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11 October 2023  John Weaver  Senior Program Developer
 

Summary
Learn how to install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive. Even though Microsoft has stopped support, this guide is perfect for those who still want it.



Table of contents

table iconI. How to install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive?
table iconII. Windows 7 Backup and Restore with Renee Becca?
install windows 7 from usb

I. How to install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive?

Generally speaking, if you have a Windows 7 installation CD, you can install the system from the CD. If you don’t have an installation CD, you can also install Windows 7 by creating a USB bootable disk (including an ISO system image file). The specific steps will be described below.

Phase 1: Create a bootable USB drive (contains the ISO system image file)

① Download the Windows 7 ISO system image file from the Internet, and then download the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool software. The two can no longer be downloaded from the Microsoft official website, and need to be downloaded through a third-party website.
② Install and run Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, select the Windows 7 ISO file in (Source file), and click (Next).
Windows USB/DVD Download Tool select iso file
③ Select the media type, here select (USB device).
Windows USB/DVD Download Tool select media type
④ Connect a blank USB device (capacity greater than 4GB) to the computer, click (Refresh) and then click (Begin copying) to start making a USB boot disk. Note: If the USB device contains personal files, please back up the contents inside before making a boot disk.
Make a Windows 7 USB Boot Disk

Phase 2: Turn on the target computer, enter the BIOS to change the boot order

① Connect the prepared USB boot disk to the computer where Windows 7 needs to be installed. Turn on the computer, and when the screen appears, click F2 or DEL or ESC to enter the BIOS. The shortcut keys vary with computer brands, and you can also check How to Enter BIOS and Modify Boot Order .
② After entering the BIOS, switch to the Boot tab and set the USB boot disk as the first boot item. Here you can use the up and down arrows to select (Removable Devices), use the (+/-) sign to change its position, move it to the top position, and finally click (F10) to save and exit the BIOS.
Change the BIOS boot order

Phase 3: Start Windows 7 installation

① Keep the USB boot disk connected to the computer, restart the target computer, and then there will be a prompt “Press any key to boot from CD/DVD…”, please press any key, and then Windows 7 will be loaded from the USB boot disk.
② After loading, the Windows installation interface will appear. Please select the language, time, and keyboard that Windows 7 needs to install, and then click (Next).
select the language
③ Click (Install Now) to start the installation process. When the license terms interface appears, please check (I accept the license terms) and click (Next).
install now Windows 7
④ When the “Which type of installation do you want?” interface appears, please select (Custom (Advanced)).
type of installation of Windows 7
⑤ In the “Where do you want to install Windows” interface, select the partition where you want to install Windows 7. If you want to reinstall the system, you need to format the main partition, and then click (Next).
disk to install Windows 7
⑥ After that, just wait for the Windows installation to complete, and then you need to set the user account and password, time zone, network, etc.
installing Windows 7
The above is the conventional method of installing Windows 7 from USB. In fact, you can also achieve the purpose of installing Windows 7 by restoring the Windows 7 system backup on other computers to the target computer. The following is a specific introduction.

II. Windows 7 Backup and Restore with Renee Becca?

Note: This method requires the motherboards, CPUs and other hardware of the two computers to be of the same brand. If the system is backed up from a computer with an Intel CPU, it cannot be restored to a computer with an AMD CPU.

1. What is Renee Becca?

Renee Becca is a tool specially used for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It can help you back up and restore important data in your computer, such as programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents, bookmarks, etc. It adopts the leading incremental/differential backup technology, which can save you more time and disk space. In addition to supporting system backup, it also supports system migration, partition backup, hard disk backup, file backup, and disk cloning to meet your different needs.
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Fullfill different backup needs Backup for disk, partition and system. Save disk space by backing up incremental /differential data.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

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2. How to use Renee Becca for Windows 7 Backup and Restore

Steps to create a Windows 7 system backup:
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Becca on a computer that has installed and activated Windows 7, and select the (System Backup) option in the main interface (Backup) column.
how to reinstall windows 10 with renee becca
Step 2: Next, select the source file (device) and the destination. The source file (device) generally selects the system partition by default, and the destination can choose the location where you want to save the system backup. If you want to restore the Windows 7 system to other computers, you can save the system backup on an external hard disk.
back up system with renee becca
Step 3: After all the settings are completed, click (Backup) and wait for the system backup to complete. You can view the backup progress in the (Task) bar.
how to reinstall windows 10 with renee becca
Steps to restore backed up Windows 7 to target computer:
Step 1: Run Renee Becca, switch to (Task) in the function bar at the top of the interface, and then select the (Rescue CD) option.
create rescue disc
Step 2: Select the type of rescue disk to be created. Please select according to your disk and computer conditions. After the selection is completed, connect a blank CD or U disk to the computer, and click (Next) to create a startup disk.
types-of-rescue-CD
Step 3: Connect the boot disk (CD/U disk) and the external hard disk that saved the system backup file to the computer where you need to restore the system, and press the shortcut key when turning on the computer enter into BIOS interface, change the boot preference to USB/CD boot disk. Take the following BIOS interface as an example, if you want to boot from a CD, please select (CD-ROM Drive), if you want to boot from a USB flash drive, please select (Removable Devices).
Change bios startup items
Step 4: After successful startup, select the backup version and target location you need to restore in the window, and check the (Make the target disk bootable) option at the same time. Finally, click the (Recovery) button to start the system restore command.
recover-system-from-backup-files