Introduction

This guide walks you through the process of performing a clean install of Windows Vista.

System Requirements

The computer you re installing Windows Vista on needs to meet some minimum hardware requirements to run Vista properly.

Home Basic

Home Premium, Business, Ultimate

Install Windows

1. You ll know when your computer is booting from the Windows Vista DVD when you see the screen captured in the screen shot below.

   

   

2. Set up your language preferences and click Next.

   

3. Click Install Now.

   

4. Type your product key that came with your copy of Vista. I don t suggest selecting to automatically activate Windows. It s a good idea to use the computer for a while before activating the license. You don t want to activate a license on a machine Windows Vista doesn t work on. Press Next when you re ready to move on to the next step.

   

5. Accept the license agreement and lick Next.

   

6. Click the Custom (advanced) installation option.

   

7. Select the hard drive or partition you want to install Windows Vista on.

   

   You can delete, format, create, and extend partitions or hard drives by clicking Drive options (advanced).

   

8. Now the installation of Windows Vista begins. Below are screen shots of what you ll see during the install.

   

   

   

   

Set Up Windows

Windows Vista is now installed. Now it s time to set it up.

1. Give Vista a username, password, optional password hint, and picture for your first user account.

   

2. Give your PC a name and choose a background.

   

3. Select to use recommended settings.

   

4. Set your time and date settings then click Next.

   

5. Select the place you ll use your computer the most.

   

6. Click Start to boot Windows Vista for the first time.

   

7. Before Windows Vista boots for the first time it must perform a performance check to see what features to turn on or off.

   

Now your computer should be running Windows Vista

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