- 1). Purchase an external hard drive. Connect it to your computer and back up any important items you wish to keep, such as pictures, music or videos. If upgrading from Vista, this step is not crucial, as there is an option to perform a non-destructive upgrade in which you lose no saved information.
- 2). Download the drivers for your model and save them to the external hard drive. This will make it easier to get your computer working properly again (see Resources).
- 3). Purchase a Windows 7 installation disc. There are two types available: a full installation disc and an upgrade disc. If you are installing Windows 7 on a clean drive (one without an existing operating system), you will need the full installation disc.
- 4). Insert the disc and restart your computer. When prompted, press any key to boot to CD. Run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and save the results. This will tell you if you have any hardware incompatibilities.
- 5). Run the upgrade. Follow any on-screen prompts and monitor the status of the installation until completion. If you are running Windows XP, or wish to do a clean install, click "Custom (advanced)" and delete your existing partition. Then, highlight the new unpartitioned space and click "Install."
- 6). Reinstall the drivers that you saved on the external hard drive. You may need to restart several times during this process. Run the available updates and be sure to reinstall an anti-virus program. Transfer back the documents you had saved to the external hard drive once finished.
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