Computersight -

Windows 7, the “upgrade” of Windows Vista.

Chances are, if you’re looking for an article like this, you want Windows 7.

Getting the Product

Microsoft 7

Click the link above and follow instructions to get the beta.  When you find the download page, you’ll be downloading a file called an ISO.  This ISO file is the basically the same as a CD that you would buy at the store for a game or program.  So, you currently have an ISO file saved on your computer somewhere.  Well, what do I do with it?

Using the Product

Your ISO file is very important to installing Windows 7.  What you need to do next if you’re using this on another computer is get a CD that can hold at least 3 gigabytes of memory.  This may be a bit pricey.  You will also need a program to ‘burn’ the ISO onto the CD.  I recommend MagicISO.  Afterwards, you’ll need to:

1. Burn the ISO onto your new CD

2. Insert the Windows 7 ISO CD into your second computer

3. Start up your computer with the CD inside the CD-R Drive and keep pressing F11 until you get a menu.  Go to boot options and boot from the CD.

4. Follow instructions to install Windows 7 on your computer.  Congrats, you now have Windows 7!

Don’t Have a Second Computer?

Don’t fret.  There are ways to have two ‘computers’ on one computer.  This is through the use of Virtual Computers.  In layman’s terms, you are splitting your hard drive’s space and putting a separate computer on the split part.

There are multiple programs (some cost money) to use: VMWare (Which is what I use, but costs a pretty penny), Virtualbox (Provided by SUN Microsystems for FREE), a few others.  Go for one of these two if you’re new to this.

Installing Windows 7 on a Virtual Computer

So you have VMWare or Virtualbox and Windows 7’s ISO.  You need to go into your Virtual Computer program and find an option to “Create a new Virtual PC”.  Once you do that, you’ll need to partition (split) your hard drive so that your new virtual computer will have a hard drive too.  I wouldn’t recommend more than half your current PC’s hard drive.  You’ll be asked to set other settings to like RAM and drivers.  For your RAM, don’t even put more than half your RAM on your new computer, and keep your drivers the same.  Ok, so when it asks you where your ISO is (make sure it’s in a folder or something, because you won’t be able to move this at a later date), locate it and agree.  If your PC is too slow, or you virtual PC is too slow, you can edit RAM in settings whenever you want.

Refer to the previous section on how to install.

I will update with a video at a later date on using Windows 7 with a virtual PC.

Remember, you can use this with any operating system!