How to Install IBM SPSS Statistics on Windows

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How to Install IBM SPSS Statistics on Windows - Studica Support Tutorial with Instructions

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IBM SPSS Statistics is something Studica sells a lot of. Students, Faculty, and academic institutions heavily use the software for all sorts of classes; Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, and many other subjects. Most support requests I receive are for installation issues with SPSS Statistics. In this post, I will outline every step of the installation procedure so you can easily resolve your installation issues and get your software up and running. Note: This is for Windows installations only. However, the procedure for installation on a Mac is very similar. Read our article on help for common IBM SPSS Statistics 24 installation issues on a Mac. You can also visit the IBM SPSS Student Support Portal for help.

Pre-Installation & Pre-Purchase

Before you purchase the software, you should always double-check the System Requirements to make sure your computer and operating system can run the software. You should be running Windows 7 SP 1 or later. Most PC’s nowadays are running Windows 8 or Windows 10. If you have a relatively new PC, you should be fine. For information on how to determine which version of IBM SPSS Statistics is right for you, refer to our blog article.

Statistics requires at least 2 GB of Hard Drive space, 4 GB of RAM, and a 2 GHZ processor. These are the minimum specifications. If you have a computer that exceeds these specifications, then that is even better. Since most people don’t know much about computer hardware, the guideline I would use is if your computer was built within the last 5 – 8 years, you more than likely meet these minimum specifications. Fortunately, Statistics is not a hardware-intensive program. This makes it easy to run on almost any computer.

Instructions to Install IBM SPSS Statistics

Since Studica only sells SPSS Statistics version 24, these instructions are for version 24, specifically. Note: If you have an older version, these instructions are still the same. The only difference is the version number in some of the folders or file names. For example, instead of C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Statistics\24, the file path would be C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Statistics\23 – if you were working with version 23.

After you purchase the digital download from Studica, you will receive an email with your licensing information as well as download links. Take note of your authorization code because you will need it to activate the software.

  1. First, you need to download the software. Go here and scroll down to the Microsoft Windows Section. Under the “Required Downloads” section, click “IBM SPSS Statistics Client 24.0 Microsoft Windows Multilingual: 64-Bit” as outlined in a red box in the below screenshot.
    Install IBM SPSS 1Depending on your browser, you may receive a prompt that asks you what to do with the file. Choose to save the file. Save it to a directory on your computer. Usually, downloads default to C:\Users\username\Downloads. Let the file download. This could take a while depending on your internet connection. To make sure your download does not get corrupted, it is recommended that you use a hard-wired internet connection to download the software. If you have reliable and fast wi-fi, then you should be fine. If your wi-fi is prone to disconnects, then I highly recommend plugging your computer into the internet directly.
  2. Once the file is done downloading, find it in the folder you saved it to. Usually, the default download location is C:\Users\username\Downloads where username is the username you use to sign into the computer. Inside the folder, you will see a file named “SPSS_Satistics_24_win64”. Right-click on this file and choose “Run as Administrator”.
    Install IBM SPSS - Run as Administrator
  3. If you are asked for permission to run the software, click “Yes”.
  4. The installer will take a moment to initialize. Once it’s booted up, click “Next”.
    IBM SPSS InstallShield Wizard
  5. Choose “I accept the license agreement” and click “Next”.
    IBM SPSS InstallShield Wizard 2
  6. Leave the Python Essentials option on “Yes” and click “Next”.
    Install IBM SPSS Python Essentials
  7. Choose “I accept the license agreement” and click “Next”.
    Install IBM SPSS License Agreement
  8. Then choose “I accept the License Agreement” and click “Next”.
    Install IBM SPSS License Agreement 2
  9. Leave the program file path on the default setting unless you need to use a different directory. Most users will not need to change this path. The default path on my Windows 10 computer is in the screenshot below. Click “Next”.
    IBM SPSS Installation
  10. Lastly, click “Install”.
    Install Time
  11. At this point, the software will begin the process of installation. Depending on your computer, this could go quickly or slowly. There is no predicted timeframe for how long it will take. Just be patient with it and let it finish.
  12. Once it’s done installing, you’ll see an installation complete window. Uncheck the “Start IBM SPSS Statistics Now” box and then click “finish”.

  13. Now, you need to activate the software. Go to your start menu and type “SPSS Statistics 24 License” and you’ll see the “IBM SPSS Statistics 24 License Authorization Wizard” application. Right-click this application and choose “run as administrator”. NOTE: You need an internet connection to activate the product.
    Activate IBM SPSS
  14. On the window that comes up, click “Next”.
    IBM SPSS Licensing
  15. On the next window, click “Next” again.
    IBM SPSS Authorization
  16. You will be asked for your authorization code. Your authorization code is a 20-character code that you should have received from Studica. It is a mixture of numbers and letters. If you do not have your code go to studica.com. Click the “Log In” button at the top right of the page.
    Studica Account Log inLog in with your account information on the next page. Once you’re logged in, click the “My Downloads” button near the top of the page.
    Studica My DownloadsOn this page, you will see your Statistics product listed. There will be a Product Key section. Your authorization code will be listed here. Copy this code. NOTE: If you purchased a physical copy, your authorization code will be somewhere on or inside your package.
  17. Copy and paste your authorization code into the white text box in the license authorization wizard and then click “Next”.
    IBM SPSS License Authorization Code
  18. After clicking next, the software will activate. If everything went well, it will tell you that it was successful. It is possible that you may run into errors at this point. If you run into problems at this point, those who purchased the software at Studica can contact our support team at [email protected] and we will help you troubleshoot the problem.
  19. At this point, your software is installed, activated, and ready to use. The last thing to do is make sure you have an icon to access the software from. In Windows 8 and 10, I’ve found a common error where the program icon is not being placed on the desktop.
  20. Go to your start menu and type “Statistics”. Right-click on the SPSS Statistics 24 application. On this menu, you can either pin to start or pin to taskbar. If you pin to start, it will put the statistics application in your start menu so you can access it by opening your start menu and choosing the Statistics application. If you pin to taskbar, it will put the statistics icon across the bottom of your computer where many of your other programs are listed. Lastly, if you want a desktop icon, choose the “Open File Location” option. Right-click the “IBM SPSS Statistics 24” file and choose “Send to” → Desktop
    IBM SPSS Shortcut
    That will create a desktop shortcut for the program.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has helped guide you through the installation and activation of your statistics product. As I stated above, if you have any issues with your installation that you cannot resolve, contact us at [email protected]. We will do our best to troubleshoot your problem. Note: Studica only provides support to customers who have purchased the product through Studica.

Visit Studica’s blog for other helpful articles on IBM SPSS Statistics such as how to fix missing tools bars, etc.

Good luck on your homework!

Blogger: Mark Philipp, Application Engineer at Studica

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