Editions of Windows 7
OEM, Full Retail, and upgrade retail license
Why Use 32 bit?
Why use 64bit?
System requirements to install Windows 7?
What is the purpose of an operating systems Kernel?
What functions does the motherboard provide?
Dual Boot
Boot loader menu
What options are available if you do not have a DVD drive?
Purpose of Factory Recovery Partition
Local Accounts
Networking: workgroup, Home-groups, Domain
What are the steps to follow after the install is complete?
Windows 7 Ultimate [Buy at Amazon]
Windows 7 Professional [Buy at Amazon]
Windows 7 Home Premium [Buy at Amazon]
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Starter
Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Enterprise is designed for large organizations. Windows 7 Starter is only available for preinstallation by computer makers, usually on small form factor or lower end computers. Windows 7 Home Basic is only available in some developing countries.
Windows 7 Home Premium is also available in a "family pack" that allows installation onto up to three separate computers. Most Windows 7 licenses allow installation onto only one device.
Except for Windows 7 Starter, all versions of Windows 7 are available in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions.
(Tim Fisher NA)
FPP licences are purchased from retail and provide a quick and convenient way for customers requiring less than five licences to purchase their software. Licences sold through FPP are either full licences or upgrade licences. A full licence does not require any pre-existing versions of the software to be on the machine it is installed on, whereas an upgrade licence allow you to cost effectively upgrade to a newer version of software that you are already licensed for.
When you purchase FPP software you are entering into an agreement with Microsoft stating that you will adhere to the usage rights associated with the software. These rights include detail such as downgrade rights, which you generally do not get with FPP software, how many devices you are allowed to install the software on, whether you have the right to move the software to another computer (transfer rights) or not and nowadays whether you are allowed to use the software for commercial use or not.
The usage rights for FPP software are laid out in the Microsoft Software Licence Terms document, which can be downloaded from this site: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/IntellectualProperty/UseTerms/Default.aspx.
Microsoft does also provide limited support services for software that has been licensed via the FPP channel, details of which can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/common/international.aspx.
OEM software is software that comes pre-installed when you purchase a new computer. So for instance when you purchase a new PC it might come with an OEM licensed copy of Windows 8.1 Pro pre-installed on it. One of the key benefits of this is that you then know that the software has been installed correctly and is working properly and if there are any issues it is the responsibility of the computer manufacturer or installer to provide support rather than Microsoft.
Again, OEM software usage is ruled by the Microsoft Software Licence Terms document. So for instance it will detail that with Windows 8.1 Pro licensed via OEM you do get limited downgrade rights in that you can downgrade as far back as two earlier versions if you so desire, either to Windows 7 Professional or Windows Vista Business. But that there are no transfer rights, so the software may not be removed from the PC it was originally installed on and installed on another, however, you are allowed to transfer the PC complete with the OEM licensed software to a new user if required.
The third channel you may purchase software through is Volume Licensing. There are a number of volume licensing agreements you can purchase through and these agreements have been tailored to suit the differing requirements of all sizes and types of organization. There are agreements aimed at the small to medium sized business in the form of Open and Open Value, and agreements aimed at medium to large organisations in the form of the Select Plus and Enterprise Agreements.
(Marcel Boothe May 2013)
Although most of the evidence is in favour of 64-bit computing, the drawbacks should also be mentioned. Most notably: increased memory usage and the lack 16-bit software and 32-bit driver compatibility.
Compatibility is discussed at length in the next section.
The same data may occupy more memory on a 64-bit system, than on a 32-bit system. This is mostly due to the increased length of some internal structures, like memory addresses (bigger pointers) and 64-bit numbers. On the larger scale, this isn’t really noticeable. It’s nothing to worry about if you have sufficient memory to warrant a 64-bit system.
People have expended a lot of effort to make the transition between 32-bit and 64-bit computing as smooth as possible. Compatibility, in 64-bit computing, can be considered at several levels. We’ll start at the computer processor and work our way up to computer applications.
The center piece of the 64-bit parade, you certainly need a 64-bit processor. You can find out whether you have a 64-bit processor by checking the manufacturer’s website, or by using the Securable tool from Gibson Research Corporation. This tool takes a closer look at the processor in your computer and can tell you if it has a 64-bit maximum bit length, among other things. The Windows 8.1 Upgrade Assistant will tell you much the same.
64-bit processors have become the standard for consumer computers since x86-64 CPUs made their entry in 2003. If you’ve bought your processor in the past few years, you probably have a 64-bit processor.
64-bit processors are compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Nowadays, all popular operating systems come in these two flavours. If you have a 64-bit processor, you can choose with which of these two flavours to install. Although, if you want to make full use of the benefits of a 64-bit processor, you’ll have to go with a 64-bit operating system as well.
You might even be using a 64-bit operating system already.
It’s very important to note that 32-bit drivers are not compatible with a 64-bit operating system, and vice versa. In other words, your hardware needs a 64-bit driver to work with a 64-bit operating system. For almost all recently manufactured hardware, both a 32-bit and 64-bit driver are supplied. If you go to the store and buy an HP printer, rest assured that it will have 64-bit drivers.
The main problem exists with old hardware, for which in some cases, the hardware manufacturer has not been able (or willing) to make new drivers since 2003. In other words, hardware that hasn’t been actively supported in the last decade. Again, you can check with the manufacturer if 64-bit drivers are supplied. For most products, these can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s support page.
You can also check the Windows Compatibility Center. If a product is certified for Windows 8.1, it is guaranteed to work on both the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of the operating systems.
A lot of effort has been expended in the hopes of making the inevitable transition from 32-bit to 64-bit computing as painless as possible. As a result, software compatibility is nearly seamless. In effect, almost all 32-bit software is compatible with 64-bit operating systems.
Two types of software are not supported on 64-bit operating system. First, because of the driver compatibility discussed in the previous section, the software may not rely exclusively on a specific 32-bit driver. Second, the software must not incorporate 16-bit code (the even more ancient predecessor of 32-bit) in its own code.
You can again check the Windows Compatibility Center to see if a 32-bit software will run on a 64-bit Windows operating system. With Windows 8.1 certification, it will work on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating systems.
(Simon Slangen, 2014)
The step from 32-bit to 64-bit computing has several practical benefits for users. Most notable are the effects on processing speed and memory capacity.
With a 64-bit word size, the size of the chunks which your processor can handle data is doubled. More importantly, the x86-64 specification increases the number of general-purpose registers from 8 to 16, which makes a 64-bit processor technically faster.
This also impacts the accuracy that can be attained by the processor in its calculations; after all, the processor can use twice as many bits to represent a single number. With 64 bits, you can make over 4 billion times as many combinations as you would with 32 bits.
When working with a computer’s RAM, memory addresses are used. These memory addresses convey the location of instructions or data in the computer’s physical memory (RAM). Although many clever addressing schemes have been devised, the number of available addresses is bound by the maximum number of bits that comprise it.
For 32-bit computing, 4 gigabytes worth of RAM can be theoretically addressed. If you put more RAM in a 32-bit setup, there’s just no way for the processor to refer to the additional memory. In effect, the situation is even more dire than that. Some operating systems reserve part of the available memory for the operating system kernel. Windows, for example, usually claims between 1 and 2 gigabytes for kernel use, further lowering the amount of memory available to applications in the user space.
If you want to use more than 4 gigabytes of memory, 64-bit computing offers a solution. These 32 additional bits give 64-bit addressing schemes a theoretical upper limit of 16 exabytes (that’s 16 billion gigabytes, or 16 million terabytes). In reality, the number is lower. To give you an indication, current AMD64 (which is AMD’s version of the x86-64 specification) support a physical addressing space of about 256 terabyte.
Computer memory is several orders of magnitude faster than computer storage — even SSD storage. Memory mapping is used to speed up some storage interactions. Simplified, it loads oft-accessed files from storage into computer memory, thereby speeding up subsequent access.
Memory mapping has been employed by operating systems for some time, so it’s not new to 64-bit computing. However, there’s a notable trend of growing file sizes. Big data, big video, big games, and so on. With a 4 gigabytes maximum for computer memory (see the above section), memory mapping is slowly crippled as well.
Concretely, it’s the applications that work with big data. Your average text processor or web browser doesn’t need a lot of memory and processor registers. They will work just swimmingly with a 32-bit processor and 4 gigabytes of memory. However, even for web browsers the difference is clearly noticeable.
(Simon Slangen, 2014)
If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
(microsoft.com NA)
A kernel is a central component of an operating system. It acts as an interface between the user applications and the hardware. The sole aim of the kernel is to manage the communication between the software (user level applications) and the hardware (CPU, disk memory etc). The main tasks of the kernel are :
Process management
Device management
Memory management
Interrupt handling
I/O communication
File system...etc..
The function of a motherboard is indispensable for the operation of any computer system. Motherboards are the primary hardware component on a computer, and perform a number of critical tasks. Following is an overview of the function of the motherboard.
Components' Hub
A primary function of the motherboard is to serve as the base upon which a computer’s components are built. The motherboard is, in essence, a hub that houses a number of essential components such as the Central Processing Unit (CPU), system memory (RAM) and graphics card. The typical computer is designed with these components built onto the motherboard.
Computer Circuitry
The motherboard is the computer’s main circuit board, bearing all the basic circuitry and components that are required for the computer to function. It has electrical pathways called buses, which enable data to be relayed to the different computer components as well as between them.
Data Traffic
The motherboard serves as a communications hub for all of the components that are attached to it directly or indirectly. It is responsible for managing the traffic of information within the computer system, which it does by means of the motherboard chipset. The function of the motherboard chipset is to direct the flow of data that the computer components require or acquire.
BIOS
The motherboard has a built-in Read Only Memory (ROM), which is separate from the PC’s RAM and which contains the computer’s Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). A key function of the BIOS is to manage the boot-up process when you power your computer on, and load your operating system.
Peripherals
The motherboard allows for the use of external components and devices, which greatly increases the versatility of a computer system. These include printers, keyboard devices, audio jacks, external hard drives and game controllers. These peripherals can be connected to the computer by plugging them directly into the motherboard by means of external ports, sockets and connectors, which are built into it.
Note: motherboards are also used in a variety of electronic devices, such as televisions, which must perform complicated processes to operate. They fulfill similar functions in these devices.
Dual-booting is a technique which allows a single physical computer to run two or more operating systems (OSes). This is useful for experimenting with new OSes without putting all your eggs in one basket.
The general purpose of the boot loader is to place the OS image into memory and then jump to the OS startup routine. The boot loader can obtain the OS image in a number of different ways, including loading it over a cabled connection, such as Ethernet, universal serial bus (USB), or serial. The boot loader also loads the OS from a local storage device, such as Compact Flash, or hard disk. The boot loader may store the OS image in RAM or in nonvolatile storage, such as flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or some other storage device for later use.
(microsoft.com, NA)
You can install windows 7 from a flash drive, external hard drive, or recovery partition.
If you need to reinstall windows, most of the manufacturers will have a partition on the hard drive to reinstall windows from. You just have to boot into that partition and it is different for different manufacturers. For Example if you have HP you will press F9 on start up.
A local account controls access to one single, physical computer. Your local account credentials (username, password, and SID/UID) are stored locally on the computer's hard drive, and the computer checks its own files to authenticate your login.
This differs from a network domain account (e.g., an Indiana University Network ID), which is created and stored on a network server (sometimes called a domain controller). Computers query the server for network access.
A local account allows you some level of access to an individual computer. The local account's settings determine your rights for running programs, installing and removing programs, accessing files, and enabling or disabling services.
(kb.iu.edu NA)
Domains, workgroups, and homegroups represent different methods for organizing computers in networks. The main difference among them is how the computers and other resources on the networks are managed.
Computers running Windows on a network must be part of a workgroup or a domain. Computers running Windows on home networks can also be part of a homegroup, but it's not required.
Computers on home networks are usually part of a workgroup and possibly a homegroup, and computers on workplace networks are usually part of a domain.
(microsoft NA)
These steps carry off after you have finished installing Windows and your computer has started in Windows 7.
Type your username and computer's name and click Next.
Type your password and click Next. If you don't want a password, leave the text boxes blank and then click Next.
Enter your product key then click Next. Your product key is located on the case of your Windows 7 disc if you purchased the disc. To skip entering your product key, just click Next, but Windows will run on a 30-day trial, and you'll have to enter a key once the 30 day trial time is up.
Choose your Windows Update settings.
Use recommended settings automatically sets update and security settings recommended by Microsoft.
Install important updates only configures your computer only to install necessary updates.
Ask me later disables your security until you have made a decision.
Set your time and time zone.
Set your network type.
If the computer is connected to your own personal network, choose Home network.
If you are connected to the network at your workplace, choose Work network.
If you're connected to a public network from places such as restaurants and shops, choose Public network.
Once your computer is ready, format your USB drive back to its default settings (if you chose the Installing Using a Flash Drive or External Drive method). You can format your USB drive back to its default settings and place your files back onto it by right clicking your USB drive in Start→Computer, clicking Format, clicking Restore Device Defaults in Format, then clicking Start, which permanently deletes any data off of the drive. After the drive has formatted, you can move your files back onto it.
Be sure to reinstall any software you uninstalled, install any device drivers, and re-enable your security software. Also, to improve your security, run Windows Update to install the latest security updates.
(wikihow.com NA)