Locked Get Windows 7 running on modern hardware

[k3nstr]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, was referred here by someone in a Windows modding discord. I want to get Windows 7 running on my modern PC, however I feel like I've exhausted all efforts and workarounds I have learned and did research on. I have a Windows 7 ISO from this thread. It has universal USB 3.0 drivers, NVMe drivers, and WLAN drivers, as well as saying it's UEFI-ready. I used Rufus to make a UEFI bootable USB, and proceeded to try and install Windows 7. However, I once successfully installed it in UEFI mode, however the OS refused to boot up, being stuck on "Starting Windows".

I reset, installed Windows 10 to make a MBR version of the bootable USB, then restarted, turned on CSM and Legacy Boot. Booted into the installer, used diskpart to convert drive to MBR, reformatted it once more, and tried to install. Got an error (forgot the code) and couldn't proceed.

I reset once more, converted my OS disk to GPT, installed Windows 10 again, to make a UEFI version of the bootable USB again, and then installed UEFISeven's bootx64.efi. Restarted again to boot into installer, hung on "Starting Windows". At this point, I gave up, and installed Linux...

However, I want to get back into the groove and try installing Windows 7 again. If there are threads stating how to do this already, please point me in the right direction - I wish to not have another duplicate help request on installing Windows 7 on modern hardware, lol.

Do note, the drive I tried to install Windows 7 on is a SATA SSD. Secure Boot is disabled, as well as TPM, if those matter.

Specifications for context:

Asus Prime X570-P motherboard, has UEFI and Legacy modes
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
32 GB DDR4-3600 RAM
Kingston A400 240GB SATA SSD (drive I use for my OS)
Samsung Evo 970 Plus 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD (used for games)
Inland Premium 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD (used for games)

Please let me know if yalls need more information on my system, or anything else. Thanks!

 

[juanamm]

@k3nstr, we will all ask you why you want to use W7 on a modern PC, but you will have your reasons, I would not.

Ryzen chips do not officially support Windows 7. So you have to download a sometimes sketchy custom Medicines. You need to update to a newer OS for many reason. No reason for AMD or Intel to support a OS that should not be used in modern day by the majority of people.

If you have more doubts I would advise you to evacuate them in the thread where you have downloaded the OS.

I hope I've helped.

 

[ki_2004]

I am not an expert but just a few comments.
The ISO you downloaded certainly includes USB 3, and other such drivers. However UEFI uses a different protocol for graphics called GOP for which Windows 7 does not have any native drivers. Hence Windows 7 install on modern HW fails.
Give a try with a tool called UEFI Seven that simulates VGA BIOS, available on github. Search yourself and see if that works for you.
Other than that win-raid forum might be a good place to explore certain drivers that might work with your system. Give it a try.
However even if you do succeed you will not have a great experience due to lack of good drivers for graphics/chipset & networking

 

[Cumulonimbus]

Just use VirtualBox or VMware

 

[DGrigorescu]

I have an old laptop. With LTSC, Start Is Back and OldNewEcplorer I have the same experience and feeling that I have wih 7. In fact much better!

LE: As far as I know you have to use old versions for many apps, including browsers. Recently a friend told me: "I am on windows 7 with Chrome and YouTube is not working anymore - too old browser". So I installed LTSC and guess what? Works faster and better than with 7. There may be wirkarounds for some problems, including YouTube but... come on!

 

[YvoSu]

Hi k3nstr
I can only advise you the same as "Astro". I myself have installed Linux Mint 20.3 as the main system and a virtual machine in it. There is a Briton at YT (ExplainingComputers), who explains this in I think 17 min. I have copied everything 1:1 and it worked right away. Other advantages are: VPN tunnel and Mac address changer and Redshift, which I start in Mint, also work in Windows 7.
BRGDS

 

[Cypher007]

Come to Windows 11 buddy, it's good to use latest. You can use TeamOS' lite builds to achieve more performance.

 

[Chuck]

If you want to use an old OS then buy an old computer to run it on.

 

[mhuynh1031]

@k3nstr, we will all ask you why you want to use W7 on a modern PC, but you will have your reasons, I would not.

Ryzen chips do not officially support Windows 7. So you have to download a sometimes sketchy custom Medicines. You need to update to a newer OS for many reason. No reason for AMD or Intel to support a OS that should not be used in modern day by the majority of people.

If you have more doubts I would advise you to evacuate them in the thread where you have downloaded the OS.

I hope I've helped.

I completely agree. Like most windows compatiblity problem, its usually a driver issue. Running old software on modern hardware is generally not a good idea. If you really want to run some legacy programs, id suggest running a virtual machine like vmware. Windows 10 is the most stable, but Windows 11 does has its benefits. I'm currently on Windows 11, and everything seems to be working fine.

 

[gopy1]

ya ! I had read all comments of this thread and agreed by all ... & i have also search the board u have mansioned i.e `Asus Prime X570-P` .. It doesn`t support drivers for windows 7 .. if somewho u seceded in nstalling windows 7 .. there i no driver i.e no sound ,no lan ,no wifi drivers .. .. know it`s ur choice to install .. this board is only meantfor newly windows .... Sorry for bad english .. and explanation .. Enyone [Plz correct me if i m wrong ..
Anyways good luck ...

 

[Cumulonimbus]

Like I said, if for some weird reason you want to run 7, do it in a VM. Best bet is to run the newest/full version of 11.