Windows 7 : Installing and Upgrading Programs - Installing and Upgrading from a Disk

1. Playing It Safe with Program Installations

Programs you buy in a store aren't likely to contain any malicious code such as viruses, worms, or spyware. Those things tend to be spread by e-mail attachments and free downloads from the Web. However, there's always an outside chance that the new program is incompatible with Windows 7 or a hardware device on your computer. So there may be times when you need to uninstall a program and then get all your system files back into shape to undo any changes made to your system by the new program.

Windows 7's System Protection greatly simplifies the task of getting things back in shape should a program installation or upgrade cause problems.

2. Updates versus Upgrades

Non-technical people often assume that updates and upgrades are the same thing. They aren't. An update is usually something you do online. There is nothing to buy at a store, no disk to insert in a disk drive. Updates are generally free, and often automatic (many programs scan for updates and offer them to you automatically). You don't have to make an effort to seek those out and install them.

Updates for some programs may not be quite so automatic. But you can often find out if any updates are available right from the program's Help menu. For example, in many Microsoft Office programs, you can choose Help => Check for Updates from the program's menu bar to see what free updates are available for that program. In Office 2007 programs, click the Office button in the upper-left corner of the program window, click the Options button at the bottom of the menu (Word Options, Excel Options, etc.), click Resources in the left pane of the Options dialog box, and then click Check for Updates in the right pane.

Unlike updates, upgrades are usually not free. You have to purchase them and install them. For example, let's say you have Microsoft Office XP or 2003 installed on a computer. You want to get Office 2007 on that computer. In that case, you'd seek out an Office 2007 Upgrade Edition (which is cheaper than the regular edition). Then you'd install that upgrade edition right over your existing version. In other words, you wouldn't uninstall (remove) your existing version first.

3. Installing and Upgrading from a Disk

Before we get started here, know that you must have administrative privileges to install a program. In other words, you need to know the password for an administrative account on your computer. If you have a limited user account and don't know the administrative password, you'll need to get an administrator to install the program for you.

Most programs that you purchase will be delivered on a CD or DVD disk. You should always follow the installation instructions that come with such a program. But just so you know what to expect, here's how the process usually works, once you have the CD (or DVD) in hand:

That's really all there is to it. You will be presented with some questions and options along the way. Exactly what you see varies from one program to the next, but some common items include the End User License Agreement (EULA), and choosing a folder in which to store the program, which I discuss in a moment.

If nothing happens within half a minute or so after inserting a program's installation CD into your computer's CD drive, you may need to start the installation program manually. Here's how:

That should be enough to get the installation program started. From there you can follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

The on-screen instructions and prompts you see during the installation will vary from one program to the next. The next section discusses some common things you're likely to come across when installing just about any program.