My neighbor just bought a Windows 7 laptop. He's from Mexico originally, and he wants to switch it over to use Spanish. Before I even helped him, he was able to switch it over to use a Spanish keyboard, date time format, etc. Internet Explorer defaults to the Spanish version of Google and Bing so it recognizes the system locale as Mexico.
What doesn't happen is the display language change to Spanish. All the menus are English, Start Menu entries are English, and all messages are English.
From what I can tell you have to have Windows 7 Ultimate or Enterprise to use a true multi-lingual interface. It would appear that those versions allow you to download new language packs through Windows Update. Unfortunately he has Windows 7 Home Premium on the laptop.
I saw some references to downloading a LIP(?) (language interface pack) in the Windows 7 help. I followed the links to Microsoft's language site, and it only listed downloads for Windows XP Tablet Edition.
From what I read Windows 7 works similarly to the way Windows Vista does, but I've never tried changing the display language on Windows Vista either.
Where can I legally get a Spanish language download for Windows 7? I found places where I could download a pirated copy of the full MUI for Windows 7, but I'm not willing to go that route.
Is my neighbor just out of luck? Does he need to buy a laptop in Mexico in order to get one he can use?
Best Answer
Officially you can change the language pack in Windows 7 Home and Professional (you have to pay some $$ to Bill Gates).
But some people found a hack for this. You can have a look in Change MUI language pack in Windows 7 Home and Professional .