1. Install Windows 7 from an original disk image or DVD
2. Right click on the desktop > Screen resolution
3. Right click on the desktop > Personalize > Change desktop icons
4. Open Control Panel > Taskbar and Start Menu and set options
5. Open Control Panel > System > Advanced Settings and set Computer description and Workgroup under Computer Name
6. Open Control Panel > Folder Options and set options
7. Open Control Panel > AutoPlay and set options
8. Run Control Panel > Windows Update and install all important and recommended updates. Do not install any hardware updates. Disable automatic updates so Windows Update does not run after system startup. You can enable this later if you wish, after following the rest of this guide.
9. Install System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821)
10. Install Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932). After clicking the download link, you need to download file windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe and run it to install Service Pack 1.
11. Reboot, then install Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3102810). This updates Windows Update and fixes the extremely slow windows update response times.
12. Reboot, then start Windows Update from the Control Panel. Reboot and repeat until all important and recommended updates are copied to your system.
13. Enable hibernation:

powercfg.exe /hibernate on