How to perform a flat installation of Windows Vista

This article contains step-by-step instructions for installing Windows Vista from a hard disk. This technique is called a flat installation. A flat installation is an alternative to an installation that uses the Windows Vista installation CD or DVD.

A flat installation may help resolve problems that occur when you install Windows Vista. For example, a flat installation provides the following benefits:

• A flat installation verifies that all files are successfully copied before the installation starts.
• A flat installation avoids problems that are related to the CD drive or to the DVD drive.

To perform a flat installation of Windows Vista, follow these steps.

Note The hard disk must have at least 3GB of free disk space for Windows Vista installation files. The hard disk must have at least 15 GB of additional free disk space to install Windows Vista. For more information about the system requirements for Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

1. Insert the Windows Vista installation disk.
2. Start Windows Explorer.
3. In Windows Explorer, click to select the drive for the Windows Vista installation disk.
4. In the Edit menu, click Select All.
5. In the Edit menu, click Copy.
6. Click to select the hard drive that you want to contain the flat installation files.
7. In the File menu, point to New, click Folder, type Windows Vista Setup, and then press ENTER.
8. Double-click Windows Vista Setup, and then click Paste in the Edit menu.
9. Double-click Setup.exe, and then follow the instructions that appear.