How to install windows vista on usb

Downloading Windows Vista: Your Options Explained

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Windows Vista is a very old Microsoft operating system. It was released in January 2007. Mainstream support ended in 2012 and extended support (i.e., critical flaw patches and security updates) ended in 2017. Lifewire retains this information as reference for tech experts and info-sec professionals who have legitimate, even if rare, needs to test something with Vista. For ordinary home hobbyists, we recommend using Windows 10 or trying one of the many Linux distributions with a Vista-like look-and-feel.

Have you lost your original Windows Vista DVD or need Windows Vista on a flash drive and figure downloading it as an ISO image is the way to go?

If you’re without the installation files for Windows Vista and you need to get your hands on them, downloading certainly makes sense—but think again.

Where Can I Download Windows Vista?

There isn’t a single, completely legal way to download Windows Vista.

The Windows Vista operating system was never sold online from Microsoft, nor from other legitimate retailers. Online distribution of Windows didn’t start until Windows 7 and, of course, continues today through Windows 10. In fact, good luck finding even a boxed copy of Windows Vista. You might find a few folks selling Vista on Amazon but there isn’t usually any kind of regular stock.

The here-and-there copies of Windows Vista you might find for sale from sites you’ve never heard of are probably selling illegal copies alongside fake or stolen product keys.

So what do you do? You do have a few not-so-legal options, which we’ll explain:

Download Windows Vista via a Torrent Site

A number of copies of Windows Vista in ISO format exist floating around various torrent directories, all easy to grab with a free torrent client. Unfortunately, you never know which one of these Vista torrent downloads are hacked, full of malware and other issues you don’t want to deal with.

We don’t recommend that you download Windows Vista via a torrent.

Download Windows Vista From GetIntoPC.com

One site, GetIntoPC.com, hosts both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows Vista in ISO format, ready to download:​ Windows Vista Home Premium Free Download ISO 32-Bit 64-Bit.

As far as we can tell, these are clean (malware-free), perfect ISO images of those two editions of Windows Vista Home Premium.

It’s doubtful that Microsoft has explicitly condoned the hosting of those Windows Vista downloads, but they probably don’t care that much, either. You’ll still need a valid product key to install it, which is really what you’re paying for when you pay for a version of Windows.

Don’t Download Windows Vista—Replace It Instead

Another option is to request a replacement of your Windows Vista DVD from either Microsoft or your computer maker.

If you bought a boxed copy of Windows Vista yourself, like from a store in town or an online retailer, you might have luck requesting a replacement disc directly from Microsoft. Contact the Microsoft Supplemental Parts Team and explain your situation to them.

If you bought your computer with Windows Vista already installed on it, you’ll need to contact your computer maker directly for a replacement Vista DVD, or at least a Restore Disc. Have these details ready before calling: your purchase date, your Vista product key (probably located on a sticker on your computer), and any other information you have about your computer.

How to Get Windows Vista Onto a Flash Drive

If you actually do have your Windows Vista installation DVD but are just interested in getting that onto a flash drive so you can install Vista on a computer that way, you don’t have to download Vista to do this.

See How to Install Windows 7 From USB for help. The process works for Windows Vista, too.

This is a tutorial to explain you how download and install Windows Vista.
We give you many versions of Windows Vista (.iso).

You can install your computer for free, but you need to have a license to activate Windows Vista.
You can found your license under your laptop or on the case of your computer. The license looks like this :

Windows Vista License key

Table of Contents

Download Windows Vista, choose your version :

Windows Vista Starter 32 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Starter 32 Bit.

Windows Vista Home Basic 32 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Home Basic 32 Bit.

Windows Vista Home Basic 64 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Home Basic 64 Bit.

Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Home Premium 32 Bit.

Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit.

Windows Vista Professional 32 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Professional 32 Bit.

Windows Vista Professional 64 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Professional 64 Bit.

Windows Vista Ultimate 32 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Ultimate 32 Bit.

Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit

This iso file contains the english version of Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit.

For install Windows Vista we have a simple and fast method. We’ll need a USB stick of at least 8 gigabytes to use as a boot drive and a software : Windows 7 USB DVD download tool.
If you don’t have a USB stick you can use a DVD-Rom.

• Creation of the USB stick Windows installation :
• Start Windows 7 USB DVD download tool.
• Click Browse.

• Search and select the iso of Windows Vista.

• Click on Next.

• Click on USB device if you use an USB stick or DVD of you use a DVD-ROM.

• Selection you device, then click Begin copying.

• A window will appear, click Erase USB Device.

• A window will appear again, click Oui.

• Now, please be patient …

• When the operation is complete, the progress bar will turn green.

• You can close the software.
• Install Windows from USB stick :
• Restart your computer.
• Press the key F2 or Del (it’s depends on the configurations).

• Go on tab : Boot, then choose on first position : Removable Devices.

• Go on tab : Exit, choose Exit Saving Changes.

• Choose Yes.

• When the computer will restart, the installation of Windows will start, just follow instructions :

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This step-by-step guide demonstrates how to install Windows Vista.

The best way to install Windows Vista is to do a clean install. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation. Before you perform the installation I recommend that you check Windows Vista System Requirements list to ensure that your hardware is supported by Vista. If you don’t have Windows Vista drivers for all your hardware, it is a good idea to download all the drivers from the hardware manufacturers website and save all the necessary drivers on a CD-R before you start the installation.

Windows Vista DVD is bootable. In order to boot from the DVD you need to set the boot sequence. Look for the boot sequence under your BIOS setup and make sure that the first boot device is set to CD-ROM/DVD-ROM.

Step 1 – Place Windows Vista DVD in your dvd-rom drive and start your PC. Windows Vista will start to boot up and you will get the following progress bar.

Step 2 – The next screen allows you to setup your language, time and currency format, keyboard or input method. Choose your required settings and click next to continue.

Step 3 – The next screen allows you to install or repair Windows Vista. Since we are doing a fresh install we will click on “install now”.

Step 4 – You can now type the product key that came with your Windows vista.

Step 5 – If you do not enter the product key you can still proceed with the installation in which case Windows will ask you which version of Vista you have purchased. Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business etc. Select the version you have purchased and click next.

Please note, although you can select any version of Windows and proceed to next stage. It is not good idea to select a different version to the one you have purchased because you will not be able to activate Windows at a later stage. Windows Vista can detect which version you have purchased once you enter your product key.

Step 6 – Tick “I accept the licence terms” and press next.

We previously discussed How to Install Windows XP from a bootable USB Flash Drive . Here is a tutorial on How to Install Windows Vista on your PC from a USB Flash Drive. In order to do that, first you need to make a bootable USB drive and load the vista operating system files on that. This is very much useful to install vista on your computer without an Installation CD / DVD .

Making a bootable Windows Vista installation USB drive is far simpler than doing so for Windows XP because the utility is built into the operating system and can be deployed from the Command Prompt itself. All you would need is

How to make your own Windows Vista bootable USB Drive :

Step 1: Start Windows Vista, insert the pen drive into the computer’s USB port. Start Command Prompt, type ‘diskpart’ and press [Enter].

Step 2: Type ‘list disk’ and press [Enter]. Carefully note down the USB flash drive’s disk number listed here. In this case it would be ‘Disk 1’

Step 3: Type ‘Select disk 1’ and press [Enter]. Here the Diskpart utility is instructed to choose the disk 1 as the drive to be worked on.

Step 4: Type ‘Clean’ and press [Enter]. This command clears out all the information of the volumes, partitions, boot sectors and the MBR from the USB flash drive.

Step 5: Type ‘Create partition primary’ and press [Enter]. This command will create a primary partition on the USB flash drive.

Step 6: Type ‘Select partition 1’ and press [Enter]. This command instructs the Diskpart utility to select the newly created partition.

Step 7: Type ‘Active’ and press [Enter]. This command will make the current partition (primary) active to enable the USB flash drive to boot from.

Step 8: Type ‘Format fs=fat32’ and press [Enter]. This command formats the selected drive partition using the FAT32 file system.

Step 9: Type ‘Assign’ and press [Enter]. This command assigns a drive letter to the newly formatted partition. As there is no drive letter specified in the command line, the next available drive letter is assigned to the drive.

Step 10: Exit from the Diskpart utility using the ‘exit’ command and pressing [Enter]. Now insert the Windows Vista DVD in the optical drive and type the command ‘xcopy e:*.* /s /e /f F:’ and press[Enter]. This command will dump all the contents of the Windows Vista DVD onto the USB flash drive.

Your USB drive is now ready to install Windows Vista on any computer. Just set the boot sequence in the BIOS of the system to boot from the USB, insert the USB flash drive into the computers USB port and turn on the computer. Follow the regular installation for Windows Vista.

Note: Installing Windows XP or Windows Vista from a USB flash drive is much faster as compared to installing from a CD/DVD. A high-speed flash drive would make a difference.

Also check out Our articles on Windows OS like Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

I have asked a question regarding Windows Vista Business before and I decided to try to install Windows Vista with the help of an USB. I was able to do it for Windows 8 and 10 Pro with no problems.

However, I wasn’t able to find a reliable source to download the windows vista onto the USB. Most of them came with pre-install applications and never with the windows.

I was wondering if you have any realiable sources where I can download Windows Vista Buisness.

Thank you in advance for all your replies

There are no reliable, legal Vista ISO downloads available.

You can borrow and use a Microsoft Vista DVD (Retail or OEM System Builders License) , that contains the files for the various Vista Editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate) to be installed. The Product Key on your Computer / Laptop case determines which Edition is installed.

The COA sticker, which has the Product Key on it, is either on the underside of the Laptop or in the Battery Compartment.

With a Desktop it is either on the side, rear or top of the Computer Case.

Other Manufacturers’ Recovery DVDs are not to be used for the above purpose.

And you need to know the “bit” version for Vista, as 32bit and 64bit Editions come on different DVDs.

Here is how to do a clean install of Vista, using a Microsoft Vista DVD:

“How to Do a Clean Install and Setup with a Full Version of Vista”

And once the Operating System is installed, go to your Computer Manufacturer’s website and obtain the latest Drivers for your particular Model Computer or Laptop.

When you use Phone Activation don’t follow the Auto Prompts but instead hold on for a real person to assist you.

“How to Activate Vista Normally and by Phone Activation”

Microsoft is the one who says yay or nay for Activation.

You have to go through them, but lately a lot of posters have been referred back to here by them when using phone activation.

If that happens use this method of contacting Microsoft: contact MS support

Bill Smithers – Microsoft MVP July 2013 – Dec 2020

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This step-by-step guide demonstrates how to install Windows Vista.

The best way to install Windows Vista is to do a clean install. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation. Before you perform the installation I recommend that you check Windows Vista System Requirements list to ensure that your hardware is supported by Vista. If you don’t have Windows Vista drivers for all your hardware, it is a good idea to download all the drivers from the hardware manufacturers website and save all the necessary drivers on a CD-R before you start the installation.

Windows Vista DVD is bootable. In order to boot from the DVD you need to set the boot sequence. Look for the boot sequence under your BIOS setup and make sure that the first boot device is set to CD-ROM/DVD-ROM.

Step 1 – Place Windows Vista DVD in your dvd-rom drive and start your PC. Windows Vista will start to boot up and you will get the following progress bar.

Step 2 – The next screen allows you to setup your language, time and currency format, keyboard or input method. Choose your required settings and click next to continue.

Step 3 – The next screen allows you to install or repair Windows Vista. Since we are doing a fresh install we will click on “install now”.

Step 4 – You can now type the product key that came with your Windows vista.

Step 5 – If you do not enter the product key you can still proceed with the installation in which case Windows will ask you which version of Vista you have purchased. Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business etc. Select the version you have purchased and click next.

Please note, although you can select any version of Windows and proceed to next stage. It is not good idea to select a different version to the one you have purchased because you will not be able to activate Windows at a later stage. Windows Vista can detect which version you have purchased once you enter your product key.

Step 6 – Tick “I accept the licence terms” and press next.

Step 7 – Choose the type of installation you want to perform. You will notice that upgrade option is disabled as we have booted from the DVD-R. Therefore we can only select Custom (advanced) option which basically installs a clean copy of Windows from scratch.

Step 8 – Choose where you would like to install Windows Vista. If you have a new unpartitioned hard drive you would get your hard drive listed as shown on the image below. If have have an old hard drive with data or other partitions it will show up as logical drives. You can select the drive options (advanced) to format, delete, or create new partitions. Because I am using a single new hard drive I will select next to continue. Windows will create a partition and format it using NTFS files system.

Step 9 – Windows starts the installation process and starts copying all the necessary files to your hard drive as shown on the image below. It will go through various stages of the setup and will reboot your system few times. When your PC reboots it attempts to boot from CD as its the first boot device. Do not press any key during the boot prompt so Windows Vista will continue with the installation by booting from your hard drive.

Step 10 – After installation copy process is complete you are presented with the Setup Windows dialogue box as show below. At this stage you need to choose a user name, password and a picture for your user account. The account you create here is the Administrator account which is the main account for your Windows Vista that has all the privileges. Click next continue.

Step 11 – Now you need to choose your computer name and desktop background. Click next to continue.

Step 12 – Choose whether your want to Help protect Windows automatically. Select “Use recommenced settings” to continue.

Step 13 – Review your time and date settings. Select your time zone, correct the date and time and click next to continue.

Next screen presents you to select your computers current location. You can choose between home, work, public location. Choose home to continue. You will finally get a “Thank you” screen which confirms the end of the interactive installation process. This is not the end of the setup process. There are still many after installation configuration to be done. Click next to continue.

Step 14 – Windows now runs a benchmark type of application which checks the performance of your system. You will see a status bar at bottom which shows the progress. Once the process is complete you will be presented with the logon screen.

Step 15 – Finally you have the logon screen. Just type your password and press enter or click on the arrow to logon to Windows Vista for the first time.

Step 16 – Soon as you logon you will be presented with welcome center. You can use the welcome center to configure, customize, and update Windows vista.

Step 17 – Finally you need to check if all your hardware has been detected correctly. You can do so by checking your device manager. To access device manager click Start menu -> Control panel -> System -> Device manager. You will see all your hardware listed as shown below. You need to check if you have any yellow exclamation marks next to the name of the device similar to “USB 10/100 LAN” on image below. This indicates the driver has not been installed for this device.

At this stage you need to install Windows Vista drivers by double clicking on “USB 10/100 LAN” or your device. The properties dialog box will appear. Click on Reinstall Driver. Then you can choose whether you want to install the driver from the internet (if available) or install manually from a CD or other media

Once you have removed all the yellow exclamation marks from the device manager your Windows Vista configuration would be fully complete.

Step 14 – Windows now runs a benchmark type of application which checks the performance of your system. You will see a status bar at bottom which shows the progress. Once the process is complete you will be presented with the logon screen.

Step 15 – Finally you have the logon screen. Just type your password and press enter or click on the arrow to logon to Windows Vista for the first time.

Step 16 – Soon as you logon you will be presented with welcome center. You can use the welcome center to configure, customize, and update Windows vista.

Step 17 – Finally you need to check if all your hardware has been detected correctly. You can do so by checking your device manager. To access device manager click Start menu -> Control panel -> System -> Device manager. You will see all your hardware listed as shown below. You need to check if you have any yellow exclamation marks next to the name of the device similar to “USB 10/100 LAN” on image below. This indicates the driver has not been installed for this device.

At this stage you need to install Windows Vista drivers by double clicking on “USB 10/100 LAN” or your device. The properties dialog box will appear. Click on Reinstall Driver. Then you can choose whether you want to install the driver from the internet (if available) or install manually from a CD or other media

Once you have removed all the yellow exclamation marks from the device manager your Windows Vista configuration would be fully complete.

Introduction

Advances in cloud technologies have led many users to use Windows Azure Web Sites to host both a production site and test site, as it makes it easy to test various configurations without impacting their own personal computers. If you still prefer to do this on your desktop, you can install IIS on it, as well as other applications and extensions easily using the MicrosoftВ® Web Platform Installer (Web PI). To learn more about the Web PI, see Learn about and install the Web PI.

If you choose to install IIS 7.0 or above manually, you can use this article for guidance.

Before You Begin

Ensure that you have installed one of the editions of Windows Vista or Windows 7 on which IIS 7 and above is supported before you proceed. Not all IIS features are supported on all editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Home Basic and Starter editions include only limited basic features of IIS. To see a list of which features are supported on the edition of Windows you are using, see one of the following:

Also be sure that you have administrative user rights on the computer. By default, you do not have administrative user rights if you are logged on as a user other than the built-in administrator, even if you were added to the local Administrators group on the computer (this is a new security feature in Windows ServerВ® 2008 called Local User Administrator). Log on either to the built-in administrator account, or explicitly invoke applications as the built-in administrator by using the runas command-line tool.

Note that you can run runas /user:administrator cmd.exe so that every application you run from that command line will be elevated, eliminating the need to use the runas syntax from that command line.

If you are logged on to an account other than the built-in local administrator account, you may see the following security alert dialog box.

Figure 1: Windows Security (User Account Control)

Install IIS 7 or Above

To open the Windows Features dialog box, click Start, and then click Control Panel.

Figure 2: Windows Vista Start menu

In the Control Panel, click Programs.

Figure 3: Control Panel Home

Click Turn Windows features on or off.

Figure 4: Control Panel install options

You may receive the Windows Security warning. Click Allow to continue. The Windows Features dialog box is displayed.

Figure 5: Windows Security dialog box

Expand Internet Information Services.Additional categories of IIS features are displayed. Select Internet Information Services to choose the default features for installation.

Figure 6: Windows Features dialog box – IIS

Expand the additional categories displayed, and select any additional features you want to install, such as Web Management Tools.

Figure 7: Windows Features dialog box – IIS feature selection

If you are installing IIS for evaluation purposes, you may want to select additional features to install. Select the check boxes for all IIS features you want to install, and then click OK to start installation.

Figure 8: Windows Features dialog box – Installation selection

The progress indicator appears.

Figure 9: Progress indicator

When the installation completes, the Windows Features dialog box closes, and the Control Panel is displayed.

Figure 10: Control Panel Home page

IIS is now installed with a default configuration on Windows Vista or Windows 7. To confirm that the installation succeeded, type the following URL into your browser, http://localhost.

Figure 11: Default Web site

Next, you can use Internet Information Services Manager to manage and configure IIS. To open IIS Manager, click Start, type inetmgr in the Search Programs and Files box, and then press ENTER.

Figure 12: Default Web Site Home page

If you want to use ASP, MicrosoftВ® ASP.NET, or PHP, install the modules needed to host these pages; this can be done during the installation of IIS or after the installation is complete.

Use Unattended Setup to Install IIS 7.0 and above

IIS can also be installed unattended on Windows Vista. For detailed instructions and scripts, see Using Unattended Setup to Install IIS 7.0 and Above.

How to install driver manually windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 – In most cases you will find that the Windows drivers found here are self-extracting (.exe) archives. Click the desired file. When prompted, we recommend setting the destination to your desktop. Create a new folder and move the archive into it. Click the file, it will then extract the software and related files inside of your new folder automatically.

If a driver downloads as a .ZIP file: Extract the content and save to a folder on your Desktop. Open the folder and look if there’s a Setup.exe file. If you see a Setup.exe double click to run it

But if the top level of the folder doesn’t include a Setup.exe installation file, try directing Windows to the folder you want it to install

1. Right-click the downloaded ZIP-file and then click Extract All Files. Double-click the folder that has the same name as the downloaded file.
2. Click Start, then right-click My Computer (or Computer) and click Manage.
3. In the Computer Management window, on the left, click Device Manager.
4. Click the + sign in front of the device category for which you wish to install the driver.
5. Right-click the device, and select Update Driver. The Hardware Update Wizard opens.
6. For using Windows Update, select No, not this time and click Next.
7. Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced), and click Next.
8. In the window for search and installation options, select Search for the best driver in these locations, and select the Include this location in the search check box.
9. Click Browse, and navigate to the folder that contains the driver files. Click OK when this folder is selected.
10. Back in the Hardware Update Wizard, click Next. Windows will search for the driver and install it automatically. When the installation is complete, click Finish.

Once driver installation is complete you can delete the folder on your Desktop. (But you may want to save it somewhere should you ever need to reinstall the driver again)

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I am doing .net programming in addition to c and c++ development and want more flexibility on my home machine. I want to be able to have both Linux (probably Ubuntu) and Windows Vista on my home computer. Is there a way I can install both and on boot be prompted for which one to start? Is there a way to set Windows to default?

I have seen this before in CS labs in undergrad.

Also, I assume there would be no problem if I were to use Windows 32-bit along with Ubuntu 64-bit. Any advise?

16 Answers 16

The latest versions of Ubuntu include an installer called Wubi, which installs Ubuntu as a windows application (ie: it can be uninstalled from Add/Remove programs) and sets up the dual boot for you! It’s great for those who want to give Linux a try without a system overhaul!

You can dual boot, but I would recommend using a Virtual Machine for what you want to do.

You should note that dual booting Windows and Linux can be a little risky and is a bit permanent. Running in a Virtual Machine means that you can run the Linux install in a window and not worry about it affecting your development machine at all. The software will not know the difference, so your testing is not affected.

Consider that the Virtual Machine is like a sandbox, where you can try new and different things out, without fear of consequences.

Virtual machines do run with a bit of overhead, and therefore you should not expect to be playing games or anything through them. I would say it is very much like logging into a machine through Remote Desktop (good LAN connection) as far as performance goes.

EDIT: There is also VirtualBox that you could check out. Thanks for the helpers in my comments for that one.

I, too, recommend using a virtual machine for this purpose.

I’ve had problems with Virtual PC on some Linux distros (Fedora Core comes to mind), but no problems with VMWare or Virtual Box.

Think very hard before installing another operating system even as dual boot. It is rarely simple, even with installers like Ubuntu’s that don’t require you to mess around on a command line. There is a good risk you’ll spend days trying to get your usual OS back to normal especially if you’re using Vista.

VMWare and Virtual PC are both good options. Do a test install on one of these and use the OS for a while before making the decision to install.

One other great thing about using a virtual machine is that you only have to worry about getting your network settings sorted on your main OS, because VMWare (etc) will borrow those.

Also, try using the operating system on Live CD or DVD to start with if at all possible. You may also find that you can run an OS from a USB stick. This is obviously good for portability – but note that you can also carry your virtual machines on a removable USB drive.

All you have to do is go to http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download and follow the directions. I downloaded Ubuntu, burned it to CD, and rebooted with the CD in the drive. I did not have to get a second hard drive or worry about it messing with my Vista Home Premium installation.

With Ubuntu (as with most distros with a Live CD install) all you need to do is pop in a disc, boot, and click through the menus. The dual boot is set up perfectly by default, you don’t even have to think about it. I’ve done this with Ubuntu, Debian, PC Linux OS, Freespire, and Xandros on my Vista Home Premium machine and they all worked that way.

If you are paranoid, then you should back up your PC. As cheap as hard drives (USB or internal) are these days, there really is no excuse to not have a full back up of your system. It’s too easy. I use Acronis True Image, but I’ve heard good things about Norton Ghost as well.

Regadless, you don’t need Wubi or VMWare, or any virtual anything, a straight install with a dual boot set up is the default on a typical Live CD Linux install and it works even with Vista.

This tutorial will help you to install and set up the OpenVPN protocol to use NordVPN on your Windows Vista computer. Here’s a step by step guide:

2. After the file finishes downloading, open it and launch the installer.

3. During the installation, you will be asked if you want to continue. Please click Continue.

4. As OpenVPN requires.NET framework to function properly, you will be prompted to install it if you haven’t got it installed yet.

5. After the installation is completed, go to https://nordvpn.com/servers/tools/.

6. You will see a recommended server for best performance. Click ‘Show available protocols’ under the suggested server.

7. Several options will show up. Click on ‘Download config’ next to OpenVPN TCP and ‘Download config’ next to OpenVPN UDP. You need to download only these two configurations.

8. After the download finishes, go to a folder where the configuration files have been downloaded and copy them. Click and drag to select both OpenVPN configurations, then right-click on one and select Copy.

9. Go to the OpenVPN installation folder: Open My Computer – Local Disk (C:) – Program Files – OpenVPN – configs.

10. Paste the configuration files here. You can do this by right-clicking on the folder window and selecting Paste.

11. You have successfully uploaded the configuration files. Now you are ready to connect!

12. In the system application tray located at the bottom-right corner of your screen, right-click on the OpenVPN Client icon (it should look like a gray monitor with a lock), select one of the configurations you have just uploaded and click ‘Connect’.

13. You will be prompted to enter your service credentials for your NordVPN account. You can find your NordVPN service credentials at the Nord Account dashboard. Copy the credentials using the buttons on the right.

14. Enter your username and password and click OK. In just a couple of seconds, you will be connected to VPN.

Learn why a clean install of the OS is preferred for installing Vista, and review the starting process for a Microsoft Windows Vista clean install.

In this selection from Windows Vista Secrets, authors Brian Livingston and Paul Thurrott explain why a clean install of the OS is preferred for installing Microsoft Windows Vista. The authors also review the processes to begin setup for a Microsoft Windows Vista clean install.

A clean install of the operating system is our preferred method for installing Windows Vista. Although it’s possible to upgrade to Windows Vista from certain previous Windows versions this path is perilous and can often result in a Frankenstein-like system where only some of your applications work properly. In our opinion, it’s best to start with a clean slate when moving to a new operating system, especially a major release like Windows Vista.

Follows these steps to install Windows Vista as a clean install:

Insert the Windows Vista DVD in your PC’s optical drive and reboot. After the BIOS screen flashes by, you may see a message alerting you to Press any key to boot from the CD or DVD. If so, press a key. Some systems, however, do not provide this warning and will instead boot from the DVD by default.

Secret: If your system does not boot from the DVD, you may need to change the system’s boot order so that the optical drive is checked before the first hard drive. To do this, you will have to consult your PC’s documentation, as each PC handles this process a little differently.

From inauspicious beginnings such as these come great things.

A black screen with a progress bar and the text “Windows is loading files” will appear as shown above.

These settings apply only to Setup, not the eventual Windows Vista installation.

Eventually, the screen will display a multicolored drape effect and the initial Setup window appears as shown above. Here, you can preconfigure the language, time and currency formats, and keyboard or input method you’ll use during Setup.

This window jumpstarts Setup and the Windows Vista recovery tools.

Click Next. The Install Now window appears as shown in the above screen shot. To continue with Interactive Setup, click Install Now.

Secret: This window also provides a way to access Windows Vista’s new recovery tools. If you run into a problem with Windows Vista later, such as not being able to boot into Windows for some reason, you can boot your system with the Setup DVD and use these tools to help fix the problem.

Spread ’em. This is where Microsoft ensures you’re genuine.

In the next window, (shown above) enter your Windows Vista product key. This is a 25-digit alphanumeric string—in blocks of 5 separated by dashes—that you will find on a bright yellow product key sticker somewhere in your Windows Vista packaging. You can also optionally choose to have Windows Vista automatically activate for you.

Secret: Do not lose this product key or give it away to anyone. Each Windows Vista product key is valid for exactly one PC. After you’ve installed Windows Vista and activated it—which ties the product key to your hardware—you won’t be able to use this number again on another PC, at least not easily. Note, however, that you will have no problems reinstalling Windows Vista on the same PC using this same product key. If for some reason you are unable to electronically activate Windows later, Vista will provide a phone number so you can do it manually.

Sign over all your rights simply by clicking a single check box.

In the next window, you must agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA). Although very few people actually read this document, you should take the timeas it outlines your legal rights with regards to your usage of Windows Vista. Our understanding of the legalese in this document is that Microsoft exerts certain rights over your first-born and soul. In the screen shot above you can see the EULA windows.

How to perform a clean install of Microsoft Windows Vista

Introduction
Starting a clean install of Microsoft Windows Vista
Continuing with a clean install of Microsoft Windows Vista
Completing a clean install of Microsoft Windows Vista

While the majority of our readers here at WinBeta are tech-savvy, reinstalling Windows can feel like a daunting process to some. In the past, reinstalling an operating system required quite a lot of knowledge about machine drivers and the task of dealing with text-based installation systems. However, today, installing an operating system such as Windows can be quite natural. Take a look at the required steps, and note that the method can be applied to install Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.

Backing Up Your Data

The first major step is to ensure your data is safely backed up. Whether you use local backups or the magic of the cloud, you need to make sure the precious memories you have do not get erased. When reinstalling an operating system from scratch, everything you have on the hard drive will be erased – EVERYTHING. Be sure to backup your photos, videos, music, documents, game data, and everything else you need. Of course, we recommend checking out OneDrive for online backup, but other excellent solutions including Dropbox or a Western Digital external drive.

Downloading the Required Drivers

In the days of Windows XP, your computer would start up to the horror of being able to do almost nothing before drivers were installed. Today, operating systems such as Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10, can automatically detect most of the drivers needed for your PC. However, we want to download the proper drivers from your OEM to ensure the best performance. Below, we have provided a link to some of the most popular OEM support websites.

Once you have arrived at your OEM’s website, there should be an option for you to enter your machine’s model number to begin downloading drivers. In the world of Windows 7/8/10, many users will find they just need to download the essentials including the video, audio, trackpad, and Wi-Fi drivers — the option is up to you. We recommend downloading your drivers ahead of time and saving them to a flash drive. You can install the drivers after you install Windows, but a network driver may not be available, and thus you might not be able to connect to the Internet.

Prepare the Installation Media

There are quite a few mediums you can use to install Windows including flash drives and DVDs. If you have a DVD with Windows on it, then you are set. Otherwise, if you have an ISO file, you can either burn it to a DVD or install it to a flash drive. You can visit this support page from Microsoft to learn more about the various options and what is best for your install procedure. Most machines can boot from USB, but it is important to note that some older machines (early 2000’s) lack the ability and thus installing via a DVD is your only option –- Note: this is a rarity.

Install Windows on your PC

After you have backed up all your data and checked it twice, we are ready to begin. Insert your USB stick or DVD into your PC and start it up while tapping your computer’s “boot menu key”. You can quickly find the key by performing a quick Google search. Most computers use the “F12” key as their boot menu key.

Performing the above operating should now allow you to select which device on your computer you wish to boot. Select either the USB flash drive or DVD, based on which installation media you chose. In general, you can use the arrow keys and “Enter” key to make your selection.

The Windows installation media should now start up. After the interface is loaded, continue by selecting the “Install Now” option. Enter your Windows product key and accept Microsoft’s terms and conditions to continue to process.

You will now be asked to select what type of Windows installation you want to proceed with and where you want to install it. Select the “upgrade” option to continue. On the next screen, you will see a Hard Drive to install Windows – if you have Windows already installed you will see a number of partitions. Click on each partition and delete it if such is the situation. When you are left with one hard drive labeled “Drive 0 Unallocated Space” you are ready to continue.

Select the unallocated space and select “Next”. Windows will now configure your hard drive and prepare it for installation. That is all we have to do for now. Simply sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and allow your PC to restart a few times as it finishes the installation.

Once your computer has booted up to the Personalization Screen (Windows 8 and Windows 10) or “Set Up Windows” screen (Windows Vista), you can create a user account and login to the desktop. Windows has officially been installed.

Install Your Drivers and The Latest Updates

Now is the time to use the USB flash drive you have loaded with various drivers. Install the drivers you have downloaded, and allow the PC to reboot when finished. If you have an issue with something not working, such as audio, be sure to visit your OEM’s site and install the correct driver needed.

Once your drivers are installed, be sure to run Windows Update, which will keep your computer up to date and may even find newer variations of the drivers you have just installed.

Congratulations, You’re Done

That is all there is to it. You can now move the data you backed up onto your newly formatted Windows PC and begin making it your home once again. Don’t forget to reinstall any software you may need to use.

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Step 7 – Choose the type of installation you want to perform. You will notice that upgrade option is disabled as we have booted from the DVD-R. Therefore we can only select Custom (advanced) option which basically installs a clean copy of Windows from scratch.

Step 8 – Choose where you would like to install Windows Vista. If you have a new unpartitioned hard drive you would get your hard drive listed as shown on the image below. If have have an old hard drive with data or other partitions it will show up as logical drives. You can select the drive options (advanced) to format, delete, or create new partitions. Because I am using a single new hard drive I will select next to continue. Windows will create a partition and format it using NTFS files system.

Step 9 – Windows starts the installation process and starts copying all the necessary files to your hard drive as shown on the image below. It will go through various stages of the setup and will reboot your system few times. When your PC reboots it attempts to boot from CD as its the first boot device. Do not press any key during the boot prompt so Windows Vista will continue with the installation by booting from your hard drive.

Step 10 – After installation copy process is complete you are presented with the Setup Windows dialogue box as show below. At this stage you need to choose a user name, password and a picture for your user account. The account you create here is the Administrator account which is the main account for your Windows Vista that has all the privileges. Click next continue.

Step 11 – Now you need to choose your computer name and desktop background. Click next to continue.

Step 12 – Choose whether your want to Help protect Windows automatically. Select “Use recommenced settings” to continue.

Step 13 – Review your time and date settings. Select your time zone, correct the date and time and click next to continue.

Next screen presents you to select your computers current location. You can choose between home, work, public location. Choose home to continue. You will finally get a “Thank you” screen which confirms the end of the interactive installation process. This is not the end of the setup process. There are still many after installation configuration to be done. Click next to continue.

I was trying to install AppLocale for Windows 7 and received this message:

There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personnel or package vendor.

Turns out, the AppLocale installer needs to be run with administrator privileges in order to complete applocale installation successfully on Windows Vista or Windows 7. However, apploc.msi (or any other .msi) does not offer you a “Run as administrator” on the right click menu. There are many ways around this, one being running a command prompt as an administrator and launching the installer through the prompt.

AppLocale installer needs to be run with administrator privileges in order to install on Windows 7 and Windows Vista

If you are not familiar with command prompt, here is what to do:

1. Hit the start button and type “cmd”, you will see “cmd.exe” under Programs
2. Right click and select “Run as administrator” and click “Yes” on the confirmation window
3. Run apploc.msi through this command prompt – if your apploc.msi is under “Downloads”, this command would be “C:Usersuser_nameDownloadsapploc.msi”

For those who are not familiar with apploc, it lets you launch a code-page based application in a different locale then your system’s setting. Lets say you have an html file with Japanese encoding Shift-JIS and want to launch it with Notepad to make some changes. If your system locale is set to anything else than jp, you will see a bunch of question marks and garbage characters when you open the file with Notepad. You can either change your system locale which will require a reboot, or launch it with AppLocale which will simulate the environment.

This article is about how to install Windows Vista in computer and system requirement for Windows Vista.

Most of the users are interested to know about how to install Windows Vista on their computer.
This article helps to know how to install the windows vista.
All you have to do is follow these simple steps to install the Microsoft Windows Vista on your computer.

1) Very first of all you have to know that whether you computer is compatible for windows vista or not.
Please check all the below points before starting the installation.
[i] 1 gigahertz (GHz) for 32-bit or 64-bit processor or
800 megahertz (MHz) processor and 512 MB of system memory
[ii] 1 gigabyte (GB) system memory and 512 megabytes (MB) for Home Basic
[iii] 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space and 20 GB for Home Basic)
or 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
[iv] DVD-ROM drive or CD-ROM drive
[v] Support for Super VGA graphics

If your system is according to above configuration then you can install Windows Vista on your system.

2) If all the above points are fulfilled then start the installation.

3) Insert the Microsoft Windows Vista CD. Now you can see the black screen appears.

4) After some time you will view the Graphical User Interface (GUI) while starting the installation.

5) Now select the appropriate language for your windows vista. Then press Next button

6) Now you will see the windows with the option Install Now.

7) Now you have to enter the Product Key. So that it starts installation.

Now select the License Terms:-

9) Now select the Custom (Advanced) Installation option.

10) Now select the appropriate partition from your hard disk to install the windows vista.
Then click on Apply option.

11) Now Windows Vista Set up will start copying the files on your computer. It will take some time to copying on your computer.

12) Now it will start installing the files on your computer. This will also take some time.

13) After installing the files on your computer. It will automatically reboot your computer.

14) After installing the files on your computer. It will complete the installation and once again it will reboot your computer.

15) After few minutes you will view the screen for the username and password. Enter your username and password.

16) You can enter the name for your computer also.

17) Now select the option for the Windows Updates options.

18) Now wait for few minutes. You will see that a window is checking the performance of your computer.

That’s it now you will see that Windows Vista is preparing the Desktop on your computer.

Now you will see the below image screen on your computer desktop. That’s it your Windows Vista is ready to use.

Table of contents

1. How to download Iris on Windows Vista?
2. How to install Iris on Windows Vista?
3. How to run Iris on Windows Vista?

How to download blue light filter on Windows Vista?

You can download Iris on your computer from here:
https://iristech.co/download-now

How to install blue light filter on Windows Vista?

Locate the file on your PC and Right click -> Properties

Click Unblock then click Ok to allow Iris installer to run

Now Right click -> Open or Double click it with the Left mouse button

An installation window will open. Click the Next button, then read and Agree with the Iris EULA

Iris will start to install itself into the computer Local folder

In my case this is

The reason it’s not installed in Program Files is, that not everyone has admin access on their machine, for example in the office.

This enables everyone to install Iris easy, even if you don’t have the Administrator password of your PC. The installation is also a little bit easier

After a couple of seconds, the installation will finish and the Settings window will open

How to run blue light filter on Windows Vista?

Iris will also start automatically when you turn ON your PC

You can now click the X button to minimize Iris into the tray

If you double click this icon the settings window will open again

If you Right click it you will get some fast options

If you want access to more options you can support the project and buy Iris Pro

From a PC that already had XP or Vista

With the release of Windows 7, there will be those people who still will want to revert back to Vista or XP for some reason or another. If you want to uninstall Windows 7 and go back to the previous OS, you may or may not be able to do so.

In this post, I will break down all the options and scenarios for uninstalling Windows 7 from a computer that already had an operating system, such as Windows XP or Vista. If you want further information about Windows 7, check out my previous post on the differences between the different versions of Windows 7.

The first thing to note is that you can only upgrade a Windows Vista computer to Windows 7, not Windows XP. If you already have XP, you will have to do a clean install of Windows 7.

However, if you have a computer with Windows XP and you install Windows 7 ON TOP of Windows XP, then you can actually revert back to XP. So if you have a computer with XP and you want to go to Windows 7, do NOT format your hard drive! Just pop in the disk, boot from the CD and install Windows 7.

In this case, Windows created a folder called Windows.old in the root of the Windows partition with the previous operating system and data. You can follow the step by step instructions on how to revert to a previous installation of Windows after installing Windows 7.

Now let’s say you upgraded Windows Vista to Windows 7. In this case, you are CANNOT revert back to Windows Vista. It’s a one way process and so you should be aware of this when going from Vista to Windows 7.

In order to go back to Vista, you will have to perform a clean install of Windows Vista, meaning you will have to backup all your data and then restore it manually later. You will also have to reinstall all of your programs.

Finally, if you installed Windows 7 on a separate partition to create a multi-boot system and now want to remove Windows 7, you most likely can remove it without messing anything up.

Note that this will only work if the older version of Windows was installed first. If you installed Windows 7 and then installed Windows XP or Vista to create a multi-boot system, you cannot remove Windows 7.

As long as you installed Windows 7 as the second OS, you first have to boot your computer into the older version of Windows and either delete or format the partition with Windows 7 installed on it.

You have to do this so that the older version of Windows can reclaim the disk space and use it. You can do this by right-clicking on My Computer, choosing Manage and then clicking on Disk Management in the left hand list.

Right-click on the volume where Windows 7 is installed and choose Format or Delete Volume.

Now you have to remove Windows 7 from the multi-boot screen. You can do this by going to Start, Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools, System Configuration.

Click on the Boot tab and click on the listing for Windows 7. Click Delete and then Restart.

That’s it! Once you format the Windows 7 partition and remove it from the multi-boot screen, you will be able to restart your computer and have it automatically load the previous installation of Windows! Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications. Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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You can uninstall Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system and install Windows XP if you prefer the older operating system or experience compatibility issues with Vista. Removing Windows Vista will completely wipe the contents of your computer, so you should back up your important files and programs before uninstalling the operating system. Use an external hard drive to store your back up files during the process. You then can copy them back to your computer after you finishing installing Windows XP.

Step 1

Plug the external hard drive into your Windows Vista computer. Copy any files, folders and programs from your computer to the external hard drive. You also can use back-up software to automate the back-up process. Unplug the drive when you are finished.

Step 2

Insert the Windows XP installation disk into the computer’s CD drive. Restart the computer. Press any key on the computer before Windows Vista loads to boot from the installation disc.

Step 3

Follow the onscreen instructions to begin the installation. Accept the End User License Agreement when prompted.

Step 4

Highlight the C: drive containing Windows Vista when prompted to select an installation destination. Press “D” to delete the partition and then “L” to confirm. Press “C” to create a new partition from the unallocated drive space. Select the NTFS file system.

Step 5

Enter the Windows Product Key located on the Windows XP packaging or on the bottom of the computer case if your PC originally came with Windows XP. Enter your time zone, region and computer name when prompted. The computer will restart when the installation completes. Remove the XP disk from the CD drive.

Step 6

Plug the external hard drive into your computer and copy your files and programs into Windows XP.

Content Type Install & Setup

Article ID 000005831

Last Reviewed 09/16/2020

To manually install the Intel® Graphics Driver in the Windows Vista* operating system, follow these steps:

Your computer manufacturer might have customized drivers and software to enable or alter features, or provide improved operation on your computer. Contact the manufacturer for the latest updates and technical support information.

If you can no longer get driver support from your computer manufacturer, you can download generic Intel drivers.

Unzip the file and put the contents in a designated location or folder.

Click Start > Computer > Properties > Device Manager.

Click Continue.

Double-click Display adapters.

Right-click the Intel® Graphics Controller and click Update driver software.

Click Browse my computer for driver software.

Click Browse and navigate to the location you placed the extracted driver files.

Select the Graphics folder, and click OK.

Click Next.

The message, Windows* has successfully updated your driver software displays after successful installation. Click Close to complete the installation wizard and restart your system when prompted.

Still holding onto a computer running Windows XP or Windows Vista? It may be time to upgrade to Windows 10.

Windows 10 is now available. Microsoft is currently offering the operating system for free for a limited time to Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 users. While this is great news for a majority of PC owners, those of you still holding on to a Windows XP or Windows Vista machine may be feeling left behind. All isn’t lost, however, and there are still upgrade options available. Here’s what you can do:

Do nothing

No one is forcing you to update to Windows 10 . There are plenty of happy people with computers that “just work” running Windows XP or Windows Vista. Microsoft, however, no longer issues security updates and patches for Windows XP. This means that your PC is more vulnerable to malware. Windows Vista will no longer be receiving these patches in April of 2017.

Windows 10 isn’t like the horrors you may have heard about with Windows 8. In fact, it isn’t all that different from Vista or XP from a visual standpoint. Sure, there are some differences, but you will find a familiar Start button and the desktop interface you have come to know and love with Windows. In addition, however, Windows 10 also adds the helpful Cortana voice assistant to the desktop, a new Edge Web browser replaces Internet Explorer, and there’s even Xbox One game streaming.

See if you can update to Windows 10

The requirements to run Windows 10 are the same as Windows 7. If your system meets the minimum hardware requirements, you can do a clean install of Windows but it will cost you. A copy of Windows 10 Home retails for $119, while Windows 10 Pro costs $199. There’s also the Windows 10 Pro Pack for $99. This will let you upgrade from Windows 10 Home to the Pro edition at a later time.

The good news is that you won’t need a system with incredibly high-end hardware to run Windows 10 , but some older machine may still not be capable of running it. Windows 10 requirements are:

• Processor: 1GHz CPU or faster
• RAM: 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)
• Disk space: 16GB (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit)
• Graphics: DirectX 9-capable video card with WDDM driver

Scrap your old PC, and get a shiny new one that can run Windows 10

Even if your machine meets the minimum system requirements to run Windows 10 , it may not do so very smoothly. It may be a better investment to buy a new PC, especially given that it costs $120 to purchase Windows 10. There are many laptops that range from as little as $200 to $500 that are capable of running Windows 10 without any known problems.

There a lot of Windows laptops to choose from, but these are the ones that CNET section editor Dan Ackerman has found to be the best for Windows 10 .

This article aims at solving a problem faced by most computer users when trying to setup a dual boot by installing an Operating System older than the currently installed OS. When you install Windows XP after installing Windows Vista or 7 the latter’s boot menu disappears and your PC directly boots into Windows XP. But solving the problem is just a simple matter of executing a few commands.

Step 1: Install Windows XP

So you have a PC with Windows Vista or 7 and want to install Windows XP, don’t worry about anything now just go ahead and install it. Just remember to install it on a partition that DOES NOT have Windows Vista/7 installed. After installation is over you’ll find that there is no option to boot into Windows Vista/7. Don’t panic just follow the remaining steps

Step 2: Reviving the Windowx Vista or 7 boot menu

Boot your computer using the Windows Vista or 7 DVD, select the language and click “Repair your Computer” option. After it scans for your windows installation select the OS and click next. Open “Command Prompt” and type the following commands

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot

Execute the commnds in the repair mode command line

Now we’re back to the Windows Vista/7 boot menu but what happened to Windows XP . It has disappeared now 🙁 No problem we’ll add a boot entry for Windows XP in the boot menu

Step 3: Adding Windows XP to the boot menu

After Windows Vista/7 loads you’ll have to open a command line with administrative privileges. For this go to Start menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> right-click command prompt select “Run as administrator”. Type bcdedit and note the partition of

Note down the partition of

Now execute the following commands to add a Windows XP boot entry

bcdedit /create /d “Windows XP”
bcdedit /set device partition=DeviceHarddiskVolume1
bcdedit /set path ntldr
bcdedit /displayorder /addlast

The “partition” specified in the second command is the partition of . Don’t ever make a mistake while entering this command if you do this boot entry won’t work. After this is done restart your computer and enjoy the results. If you have any problems ask away using the comment form.

This tutorial will show you how to install new Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets from Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace, a download center for Windows-specific software.

Any gadget you install can be uninstalled at a later stage; not all gadgets have to be displayed on the Windows Sidebar. If you exceed the amount of visible gadgets, the Sidebar supports multiple “screens” of gadgets through which you can navigate with just a few clicks.

Downloading new Sidebar gadgets

Permanently removing gadgets is done through Windows Vista’s Gadget Gallery application. To open the Gadget Gallery, click on the plus sign shown at the top of the Windows Sidebar.

The bottom right corner of Windows Vista’s Gadget Gallery displays a “Get more gadgets online” link: it points to the portion of the Windows Marketplace dedicated to Sidebar gadgets: direct link.

Windows Vista gadgets do not have the same level of “permissions” as regular, full-fledged applications: nonetheless, you should always use your best judgment when downloading and installing new Vista gadgets (let alone new applications) onto your computer. Downloading new gadgets from a trusted source like the official gadget gallery (now including gadgets for both Windows Vista and Windows 7), is that malware and spyware are less likely to find their way in official gadget download sites than in other, unmonitored sites.

Installing new Sidebar gadgets in Windows Vista

We located a sample gadget we would like to download and install from the Windows Marketplace. This gadget happens to be free, as most of them, but some gadgets are distributed as “shareware” (not free software).

We click the “Download” button; you will need to confirm your understanding that unverified gadgets are uploaded and available from the Windows Marketplace; next, Windows Vista will want your confirmation that you did in fact initiated the gadget installation process.

A couple clicks later, Windows Vista has installed our new gadget, now visible at the top of the Sidebar. By default, newly installed gadgets are placed docked in the Sidebar, but you can always drag them anywhere else on the screen.

This is it, all Sidebar gadgets in Windows Vista install the same way!

Uninstalling new gadgets not needed!

Once you download and install a new gadget in Windows Vista, it is automatically added to the sidebar: should you decide that the gadget is no longer useful for the moment, you do not need to uninstall it! Just closing the gadget will temporarily remove it from the sidebar, without actually uninstalling it permanently from your computer. Two other Windows Vista tutorials will respectively show you: how to remove a gadget from the sidebar, and how to uninstall, or delete, a gadget from Windows Vista.

This guide works 100% for Vista & Windows 7, unlike most of the guides out there. The method is very simple and hassle free. Needless to say, your motherboard should support USB Boot feature to make use of the bootable USB drive.

Follow the steps below to create bootable Windows 7/Vista USB drive, which will enable you to install Windows 7/Vista easily.

1. Plug-in your USB flash drive to USB port and move all contents from the USB drive to a safe location on your system.
2. Extract the WINRAR/WINZIP files to the safe location on your computer.
3. Open Command Prompt with admin rights by one of the following methods:
-Type “cmd” in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.
-Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on
Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
4. Type in the following commands in the Command Prompt:
-Type DISKPART and hit ENTER to see the below message.
– LIST DISK
– SELECT DISK 1
– CLEAN
– CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
– SELECT PARTITION 1
– ACTIVE
– FORMAT FS=FAT32 (Format process may take few seconds)
– ASSIGN
– EXIT
-Type XCOPY C:WINDOWS7*.*/S/E/F E:
5. After all the files have finished copying from C: to E:, type command EXIT and hit ENTER.
6. The booting is successfully updated on all targeted volumes.

* User doesn’t have to insert a CD/DVD. Can work on a computer running without an CD/DVD drives.

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The other day I showed you how to create a Windows XP unattended installation CD using a program called nLite. Today I would like to show you how to create an unattended installation CD for Windows Vista using a program called vLite. This unattended installation CD works the same way as the one for Windows XP and allows you to automate the whole process of installing Windows, drivers, updates, as well as configuring Windows just the way you like it.

For this tutorial, you will need a Windows Vista installation DVD and a product key if you don’t want to be prompted to enter one during the installation. You will also need a blank CD or DVD if you would like to burn your unattended installation when you are finished.

Step 1: Download and install vLite . When you are finished run the program.

Step 2: You will be asked to locate your Windows Vista installation files. Click “Browse” and choose your Windows Vista installation DVD. You will then be asked where you would like to save your Windows Vista installation files. Create a new folder, name it whatever you like, and click “OK”. vLite will now begin to copy the installation files from the DVD to the folder you created. When it is finished, click “Next”.

Step 3: Here you will be able to select which options you would like to configure. Click “All” and then click “Next”.

Step 4: Here you will be able to add all of the needed Windows updates to your unattended installation so you don’t have to install them later. Before you can add them, you will need to download the updates manually and save them to your computer. The easiest way to do this is by using Windows Updates Downloader. Once they are downloaded, click “Insert” and select them all. You can also set specific drivers to install when Windows installs by clicking on the “Drivers” tab and adding them. You can do the same thing with language packs by clicking on the “Language Pack” tab. When you are finished, click “Next”.

Step 5: Next you will be able to remove components that you don’t want installed during the installation process. When you are finished click “Next”.

Step 6: Here you will be able to tweak some additional security, system, and explorer settings. When you are finished click “Next”.

Step 7: Now you will be able to configure the unattended installation settings. If you have a product key, enter it in so you aren’t prompted for it later. When you are finished, click “Apply”.

Step 8: You will be prompted with a window asking you to choose an apply method. The “Just Apply The Changes” radio button will be clicked by default which is fine. The “Apply And Rebuild” method takes a lot longer but saves you more space. Don’t use this setting if your image contains more than one version of Vista. Click “OK” and vLite will now begin building your unattended Windows installation.

Step 9: You will now be able to burn your unattended Windows installation to a CD or DVD. You can also create an ISO file that you can burn later.

You are now ready to install Vista using your unattended installation CD. If you have any experience with vlite or unattended Windows installations, please feel free to post comments.

Windows Vista пришла на смену XP и по задумке специалистов должна была полностью заменить хорошую, но уже немного устаревшую систему. На практике же получилось, что XP продержалась до 2014 года, а Виста быстро собрала множество негативных отзывов и так и не стала популярной среди обычных пользователей.

Тем не менее, даже сейчас у пользователей иногда возникает вопрос, как установить Windows Vista с флешки. Праздный это интерес или жизненная необходимость – не так важно; порядок установки, с которым вы сейчас познакомитесь, от этого не изменится.

Создание установочного носителя

Для создания установочной флешки вам понадобится:

• Предварительно загруженный дистрибутив Windows Vista.
• USB-накопитель объемом не менее 4 Гб.

Записать дистрибутив на носитель вы можете двумя способами: с помощью командной строки Windows и используя специальную утилиту – например, UltraISO.

Командная строка

Вставьте флеш-накопитель и запустите командную строку, нажав Win+R и введя «cmd».

1. Введите команду «diskpart» и нажмите Enter.
2. Введите команду «list disk», чтобы увидеть список всех подключенных дисков. Найдите свой флеш-накопитель (обращайте внимание на объем, так как буквы в командной строке не прописываются) и запомните его номер.
3. Выберите накопитель с помощью команды «select disk 2», где 2 – это номер диска, который вы определили в предыдущем пункте.
4. Очистите носитель с помощью команды «clean».
5. Введите «create partition primary», чтобы создать новый раздел.
6. Выберите раздел под номером 1 с помощью команды «select partition 1».
7. Пометьте раздел как активный – «active».
8. Введите команду «format fs=NTFS», чтобы запустить форматирование.
9. Назначьте флешку букву – «assign letter=Z».
10. Напишите «Exit», чтобы завершить работу DiskPart.

Последний этап – копирование файлов дистрибутива на флешку. Удобнее всего сделать это c помощью утилиты 7-Zip.

Запустите 7-Zip и найдите через проводник ISO-образ Windows Vista. Выберите его и нажмите «Извлечь».

Укажите свой накопитель в строке «Распаковать в…» и нажмите «ОК».

В результате на вашем съемном носителе должны появиться такие файлы:

Сторонний софт

Если вы не хотите разбираться с командной строкой и в ручном режиме записывать файлы Windows Vista на флеш-накопитель, воспользуйтесь функциональными возможностями специальных утилит.

Давайте на примере программы UltraISO посмотрим, как создается установочная флешка. Вам понадобится:

• Скачанная и установленная утилита UltraISO.
• Загруженный дистрибутив Windows Vista.
• USB-накопитель объемом не менее 4 Гб.

Подключите флешку к компьютере и запустите UltraISO. Выберите пробный период, чтобы не платить за использование программы.

1. Раскройте меню «Файл» и выберите пункт «Открыть».
2. Найдите через проводник загруженный предварительно образ Виндовс Виста и нажмите «Открыть».
3. Раскройте меню «Самозагрузка» и нажмите «Записать образ Жесткого диска».
4. В появившемся окне в строке «Disk Drive» выберите свой носитель и нажмите «Форматировать».
5. Выберите тип файловой системы (NTFS) и нажмите «Начать».
6. После окончания процедуры форматирования нажмите «Записать».
7. Дождитесь окончания записи, чтобы получить свою установочную флешку.

Выбор приоритета загрузки

После создания установочной флешки необходимо правильно настроить БИОС, выбрав приоритет загрузки. Если вы пробовали установить Windows XP с флешки, то должны быть знакомы с этой процедурой, но для уверенности повторим порядок действий.

1. Подключите флеш-накопитель через USB-порт и перезагрузите компьютер.
2. Нажмите при запуске клавишу F8, F2 или Delete (в зависимости от версии БИОС; нужная клавиша отображается на стартовом экране).
3. Найдите вкладку «Boot» и выставите в ней приоритет загрузки. Первым должен загружаться носитель, подключенный через USB-порт, далее – винчестер и оптический диск.
4. Выйдите из BIOS, сохранив внесенные изменения путем нажатия клавиши F10.

После изменения приоритета загрузки и последующей перезагрузки компьютера на экране должно появиться окно установки Windows Vista.

Выберите язык инсталляции и нажмите «Далее».

Нажмите кнопку «Установить», чтобы запустить процесс инсталляции системы.

Введите ключ продукта (если вы устанавливаете лицензионную версию).

Ознакомьтесь с условиями лицензионного соглашения и примите его условия.

Выберите полную установку, чтобы записать на жесткий диск все компоненты Windows Vista.

Выберите диск, на который собираетесь записать новую систему, и нажмите кнопку «Настройка».

Запустите форматирование раздела винчестера и дождитесь окончания этой процедуры. Все имеющиеся на диске данные будут уничтожены.

После окончания форматирования нажмите кнопку «Далее».

Начнется установка Windows, во время которой компьютер будет несколько раз перезагружаться.

Вам остается только ждать окончания инсталляции, которая продлится около 20-30 минут.

Первоначальная настройка Vista

После окончания процесса инсталляции Windows Vista на экране появится окно, где вам нужно будет указать имя пользователя. Здесь же можно установить пароль на компьютер, если вам нужно сохранить свою личную информацию конфиденциальной.

В следующем окне необходимо прописать имя компьютера, которое затем можно использовать для идентификации машины в локальной сети.

В окне «Автоматическая защита» выберите пункт «Использовать рекомендуемые параметры» или отложите решение – настроить безопасность системы можно затем самостоятельно через «Панель управления».

Выберите часовой пояс и нажмите кнопку «Далее», чтобы перейти к финальному окну настройки Виндовс Виста.

Нажмите «Пуск» – на экране появится рабочий стол Vista. Теперь вы можете начинать работать непосредственно с системой, подключая оборудование и устанавливая нужное программное обеспечение.

Если у вас нет другого компьютера, имеющего доступ в интернет, то оправдано будет заранее записать на другой съемный накопитель драйверы для оборудования.

Сразу после установки Windows Vista вы не сможете выйти в интернет, так как сетевая карта с большой долей вероятности не определится системой корректно. Поэтому подготовьте программное обеспечение заблаговременно, чтобы потом не столкнуться с трудностями при подключении оборудования.