How to Install Windows 7 32-Bit on a Dell 1525 With XP 32-Bit
- 1). Before beginning the installation process, you will need to back up all the files you want to keep once you move to Windows 7. The reason being that the file organization structures of XP and 7 are too different; the Windows 7 installation wipes everything from XP clean off the hard drive. Connect an external hard disk drive, with at least an equal storage capacity to your internal drive, to your computer and drag and drop every file you wish to keep onto the external drive's icon. Doing so is accomplished with the least tedium by dragging and dropping the parent folders of large groups of files onto the drive. You can copy the entirety of your internal hard drive onto the external drive, but you may consider this a waste of storage space since the internal drive includes the XP installation. Once you finish, disconnect your external drive.
- 2). Once you have bought a disk copy of Windows 7, or downloaded a copy from the Microsoft store, keep the 25-digit activation code with you; write it down if you purchased the operating system via download. For digital copies, navigate to your store account's "Downloads + Activation Codes" page, then download the three files that comprise the 32-bit Windows 7 installation: "Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86_2," "Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86_1," and "Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86.exe."
- 3). Insert your Windows 7 disk into your DVD-ROM drive, or double-click "Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86.exe." The installation screen will appear and ask you what type of installation you would like to perform. Select "Custom." The computer will begin the installation process, which will take a long time depending on the size of your internal hard disk drive. It is normal for the computer to shut down and restart several times on its own during the process.
- 4). When the computer prompts you to do so, enter your product activation code. Once the code is accepted and you are prompted, enter a name for the computer and a log-in password. At that point installation will finish and you will be on your desktop.
- 5). Reconnect your external hard drive, then relocate and organize your files and folders onto the internal drive. If you copied the entirety of your internal drive onto the external drive, do not move the entire contents back onto the internal drive all at once; remember that the file structures of the two operating systems are different. Look through the operating system's file structure and determine where your folders should appropriately be located.