Windows 7: Up and Running

Installing Windows 7

Netbooks are all the rage nowadays, with manufacturers rolling out new netbooks at an incredible rate. Windows 7 is a popular choice for installing on netbooks, as it is designed and optimized for low-powered computers like netbooks. However, one limitation of netbooks is that they do not have DVD drives, and this makes installing a new OS on them a bit challenging. Fear not: armed with a computer running Vista or Windows 7 and a USB hard disk or thumb drive, you can install Windows 7 on a netbook easily. Here’s how.

Installing Windows 7 Using a USB Hard Drive

You can install Windows 7 using a USB hard drive. The following steps show you how to prepare your existing USB hard drive for installing Windows 7:

1. Connect your USB hard disk to your computer.

2. Launch the Disk Management application available in Windows.

   Note

   In Windows Vista, the Disk Management tool is found under Control Panel→Administrative Tools→Computer Management. In Windows 7, type “disk management” in the Start menu to launch it.

3. Locate the USB hard drive and right-click it (see Figure 8-33). Select Shrink Volume....

Figure 8-33. Shrinking an existing hard disk

1. You will be asked the size in MB to shrink. Enter an amount greater than 3,000 (3 GB). For my example, I used 15,000 (15 GB; see Figure 8-34). Click Shrink.

Figure 8-34. Specifying the amount to shrink

1. When the shrinking is done, right-click the new ...