Windows 7: PC ships w/out OS - how to install the OS?

Hi I bought a PC that is shipping without the OS because I have the windows 7 ultimate disk that I bought separately. I imagine that it is pretty straightforward right?



I.e. boot up the new PC and the BIOS will say that there is no media - right? Then as long as the hard drive is NTFS format I can let the windows installation do its magic right?

Thanks!

Pretty much,

Clean Install Windows 7

Hello mate, if AHCI is not set by default in the BIOS be sure to enable it before you start the install.

That is very helpful thanks. I read that:

"AHCI is the acronym for the Advanced Host Controller Interface. It is a new interface specification that allows the SATA controller driver to support advanced features like Native Command Queuing and Hot Plug."

How new is it? My PC coming is a re-furb so I am wondering if it has AHCI. I guess if it does I will swtich it on.

Thanks

About 10 years.

Do make sure you've got the drivers you need and in particular, the one for your network adapter.

Providing you've got that one you can soon download anything else you need although Windows 7 does have a pretty comprehensive driver database so you may find that Device Manager is well populated.

thanks for that. In fact I just googled "HPZ600 drivers" which is the machine I am getting (re-furb) and it says that you can update the BIOS - i.e. the latest version is May 2011. This is very likely to be the latest BIOS for this machine.

Would you suggest to download that BIOS? Is it difficult to install a new BIOS? I will research as well -

Thanks v much

- also - to add: the BIOS update has "Added support for booting to FAT12 images on USB devices"

i.e. would you bother with this? If this is a minor feature it might not be worth it for me to do the BIOS update. Thanks!!!

Updating the BIOS can have a beneficial effect on your computer, but I'd recommend you do it only after you have installed/updated your drivers.

How to Update Your BIOS | PCWorld

NVIDIA Graphics Card - Flash BIOS

i made a complete hash of the install - my kid brother unplugged the machine as it was installing.

It re-booted fine - is it ok to re-write over the "not fully installed" windows set-up? I am holding back to check if I need to do something else...maybe wipe the drive first? Thansk

I would be inclined to wipe the drive and start again. For the sake of some time, it's not worth not doing it.

And keep your kid brother under lock and key while the re-install takes place!