Clean Install Windows 7

Learning how to do a clean install of Windows 7 will help anyone that wants to format their computer, be it due to a virus or just to get a fresh start. A clean install is basically a complete format of the hard drive. This will wipe out all of your information, including Windows 7. Fortunately, doing a clean install of Windows 7 is extremely easy. Following these simple steps will have your computer up and running in no time with a fresh install of Windows 7.

To do a clean install of Windows 7, you will need:

• A CD-based copy of Windows 7
• A computer
• If backing up files, an external hard drive.

1. Back up files you wish to keep. Just because it is a clean install does not mean that you have to lose  everything. If you want to save certain files, get an external hard drive and drag them to the drive in "My Computer." This is always helpful when you do not want to be stuck redownloading huge files.
2. Start the computer with the Windows 7 CD in the CD-drive. As the computer loads, you will see a screen prompt telling you to press any key to boot from disc. Press a key and you will be taken to the Windows 7 installation set-up. This can take awhile to load, so just sit around until you get to the installation prompts.
3. Cleaning the drive. Once you get to the prompt about which drive or partition you want to install Windows 7 on, click on the "Advanced" button. This will take you to a table with your available drives. What you want to do is go through all your available drives, click on them and press the "Format" button. This will delete all information off of those drives.
4. Installing Windows 7. After formatting your drives, go double click on the drive you wish to put the clean install of Windows 7 on. From here, simply go through the prompts and let Windows 7 install. When you get to the Windows 7 loading screen, you will have a clean install of Windows 7 to get dirty again.