How do you install an operating system?
Put an installer for Windows or Linux on a USB stick, start the computer from it, and follow the steps on screen.
1. Make an installer stick
A new computer is like an empty house, and the operating system (OS), such as Windows, is what makes it ready to use. First, write the official installer to a USB stick with a USB-writing tool.
2. Start from the stick
At power-on, press a key such as F12 to open the boot menu (the start-up menu). Pick the USB stick, and the installer starts.
3. Split the disk, copy files
The installer splits the disk into parts called partitions, like rooms in a house. Then it copies in the operating system's files, like moving in furniture.
4. Add the drivers
Next, add drivers for graphics, Wi-Fi and other parts, like connecting the water and power. A device list marks any part still missing a driver.
5. Restore a clean copy
Labs save a copy of a finished install, called a disk image. Before a new round of tests they restore it, so every round moves into the same tidy house.
Words to know
- Operating system (OS)
- The main software that runs a computer, such as Windows or Linux.
- Boot menu
- A list at power-on where you pick what the computer starts from.
- Partition
- One separate part of a disk, like a room in a house.
- Driver
- Software that lets the operating system use one part of the computer.
- Disk image
- A saved copy of a whole disk that can be put back later.
Where you meet it at work
Most power tests for laptops and desktops run on Windows, and Linux adds free tools whose code anyone can read. Many labs also start the installer over the network, from a server they set up.
Check yourself
Why do labs restore a saved disk image before a new round of tests?Think first, then tap to see the answer.
So every round starts from the same clean state. Leftovers from old tests cannot change the results.