Installing R

Installing R on a Windows PC

To install R on your Windows computer, follow these steps:

1. Go to http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/cran.r-project.org.
2. Under “Download and Install R”, click on the “Windows” link.
3. Under “Subdirectories”, click on the “base” link.
4. On the next page, you should see a link saying something like “Download R 2.10.1 for Windows” (or R X.X.X, where X.X.X gives the version of R, eg. R 2.11.1). Click on this link.
5. You may be asked if you want to save or run a file “R-2.10.1-win32.exe”. Choose “Save” and save the file on the Desktop. Then double-click on the icon for the file to run it.
6. You will be asked what language to install it in - choose English.
7. The R Setup Wizard will appear in a window. Click “Next” at the bottom of the R Setup wizard window.
8. The next page says “Information” at the top. Click “Next” again.
9. The next page says “Information” at the top. Click “Next” again.
10. The next page says “Select Destination Location” at the top. By default, it will suggest to install R in “C:\Program Files” on your computer.
11. Click “Next” at the bottom of the R Setup wizard window.
12. The next page says “Select components” at the top. Click “Next” again.
13. The next page says “Startup options” at the top. Click “Next” again.
14. The next page says “Select start menu folder” at the top. Click “Next” again.
15. The next page says “Select additional tasks” at the top. Click “Next” again.
16. R should now be installed. This will take about a minute. When R has finished, you will see “Completing the R for Windows Setup Wizard” appear. Click “Finish”.
17. To start R, you can either follow step 18, or 19:
18. Check if there is an “R” icon on the desktop of the computer that you are using. If so, double-click on the “R” icon to start R. If you cannot find an “R” icon, try step 19 instead.
19. Click on the “Start” button at the bottom left of your computer screen, and then choose “All programs”, and start R by selecting “R” (or R X.X.X, where X.X.X gives the version of R, eg. R 2.10.0) from the menu of programs.
20. The R console (a rectangle) should pop up: