Question Need Windows 7 capable motherboard for new build; don’t like Windows 10

echolane

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I have a working dual boot Windows 7 / Windows 10 desktop, but the mb has intermittent problems and i need to build a new desktop computer. I really don’t like Windows 10 so I thought I could just buy a new mb and reinstall my licensed copy of Windows 7 64 Pro. I’ve discovered there are no motherboards that can run Windows 7. Ouch! Is there still a way to go forward with Win 7?
One piece of advice I’ve gotten is to find another copy to buy of my current mb (Intel® Desktop Board DZ87KLT-75K), and if the BIOS & CPU are the same I can just move everything over, plug it in, boot up and I’m done. But I have not been able to find my mother board for sale anywhere.
What else can I do to run Win 7 on a newer mb?
 
Depends on exact CPU you have but most MBs with LGA 1150 socket would do, for further compatibility to also have z 87 chipset. W7 should keep on going and will probably have to change a driver or two.
As far as W7 licensing is concerned, if you have retail version all you might have to do is to renter license and if not might have to contact MS to fix the license for you if you say that had to change MB because it broke down.
There are newer systems that can run W7 but drivers are getting scarce and on newest systems W10 has decidedly better performance.
Whether you like an OS or dislike it is for kids to like or dislike carrots or spinach, not for grown up people.
 

echolane

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Carrots and spinach? Lol. I’m 80 yo and figure this is my last build. Why not have something I prefer and am familiar with. Barely use it anyway, now spend 90% or more on iPad. Just need decent speed, reliable performance for some legacy software and music system with Roon. Present mb, Intel DZ87KLT-75K Core i7, is more than adequate.

But you’ve helped and thanks. I will expand my search to look for socket LGA 1150.
 

Math Geek

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i have an MSI z97 gaming 5 and it runs win 7 fine. there are a ton of options but they are getting scarce and prices are going up.

an open box or refurb is likely the best bet for a decent price on a LGA1150 board.

and i fully agree with you. i hate win 10 and won't be using it. my next build will be a linux machine unless i can find a set-up with the ryzen 3000 series that works with win 7. it's so terrible since so many people have the attitude like above. "you're just stuck with it, so like it and love it like you're supposed to" pooh on that :p
 

echolane

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I don’t like Windows 10, but I don’t like Microsoft’s pushy insistence that we adopt it either. I hated it right off when I couldn’t get rid of the stock browser. I tried to delete it and it just popped up again like some monster in a horror movie. The desktop looks almost like a webpage with ads on it. Too busy, and worthless from my point of view.

Appreciate the tips. I’ll look up the MSI Z97 board you are using.

I can always buy a refurbished Dell or something similar for around $300. That’d probably be the smartest thing to do, but a real let down not to have my own build.
 
why would you stick with an insecure OS? i liked windows XP but i don't go back to it because of how insecure it is. you would be better off getting a modern PC with a modern CPU and find a linux distro that has the look and feel of classic windows.

the last thing the world needs needs is another zombie PC
 

echolane

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why would you stick with an insecure OS? i liked windows XP but i don't go back to it because of how insecure it is. you would be better off getting a modern PC with a modern CPU and find a linux distro that has the look and feel of classic windows.

the last thing the world needs needs is another zombie PC

Ok, gotta ask a hopefully not too ignorant question - what is a “Linux distro with the look and feel of classic Windows? “ Main other thing I need in a computer is network capability. I have a Sonic Transporter fitted with Roon and holding ripped CDs to stream and I have a Naim product that is much the same so I need network support between them and two computers.
 

Karadjgne

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Windows 7 will work on anything in the lga115x series. That's not the problem. The problem is supply. Decent Lga1156/1155 motherboards are getting scarce, most are the uber cheap pre-built boards and then you are stuck for dismal performance on a cut rate board with little or no driver support. Lga1150 is a much better prospect, there's a good supply of used boards out there from ppl upgrading finally to 8th/9th gen cpus. There's even the odd NIB if you look long enough. Lga1151v1 (skylake/kabylake) offers the widest selection, even new retail.

What's so insecure about XP? It's probably considerably more secure now than win10, there isn't a hacker on the planet bothering to try and exploit XP as nobody uses it.. It's biggest issue is its 32bit for the most part, availability of Longhorn is slim at best.
 

gn842a

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As far as W7 licensing is concerned, if you have retail version all you might have to do is to renter license and if not might have to contact MS to fix the license for you if you say that had to change MB because it broke down.

I tried doing this a couple of weeks ago and all I got was a robot that hung up on me when I couldn't cough up the numbers it wanted. Maybe it was the wrong number, or the wrong number, or both.

I wouldn't plan on using the old key. You might be able to get a new key on ebay for as little as three or four bucks. I got one for win 8.1 but I have no idea if it works. The reason being that Win 10 install started working so I abandoned my plans to try to go back to win 8.1.

Greg N
 

gn842a

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Personally I prefer win 8..1 to all of them: Win 7, Win 10, and certainly Win XP. Win 8.1 was the best microsoft system I ever used.

All that said: I've been using desktops for decades and I've learned that sooner or later you have to adapt to the newer options out there. Sometimes you need the new OS to have the improved hardware. These past couple of weeks I have done a lot of things to Win 10 to make it more amenable. I got it to stop looking up stuff on the internet with the search bar. I shut off Cortana. I don't use Edge but I tolerate it as a tertiary browser in case I need it.

The file search utility on Win 10 seems pretty pathetic but I am doing OK, least for now, with DocFetcher.

The truth is I was perfectly happy with DOS. And I very much liked writing with programs where you used a markup language (I used SCRIBE). But all that was many moons ago.

Anyhow I don't really like Win 10 and I will say it was the most UNPLEASANT instllation I ever did, not just because I had to do it multiple times, but because you are actively working in opposition to what the program is trying to make you do (sign up for an account, open all your addressbooks to microsoft, blah blah blah).

Greg N
 
What's so insecure about XP? It's probably considerably more secure now than win10, there isn't a hacker on the planet bothering to try and exploit XP as nobody uses it.. It's biggest issue is its 32bit for the most part, availability of Longhorn is slim at best.
Everything is insecure with XP, there's no need for anybody to write malware expressly for it as most would work from before or after i and there's still tons of malware out there.
 
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gn842a

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Ok, gotta ask a hopefully not too ignorant question - what is a “Linux distro with the look and feel of classic Windows? “ Main other thing I need in a computer is network capability. I have a Sonic Transporter fitted with Roon and holding ripped CDs to stream and I have a Naim product that is much the same so I need network support between them and two computers.


not a problem to ask at all. Linux is another type of operating system and the big difference is linux is an open source operating system which means anyone can use the core OS to make their own software collection around it. so someone can make a version of linux that looks like windows and feels like windows in a way. because it is open source it is free to download and use and any major upgrades are free as well so if one version of a distro stops being unsupported you can upgrade to the latest with no problems and when it gets updates you rarely have to restart your computer or worry about it restarting automatically

the good thing is linux is way more secure than windows especially an older version of windows and has a central app store to download any programs

but that's just a brief summary
 
not a problem to ask at all. Linux is another type of operating system and the big difference is linux is an open source operating system which means anyone can use the core OS to make their own software collection around it. so someone can make a version of linux that looks like windows and feels like windows in a way. because it is open source it is free to download and use and any major upgrades are free as well so if one version of a distro stops being unsupported you can upgrade to the latest with no problems and when it gets updates you rarely have to restart your computer or worry about it restarting automatically

the good thing is linux is way more secure than windows especially an older version of windows and has a central app store to download any programs

but that's just a brief summary
Some of those arguments for Linux are also it's weakness at same time.
As an open source also mean that there are tons of different flavors/distros mostly incompatible with each other and applications for them with limited application bases.
Security, except for major releases is no better than windows, only there's much less threats because it's in much less use than Windows, otherwise it may be even worse than other OSs.
Central app store to download any programs, is also weakness as it is not controlled by anybody and without any guarantees it's safe or would work at all. Installing programs, applications and and drivers not coming from repositories (side-loading) is not for everybody, can't just click on setup.exe and install SW like in Windows.
Speaking of drivers, HW manufacturers have little to no incentive to write proper or even any drivers and all is left to some general drivers in the kernel or to some kind soul with a lot of knowledge to write them. Once again it's a convoluted process, can't just ru setup.exe to install/change them.
 

echolane

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Pros and cons, like most everything. I had a Fedora Linux installation once and it felt like I was going back in time. I remember having to mount and dismount drives, for example. I used to enjoy techie stuff, no longer.