7 image.


Look for a section with an exit from Bios Setup Utility with saving parameters. The computer will reboot and boot from the image, which will begin the installation of Windows 7.

Operating system installation

As we have already said, reinstalling Windows 7 is possible in 2 options: over previous copy Win and with removal old system. If you want to put it on top and save all the data on the disk where you install the OS, then do not format it.

Tip: If you only have one physical disk, but enough large volume(from 200 GB), first copy the important data, and then divide it into logical drives C and D. On C it is convenient to install Windows with formatting, and on D you can permanently store files. This is also useful for Acronis True Image. You can partition the disk during the OS reinstallation process.

  • You copied the important files, made a boot disk, set the boot in the BIOS, and rebooted the PC. The loading will be shown to you for about a minute.
  • Then Windows will be pleased with the window, check the language settings, click “Next”.

  • Accept the Microsoft license terms.

  • Select your installation type. At the top “install over the old OS or update”, at the bottom “ complete reinstallation Windows 7".

  • Specify which disk to install the OS on. You can format it if you wish (do not format it if you want to save data on it), click “Next”. If it gives an error that it is impossible to install on this disk, then turn off the computer, disconnect all other disks and USB drives, and run the installation again. Also here you can divide a physical disk into logical ones, carefully - do not confuse which one you want to divide, when dividing, all information is deleted from it.

  • 10-20 minutes of copying files. After this, the computer will restart. This means that the copying of files is completed, and further installation occurs from the hard drive. Must be disabled in BIOS loading from the image, and put it back from the HDD. The flash drive is no longer needed, you can get it from USB. If you don't change BIOS settings, then after the reboot, loading from the flash drive image and copying will begin again.

  • After the reboot, a window will appear asking you to specify your username and password (it is not necessary to enter a password).

  • If there is a key, enter it, if not, just click Next.

  • Select update settings. The license is updated without problems, pirated version Activation may fail. Postpone the decision until later if you don't know what to do. Many people disable updates.

  • Specify your time zone.

  • A little download and you're in Windows 7.

Video on reinstalling Windows 7:

  • Disable hibernation mode (relevant for systems on SSD, it allows you to free up disk space).
  • If the OS is on an SSD, move the page file, temporary files and browser files to the HDD.
  • Disable updates (there will be no unnecessary traffic consumption, activation will not fail, and you will not have to wait several minutes for updates to install before turning off).
  • Install drivers for your video card and sound card.

After installing all the applications and configuration, use Acronis True Image to make a “clone” of the local disk. In case of problems, you can restore exact copy system and the entire C drive in 5 minutes, and you don’t need to reinstall everything again.

After this, you are the happy owner of a customized, clean OS, and no experiments or failures are now scary. If something goes wrong – 5 minutes and everything is fine again!

What should we have in our arsenal to reinstall windows 7?

An installation disk with the same “seven” will be quite enough. However, there are still options for reinstalling the OS not only from a boot disk, but, for example, from a USB drive (flash drive), from an HDD or from a disk disaster recovery. But fundamental differences there is no process among these options. The order of operations is the same as in desktop computer from a disk, or on a laptop without a disk (from a USB drive).

If you decide to reinstall Windows 7 over the old system, then all your data will be saved. However, it won’t hurt anyone to play it safe once again. No one is immune, for example, from a sudden voltage drop in the network, a power outage, or simply a failure in the program itself. So we still advise you to copy all valuable information to a flash drive or disk.

You may also need drivers (for a video card, for a motherboard, etc.). Make sure you have all the driver discs that came with your computer. If something is missing, then before reinstalling windows 7, missing drivers should be downloaded from the Internet.

Having prepared all the drivers, saving the necessary data on removable media, we can start repairing your computer.

Windows 7 reinstallation process

We do all manipulations directly from the computer, and no BIOS settings are required. Load the installation disk and click “install” in the window that opens.

Reinstalling the Windows operating system is quite simple, if it is not Windows 8. Here, there is no key to the system on the bottom of the laptop, since it is “stitched” in its BIOS. Therefore, you can only install it on the laptop previous version. Most often this is Single Language (version for one language). You can reinstall another one, but this another story. Therefore this step by step instructions describes how to reinstall Windows 7.

Installing Windows on a laptop is almost the same as on a desktop computer, but there are some features. You will need: laptop, multiboot disk, time from 30 minutes to 2 hours and attentiveness. Before installation, find out the bitness and version of the system. Remember, if the disk is not licensed, then you are installing the system at risk. Irreversible consequences occur. Prepare the hard drive partition for the system. Usually this local disk"WITH:\". All the contents of your “Desktop” are located on the “C:\” drive. After installing the system, the information on it will be deleted. Carefully review the contents of the folders in this section, save your archived information in another partition of the disk, on a CD, flash drive, or on any other medium. Don't save installed programs– it’s easier to do it again than to clean the registry. Prepare necessary drivers to the laptop in advance. More often than not, they are already included with computers and laptops, but if they are missing or need to be updated, they can only be found on the manufacturer’s website. Without correct selection and installing drivers, you can remain, for example, without the Internet. This will happen if there are no drivers on the Windows disk network card your laptop. Place the multiboot disk in the drive (or flash drive with the system image), restart the computer. It is important not to miss the moment and get into the BIOS. Therefore, immediately at the beginning of loading, press the “Delete” key several times (or another key: “F1”, “F2”, “Esc”, ... - depends on the system). Message about the desired key to enter the BIOS is displayed at the very beginning, when information about motherboard, don't miss it. You are now in the BIOS setup window. Use the cursor arrows to go to the “Boot” menu, it contains the line you need “Boot Device Priority”. Set the drive priority here so that booting starts from installation disk, not from the hard side. Now your hard drive is marked (“HDD”, “Hard Drive”, “ Hard Disk"). Using the indicated navigation keys, change it to a CD - its name must contain the letters “CD/DVD” (“USB” for a flash drive). Press "Enter" then "F10" to save the changes. You can immediately proceed to changing the drive if you press and hold the “F8” hotkey (options: “F8” - “F12”). Wait for the files to be extracted and you will see a “Starting Windows” message. If the message “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD” appears, press, for example, “space”. The Windows installation start window appears on the screen. Select your national language, click “Install”. Select that one Windows edition, which was installed on the laptop, for which there is a key. It is usually indicated on a piece of paper glued to the bottom of the laptop. Read the license, accept it - check the box. Installation type – “Full installation”. Follow along.


Specify the partition for Windows installation. If the partition is reserved by the system, then “Disk 0 Partition 1” is needed. It is important, in order not to experience disappointment at this stage, to see in advance how much free space is on the “C:\” drive and how much space is required Windows system. It's best to split the disk into 2 logical partitions: one system (from 50 GB to 100 GB), on the other - personal information. If necessary, create a section and click “Apply”.


If the partitions are created, then start formatting. You will receive a warning that all data on the disk partition will be irretrievably lost. You are already prepared, so you agree to the deletion and wait a few seconds. Available space on the disk has increased. Click Next.


The installation process has begun, and you can breathe easier. Follow the instructions displayed on the screen. By entering all the necessary data, you continue to observe the system installation process for up to 30 minutes. At the end you will be asked to enter serial number. Find it on the distribution box, at the bottom of the laptop. No? – uncheck “Automatically activate when connected to the Internet”, skip this step. Configure your time zone, network type, and security. Reboot the laptop and change the drive in the BIOS to “HDD” again (see point 5). Windows installation is complete.

After installing Windows on your laptop, update the drivers via the Internet or from a disk. Then install everything necessary programs, Necessarily - antivirus program, update its databases. This instruction describes installing the system from a licensed, not a “pirated” disk.

A situation often arises when the issue of reinstalling the operating system becomes urgent. Let's take a specific case. There is a laptop purchased with Windows 7 already pre-installed. Windows itself is still, one might say, in working condition, but the user is quite worried about some circumstances. What exactly? Due to external virus attacks, and also during operation, errors accumulate over and over again, which leads the computer to a rather slow boot process, and the rest software They are not pleased with their previous performance. At the same time, cleaning the registry, anti-virus measures and returning to the previously recorded control point restorations do not give the expected results. There is only one way out - reinstalling the system. How does this process happen?

It is worth noting that a laptop with a pre-installed system is good because its manufacturer took care of the operating system distribution, which is stored in hidden section device hard drive. There are also drivers and source programs. All this provides an excellent opportunity to reinstall, if there are good reasons for doing so. There are two specific situations. If things are really bad and the system does not want to start, then the recovery starts by pressing a certain key when turning it on. What it is depends on the specific manufacturer. You can find it out in the user manual.

But our case is different - the OS is in working condition. Let's proceed step by step to reinstalling Windows 7 without a boot disk or flash drive.

Step 1. Click the Start button and launch Control Panel. If it is in the “Categories” view mode, then you should go to “Large icons” or “ Small icons" In this case, it is easier to find the “Recovery” tab.

Step 2. Let's open it. We are interested in the very bottom option “Advanced recovery methods”.

Step 3. Let's launch it. A window appears reminding you that when you restore the system partition, which is usually the entire working disk, all data and documents created by the user will be erased.

Care should be taken when copying all necessary data to information media(disks, flash drives, external USB drives).

If the data has been copied in advance, you should press the “ Skip“, then the computer will prompt you to reboot, which will start the system installation process.

At the bottom there is a button “ Exit” in order to return to the system again before installation to continue copying important information.

Step 4. After successful completion, Windows will have factory settings and the original programs when you purchased the laptop. By the way, you do not need to enter the serial number of the licensed software and activate it. All this, in most cases, is already integrated into immediate process installations. The user can only install the software he needs and configure the desktop at his discretion.

As can be seen from this small instructions, the process itself reinstalling windows 7 without disk and flash drive does not require special knowledge and is available to everyone completely free of charge. Anyone can handle it if they are careful and attentive.

If for some reason you were unable to install Windows 7 yourself, you can contact us for help or try.