I'd like to be able to read both Japanese and Chinese characters and I'm pretty stupid when it comes to Windows so I thought I'd ask...

If I figure out how to load these packages (which I'm pretty sure I just have to put in my Windows disc and select the languages I want), will they override the English default or will it just allow me to see and write kanji and such?

I apologize if that's a stupid question, but I'd hate to load it and then be unable to figure out how to undo it.

Windows XP I assume? If you mean the "install east asian languages" option, then it doesn't overwrite anything. If you're talking about changing the "language for non-unicode programs" option, then that has some side effects.

Windows 7 should have the languages installed by default, I think.

It doesn't seem to - Win 7 that is. I'm running XP on my desktops and 7 on the laptops... and there are a few signatures on the forums that still come up as squares on both and I haven't ever seen a Japanese or Chinese character. Is it preloaded but not installed I wonder?

I'm still new to 7 and I've had some trouble finding things so I'll keep looking.

Huh... try installing the updates for Win7, maybe it's included in one of them. I'm pretty sure I didn't have to install anything extra like in XP, but I always download the updates.

I'll give that a go. Thanks bunches, Narmy!

Seeing as how only The Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 are MUI (Multilingual User Interface), you don't need to worry about language packs having a negative effect on your computer use. In fact, the only way I know to activate a second language in other editions of Windows is through the non-unicode options (which as Narmy mentions will have side-effects, as it'll effect all applicable applications, I have a few applications in Japanese because of this, thankfully I know how to navigate UIs and websites based on UI design that's generally good enough to help me through ).

If you need to write out the characters, you need an IME. Windows since XP includes a basic IME (which will be usable after switching your nonunicode settings, don't think there's a way to force it to appear before then). There's also third-party ones like http://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/, which is incredibly useful for when typing popular anime character names

I think you can enable the IME through the keyboard input options, without changing non-unicode language.

The Google Japanese IME is the best IME I've used and I'd definitely recommend it.

go to regional settings, keyboard and language settings, modify keyboard. added the keyboard you need. For Japanese, there's only one keyboard layout. For Chinese, you want PRC Chinese and QuanPin. then you can just right click the language bar to adjust its settings for each language.

If all you need is read, then you need only the language packs.

Awesome! Thanks ya'll!