Can I change the language of the O/S?

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My partner and I purchased an ASUS ul30a here in Germany. I set up the computer’s O/S for German as that is what he requested I do however I am not very fluent in German, especially technical German. I would love to be able to switch back and forth in English or German. Am I asking too much? The ASUS has the Home Premium version.

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Welcome to the Lounge!

I have been using various German versions of Windows (7, Vista & XP) for the last year or so. As far as I can see, it is not possible to switch the Operating System language (without installing an English language version).

You can load & run various English language programs without any issue, but the underlying interface remains German.

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Would this allow you to change the language of your OS?

1. Fire up your control panel

2. Choose “Region and Language”

3. You can choose the region using the “Region” Tab

4. Choose the “Language’ tab to install and change the language

5. Default is english (UNITED STATES)

you should be able to change the language back and forth from this location.

You will need your installation media to install the new language.

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You need Windows 7 Ultimate edition to be able to switch between languages, that version has 35 languages that you can choose. From Windows 7: Compare Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate

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OK, that’s why I see it on my ultimate edition. I did not check my wife’s HP edition, sorry!

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Barbara:

I may be wrong but, I seem to remeber that when I first installed Windows 7 Home Premium, it asked what language to install and then there was a blurb that said something to the effect that you would not be able to go back and install another language because once you selected, it erased the other language files. Hope I’m wrong.

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Barbara:

I may be wrong but, I seem to remeber that when I first installed Windows 7 Home Premium, it asked what language to install and then there was a blurb that said something to the effect that you would not be able to go back and install another language because once you selected, it erased the other language files. Hope I’m wrong.

You are correct, Gusporter. I did indeed see that warning when I made the choice to install the German variety of the O/S. However I have learned over time that “no” doesn’t always mean “never”. So I thought I’d ask here.

I also wondered about the “Region and Languages” I saw in Control Panel. I did look into that selection and there was an ‘deinstall’ which I hesitated to use until I found out more.

I do not have the Ultimate version of Win 7, however, what would it take to upgrade to Ultimate? The purchase of a downloadable upgrade from Microsoft? Purchase of a disc? What kind of cost and where would one go if this is possible. What else does one get with an Ultimate version of Win 7.

Sorry, I am asking a lot of different and off topic question here. Should I start a new thread, you think?

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…..Sorry, I am asking a lot of different and off topic question here. Should I start a new thread, you think?

If you’ve got other things in mind about switching to Ultimate, then it probably would be best to start a new thread.

If you just want to follow through on dealing with – shall we call it “thinking in English while using a German-based computer”? – then it could be simpler to stick with the thread as it is.

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I do not have the Ultimate version of Win 7, however, what would it take to upgrade to Ultimate? The purchase of a downloadable upgrade from Microsoft? Purchase of a disc? What kind of cost and where would one go if this is possible. What else does one get with an Ultimate version of Win 7.

Upgrading to the Ultimate version is quite easy. Click on the start button, and in the search box type anytime, that will show a program called Windows Anytime Upgrade. If you run that program it will give you the option of going online to upgrade to Windows Ultimate, also giving details about the extra features available.

The upgrade will unlock the features of the Ultimate edition, the Windows 7 installation DVD contains all of the features in all versions of Windows 7, the upgrade will give you a product key that unlocks the extra features of Windows 7 Ultimate.

The Windows 7 site shows the additional features found in different versions of Windows 7.

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