Solved Want clean install on new HDD

[Miskonduct]

Here is my situation:

I will be getting a 500GB 7200rpm internal hard drive to replace my Fujitsu MHW2160BJ G2 ATA which is a 160GB, 5400rpm HDD that came with my Dell Inspiron 1520. It has reached its capacity and I decided to upgrade it to a larger one.

So what I would like to do is not clone my entire 160GB hard drive to the new 500GB. I would like to do a "new"/clean install of Windows 7 onto the 500GB.

I have the .iso windows 7 32bit downloaded.

What do I need to do from here? I believe I burn this to a DVD then once I install my 500GB I just put the disk in and install?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Here is my situation:

I will be getting a 500GB 7200rpm internal hard drive to replace my Fujitsu MHW2160BJ G2 ATA which is a 160GB, 5400rpm HDD that came with my Dell Inspiron 1520. It has reached its capacity and I decided to upgrade it to a larger one.

So what I would like to do is not clone my entire 160GB hard drive to the new 500GB. I would like to do a "new"/clean install of Windows 7 onto the 500GB.

I have the .iso windows 7 32bit downloaded.

What do I need to do from here? I believe I burn this to a DVD then once I install my 500GB I just put the disk in and install?

That's about it. Boot from your burned DVD. I assume it's a retail version and you have a product key to activate.

Disconnect the old drive before you begin.

 

[Miskonduct]

Here is my situation:

I will be getting a 500GB 7200rpm internal hard drive to replace my Fujitsu MHW2160BJ G2 ATA which is a 160GB, 5400rpm HDD that came with my Dell Inspiron 1520. It has reached its capacity and I decided to upgrade it to a larger one.

So what I would like to do is not clone my entire 160GB hard drive to the new 500GB. I would like to do a "new"/clean install of Windows 7 onto the 500GB.

I have the .iso windows 7 32bit downloaded.

What do I need to do from here? I believe I burn this to a DVD then once I install my 500GB I just put the disk in and install?

That's about it. Boot from your burned DVD. I assume it's a retail version and you have a product key to activate.

Disconnect the old drive before you begin.

I believe it is a retail version. Here was the link for the download:
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso

I have a product key. I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 when it was first released and never received the installation disk. I purchased the Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. That iso was only labeled as W7 32bit. How do I figure out the edition?

And also, when you say disconnect the old drive you mean put the new 500GB in replace of the 160GB before I boot the computer?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Here is my situation:

I will be getting a 500GB 7200rpm internal hard drive to replace my Fujitsu MHW2160BJ G2 ATA which is a 160GB, 5400rpm HDD that came with my Dell Inspiron 1520. It has reached its capacity and I decided to upgrade it to a larger one.

So what I would like to do is not clone my entire 160GB hard drive to the new 500GB. I would like to do a "new"/clean install of Windows 7 onto the 500GB.

I have the .iso windows 7 32bit downloaded.

What do I need to do from here? I believe I burn this to a DVD then once I install my 500GB I just put the disk in and install?

That's about it. Boot from your burned DVD. I assume it's a retail version and you have a product key to activate.

Disconnect the old drive before you begin.

I believe it is a retail version. Here was the link for the download:
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso

I have a product key. I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 when it was first released and never received the installation disk. I purchased the Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. That iso was only labeled as W7 32bit. How do I figure out the edition?

And also, when you say disconnect the old drive you mean put the new 500GB in replace of the 160GB before I boot the computer?

I can't help you with the edition question, but you will find out soon enough when you install it.

Yes--remove or at least disconnect the old drive. Install the new drive. Boot from your burned CD. If you don't remove the old drive, Windows might decide to install some files on the old drive and you don't want that.

 

[Miskonduct]

That's about it. Boot from your burned DVD. I assume it's a retail version and you have a product key to activate.

Disconnect the old drive before you begin.

I believe it is a retail version. Here was the link for the download:
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso

I have a product key. I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 when it was first released and never received the installation disk. I purchased the Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit. That iso was only labeled as W7 32bit. How do I figure out the edition?

And also, when you say disconnect the old drive you mean put the new 500GB in replace of the 160GB before I boot the computer?

I can't help you with the edition question, but you will find out soon enough when you install it.

Yes--remove or at least disconnect the old drive. Install the new drive. Boot from your burned CD. If you don't remove the old drive, Windows might decide to install some files on the old drive and you don't want that.

Do you know where an iso file of windows 7 Home Premium 32bit can be found?

And, I see what you're saying about the hard drive. I'll definitely be sure to remove the old before I install W7.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I thought you said you purchased Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium (the ISO). Why do you need another copy? I guess I don't understand your situation.

 

[Miskonduct]

I thought you said you purchased Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium (the ISO). Why do you need another copy? I guess I don't understand your situation.

I purchased Windows 7 32bit Home Premium when it was first released as a student upgrade via online. I installed it, but never received anything else in terms of an iso file or disk. I'm trying to figure out how to get an iso file for that version. Sorry for being unclear. Obviously, this whole "clean" install is all new to me. Especially since I'm installing a new hard drive.

 

[gregrocker]

Here is the link to where MS made good on their fulfiller Digital River not providing ISO files at first: Microsoft Fixes Windows 7 Student Edition Upgrade Problems - Windows 7 student edition - Gizmodo

Burn ISO to DVD or write to USB stick: Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool - Windows 7 Forums

Here are tips for getting a perfect reinstall - use the ones which apply: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[ignatzatsonic]

In what form was the version you purchased? Not a disk? Not an ISO? What was it?

And you have downloaded another ISO? Could it be Windows 7 Home Premium? I would have thought you could have found out when you downloaded it.

I can't direct you to an ISO, but I know they were around when Windows 7 was first released.

 

[Miskonduct]

Here is the link to where MS made good on their fulfiller Digital River not providing ISO files at first: Microsoft Fixes Windows 7 Student Edition Upgrade Problems - Windows 7 student edition - Gizmodo

Burn ISO to DVD or write to USB stick: Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool - Windows 7 Forums

Here are tips for getting a perfect reinstall - use the ones which apply: Reinstalling Windows 7

That's perfect! Thank you so much.

By the way, out of curiousity, will my 3GB of RAM be able to handle a 64bit W7?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yes. 3 GB will do a pretty good job. Even 2 GB in most cases.

 

[Miskonduct]

In terms of once I have the fresh install of Windows 7, what is the best way to update all my drivers and anything else you guys can think of that will need to be done on a clean install on a new hard drive.

 

[rob3]

Install windows with your product key and let finish the do windows update.
It will search for the newest drivers for your setup..

 

[Miskonduct]

Install windows with your product key and let finish the do windows update.
It will search for the newest drivers for your setup..

Sounds easy enough. Anything else needed to know after a clean install?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Get anti-virus going. Set System Restore to utilize as much space as you want. Stay on top of Windows updates. Get some type of backup policy going.

 

[rob3]

Install windows with your product key and let finish the do windows update.
It will search for the newest drivers for your setup..

Sounds easy enough. Anything else needed to know after a clean install?

Not much.For normal user.

 

[Miskonduct]

Get anti-virus going. Set System Restore to utilize as much space as you want. Stay on top of Windows updates. Get some type of backup policy going.

Got it.

How would you suggest to set System Restore to utilize space?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

How would you suggest to set System Restore to utilize space?

The default amount is quite high and it can eat into your occupied space, so you may want to restrain it. There is a slider in the configuration. You can figure maybe allot 1 GB for each restore point. Something like that. I use about 7 GB, which gives me a couple of weeks worth of restore points.

 

[Miskonduct]

How would you suggest to set System Restore to utilize space?

The default amount is quite high and it can eat into your occupied space, so you may want to restrain it. There is a slider in the configuration. You can figure maybe allot 1 GB for each restore point. Something like that. I use about 7 GB, which gives me a couple of weeks worth of restore points.

I'm looking and can't seem to find where I can adjust the system restore points. I got to control panel>Backup and Restore. Not seeing where I can adjust the allotment.

 

[gregrocker]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/335-system-protection-change-disk-space-usage.html

I set mine to 15-20% so Restore Points stick around a lot longer. We regularly save systems here using older restore points.