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Is it possible to do a fresh install? I only have a hard drive and windows 7 ISO file.

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
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  • Do you have a large flash drive? – Nathan Osman May 06 '10 at 00:20
  • yes. but how can i copy windows 7 OS files to the flash drive? just copy all files? does that work? –  May 06 '10 at 00:24
  • You can't just copy all files: I know that. I don't how to make it bootable though (it is of course possible) so just wait for a newer answer. – Vervious May 06 '10 at 00:40
  • See [How do I place a bootable ISO on a USB drive? - Super User](https://superuser.com/questions/66948/how-do-i-place-a-bootable-iso-on-a-usb-drive) if you want to use a USB drive, or [installation - Install Windows 7 from ISO image - Super User](https://superuser.com/questions/154109/install-windows-7-from-iso-image) for booting from the hard disk. – user202729 Aug 14 '19 at 15:48

4 Answers4

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Got a USB port? Can you boot off of it? Have a 4GB flash drive handy? How about a system you can prepare the flash drive on with .NET Framework 2.0 or higher? If so, you probably want the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. You might find this tutorial handy.

Update: Fixed links.

Mark Johnson
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Assuming you have a host PC running Windows 7 or Vista you can make the USB key bootable using DISKPART. I wrote up some fairly detailed instructions on my website to install Windows 7 on an Acer Revo.

Rich Seller
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If your PC is post 2000, you can boot from a USB flash drive (you may have to set boot order in the BIOS).

MGOwen
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Yes you can. I did the same thing a couple of weeks back. You don't need any flash drives or any other and is just sufficient with what you have(iso file & hard drive). Just extract the 'iso' file into a folder and run the 'setup' file. After running, you'll get a few windows asking on which drive to install, which would look familiar if you had installed any OS earlier. Assuming that you have installed your your current OS in C:\ , select the same. It may restart couple of times during the process. Done! Finally the earlier version of your OS will be in 'C:\Old Files', which you can 'shift delete' it. And post installation, you can use the same Windows Vista Drivers for Windows 7.

r18ul
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    this will only work if you have already any windows version installed. It will not work if you want a fresh installation. – kaykay Apr 16 '11 at 04:22