How to install software

Updated: 04/12/2021 past Computer Hope

Microsoft Excel

The installation procedure for software or apps depends on your operating system (Windows and macOS), device (computer, smartphone, or tablet), and the program you are installing. As a event of these many combinations, we have created the steps below as a general guideline. The post-obit does not cover errors during the installation process, equally they are too vast for 1 page. Search our site for further data on specific errors during the setup.

General tips

  • Brand sure your computer meets the arrangement requirements of the program, game, or utility you are attempting to install.
  • The manual, or a README file, ordinarily contains instructions on how to install a program. Find it online at the software website or in a text file in the same directory every bit the installation files.
  • If you have problems installing software, or it takes a long time, shut or disable any other running programs.
  • Later installing a new program, if information technology prompts you to reboot the computer, do so.

Microsoft Windows users

How to install from a CD or DVD

Many software titles (like the Microsoft Office suite), games, and utilities take an AutoPlay feature. This characteristic automatically starts a setup screen for the software when the CD or DVD is inserted. If your program contains this feature, follow the steps that appear subsequently inserting the disc into the computer.

If AutoPlay is disabled on your computer or unavailable on the software disc, follow these steps.

  1. Open My Computer.
  2. In the My Figurer window, open up the drive containing the installation files. For example, if the files are on the CD-ROM drive, open the D: drive or letter of your CD-ROM drive.
  3. In the bulldoze containing your files, locate either the executable setup (e.k., "setup.exe") or install file. Double-clicking this file starts the installation process. If there are multiple setup or install files, locate the executable file or double-click each setup or install file until you find the file that starts the installation.

Tip

Many times the icons associated with the installation files have the same name.

Install a CD on a computer with no disc drive

Many new computers no longer have disc drives. If your reckoner does not have a disc bulldoze, effort finding the software online. Estimator drivers, software for hardware devices, games, and other programs are available for download and installed from a download. If you take the product central, it doesn't thing where you get the plan.

If the programme is not available for download, copy all the CD or DVD contents to another bulldoze on another computer. For example, yous could copy the disc's contents to a USB flash bulldoze so install the program from the USB flash drive.

How to install from a Download

  1. Download the program from the website providing the plan.
  2. Open the download binder.
  • Where are the files I downloaded using my spider web browser?
  1. If the file you downloaded is executable, double-click the file icon to start the setup process. If the downloaded file is compressed (e.g., .zip), you must excerpt the file'south contents before setup can begin. Fortunately, this function is built into most versions of Windows.
  • How to extract or decompress a compressed file.
  1. In one case the files are extracted, double-click the setup or install file to install the programme.

How to install from a USB flash drive

  1. Open Windows Explorer or My Computer and observe the USB bulldoze that is oftentimes the last drive alphabetic character.
  2. One time the bulldoze is opened, notice the setup or executable file, and double-click the file icon to beginning the setup process.

Installing from MS-DOS or the Windows command line

Users installing a program from Microsoft DOS should have a basic agreement of the MS-DOS commands. If you're unfamiliar with any of the commands listed below, click the link to get additional information on that specific control.

  1. Before installing an MS-DOS program, you must switch to the drive or directory containing the installation files. If you're installing a program from a CD or diskette, switch to that drive. If the installation files are located in a dissimilar directory, employ the dir command to list directories and the cd command to switch directories.
  • How to alter drives in MS-DOS and Windows control line.
  1. Once you are in the directory or drive containing the installation files, run the executable setup file. Many times this can be done by typing setup or install at the prompt to start the installation. If both of these commands requite a bad control or file name error bulletin, type dir *.exe or dir *.com or dir *.bat. These commands list any executable files institute in the directory or drive. If any files are listed, execute these files to run the installation or setup of the program. If no files are listed when typing all three of the commands above, you lot're in the wrong directory or bulldoze letter for that program.
  • How practice I run a file from MS-DOS?

How to install on a Mac

Modern Apple computers, like the iMac and MacBook, don't have CD-ROM or DVD drives. Consequently, the following section shows you how to install from a download.

How to install from a download

  1. Click the Finder icon on the Dock at the bottom of the screen.

Finder icon in the dock

  1. On the left side of the window that appears, under the Favorites section, click the Downloads selector in macOS. selector.
  2. Locate the program you'd similar to install and double-click it.

Downloads on a Mac

  1. Follow the guided instructions to install the program.
  2. One time the program is installed, drag it to the Applications folder and delete the installation file (in this example, FileZilla_3.49_macosx-x86.app.tar.bz2).

Moving a program to the Applications folder.

  1. Click the Applications selector selector to run across the program you lot installed.

Applications in macOS