How to Install a Windows 7 Language Pack

Written by: Mark Muller • Edited by: Rebecca Scudder
Updated May 20, 2011 • Related Guides: Windows 7 | Windows Update

Here you find the information to successfully install a Windows 7 Language Pack on Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise. This Bright Hub article will additionally give info on available Windows 7 Language Packs together with their base language information in case of partially localized language packs.

Before you set off to install a Language Pack on Windows 7, you must make sure that your Windows 7 edition is Ultimate or Enterprise if you want to install any of the languages listed below. (If the language you are looking for isn’t listed there then you will probably find it in the second part of this series where we show how to install Language Interface Packs, which do not require Ultimate or Enterprise Windows 7)

Which edition of Windows 7 do I have?

To find out which version of Windows 7 you have go to Start Search and type msinfo32. In the right pane of System Information / System Summary you will find the information as the first entry.

List of Windows 7 Language Packs:

Language Packs for Windows 7 as of 20 May 2011:

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese (Simplified)

Chinese (Traditional)

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Estonian

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Lativian

Lithuanian

Norwegian

Polish

Portuguese (Brazil)

Portuguese (Portugal)

Romanian

Russian

Serbian (Latin)

Slovak

Slovenian

Swedish

Thai

Turkish

Ukrainian

Example LP Deployments [1]

Partially translated Windows 7 languages packs display “The Remaining UI”, that part of Windows 7 which most users won’t ever see, in a base language. Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish are fully localized and thus have no base language.

More information about the extent of localization (EOL) and the difference between Language Packs and Interface Packs can be found in our articles Understanding Windows 7 Language Packs: Introduction and Architecture and Windows 7 Language Packs Details and Availability.

Windows 7 Language Pack Installation

1. Start -> All Programs --> Windows Update --> Optional Updates.

2. Open optional Updates and go to the section Windows 7 Language Packs. The process is depicted on a RC Windows 7 so please ignore any references to Release Candidate.

3. Tick the Language Pack you want and hit OK

4. Proceed with Install Updates

5. Depiction of Windows 7 downloading a Language Pack

6. Automatic install initiated after download

Change the display language as explained in the next section