Question Some Advice On Win 7

[Ariel Schnee]

I know the title is about Win 7. I was asking about installing Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit on my computer. But, everybody talked me out of it.

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Win 11 is nothing but a nightmare. I've had it with it. I'm going to try Win 10.

On this computer. Here's the specs. It's from CyberPowerPC.

Why did CyberPowerPC stop including Win 10? Arrrggghhh! What a mess.

@@@

Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400A

Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-A GAMING WIFI ATX

CPU: Intel i5-11600K

Video Card: GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6

Memory: 32GB (16GBx2) DDR4/3200MHz Dual Channel Memory (GSKILL Trident Z RGB)

Power Supply: 850 Watts - Corsair RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Fully Modular Ultra Quiet Power Supply

CPU Cooler: ENERMAX ETS-T50A ARGB Series CPU Cooler w/ Black ENERMAX Twister Bearing PWM fans

Case Fans: 120mm Phanteks SK120 PWM FAN - high airflow nine-blade 500-1500 RPM Radiator Fans

HD: 2TB Samsung 870 QVO-Series SATA-III 6 Gb/s SSD - Seq R/W: Up to 560/530 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 98/88k

2'nd HD: 2TB Samsung 870 QVO-Series SATA-III 6 Gb/s SSD - Seq R/W: Up to 560/530 MB/s, Rnd R/W up to 98/88k

Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

OS It Came With: Windows 11

OS I Will Replace 11 With: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

@@@

Here's a build similar to what I got.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1QFX3E

Now, some questions.

01. Can Windows 10 Pro 64-bit work on a 2 TB SSD? Can it even be installed on a SSD? How good would it work on it?

02. Can Windows 10 Pro 64-bit work with the hardware in the build?

03. Can Windows 10 Pro 64-bit be installed from an external DVD drive? Like the one that's in the build? (It doesn't have optical drives installed inside.)

04. Once I've replaced Windows 11 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, where do I get the drivers to run the hardware?

05. What is the maximum DirectX supported by Windows 10 Pro 64-bit?

06. I will be getting something like this or this to install Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. ... Are these some good choices?

07. I'm going to be using this. Has aynone used it before. Just what does it restore?

Let me know.

Thanks!^_^

 

[COLGeek]

Why Win 7 and not Win 10?

 

[Ariel Schnee]

Why Win 7 and not Win 10?

That doesn't answer any of my questions.

 

[USAFRet]

That doesn't answer any of my questions.

It is a valid question though.
What, specifically, do you not like about Win 10 or 11?

From where does the Win 7 Ultimate install come from?

Q4: Are Win 7 drivers available from the manufacturer? (doubtful)

 

[COLGeek]

That doesn't answer any of my questions.

I am asking for two reasons: security and driver availability.

That being said. I wouldn't recommend Win 7.

 

[Grobe]

The simple answer is two folded:

• Does the manufacturer of each component provide driver for W7 ?
• Have you tried to actually run the installer just to see if it actually allows you to proceed ?

But, why not just give it a test. Just remember to make a backup image of the original W11 installation, especially if preinstalled.

Also in general : W7 is not recommended as stated by others.

 

[SkyNetRising]

01. Can Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit work on a 2 TB SSD? Can it even be installed on a SSD? How good would it work on it?

Yes. It works really well on SSD.

02. Can Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit work with the hardware in the build?

Yes. It can.

03. Can Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit be installed from an external DVD drive? (It doesn't have optical drives installed inside.) I don't know.

With this you'll have a serious problem. Windows installation need to be specially prepared to be installed from USB drive on modern hardware.
This is not trivial. USB drivers need to be integrated into installation, also NVME drivers and several windows hotfixes, if you're installing onto NVME drive.

04. Once I've replaced Windows 11 with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, where do I get the drivers to run the hardware?

With this you'll have problems too. Without drivers specific devices will not work - like integrated LAN and Audio.

05. What is the maximum DirectX supported by Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit?

DX11.

 

[Ariel Schnee]

Yes. It works really well on SSD.

Excellent!^_^

Yes. It can.

Nice!^_^

With this you'll have a serious problem. Windows installation need to be specially prepared to be installed from USB drive on modern hardware.
This is not trivial. USB drivers need to be integrated into installation, also NVME drivers and several windows hotfixes, if you're installing onto NVME drive.

I'll be using something like this here. To install it. Would that work?

With this you'll have problems too. Without drivers specific devices will not work - like integrated LAN and Audio.

Hopefully I can find them somewhere maybe.

DX11.

Good.^_^

I am glad that someone was willing to answer my questions. Thanks!^^ I appreciate it!^^

 

[USAFRet]

Hopefully I can find them somewhere maybe.

"somewhere" only really counts if it is from the manufacturers.
Anywhere else is suspect.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'll be using something like this here. To install it. Would that work?

No. Not from external USB DVD drive.
You'd have to use sata connected DVD drive and PS/2 keyboard and mouse.
Also your motherboard doesn't support PS/2 keyboard and mouse.

Your only option is installing from USB flash drive and modifying installation to add necessary drivers into it.

 

[COLGeek]

You should be be very careful regarding the authenticity of the DVD offering from eBay previously linked. That does not look like authentic packaging, nor does the DVD look like others I have purchased in the past.

 

[SkyNetRising]

There's another option - to install windows by placing install files on HDD first.
But you'll still need to integrate USB drivers. Without that mouse/keyboard will not work.

Install Windows 7 Without USB or DVD Without Upgrading!

Install Windows 7 Without USB or DVD Without Upgrading!: How to CLEAN Install Windows 7 directly from Hard drive – NO DVD or USB needed!! For example, you have a netbook or desktop that you want to install Windows 7 onto, but can’t use DVD or USB for whatever reason (or don't want to, like me)...

www.instructables.com

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Better yet, if in fact that is a legit copy of windows 7, you should be able to install windows 10 and feed it the windows 7 key. If the key is legit it should activate. At work we do that still on old systems that we are trying to get rid of.

Windows 7 is definitely not recommended these days.

 

[Ariel Schnee]

No. Not from external USB DVD drive.
You'd have to use sata connected DVD drive and PS/2 keyboard and mouse.
Also your motherboard doesn't support PS/2 keyboard and mouse.

Your only option is installing from USB flash drive and modifying installation to add necessary drivers into it.

So I should use this or this instead?

 

[SkyNetRising]

So I should use this or this instead?

Important part is windows license.
Installation media you can create yourself. No DVD necessary, just 8GB USB flash drive.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[Ariel Schnee]

Important part is windows license.
Installation media you can create yourself. No DVD necessary, just 8GB USB flash drive.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

I thought the ones I listed came with a license key.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I thought the ones I listed came with a license key.

Yes, obviously.
I'm just saying - you don't need physical DVD media.

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

I used to use Windows 7 and loved it too but sometimes you have to move on, Windows 10 is a valid option, if you are not liking the UI of Windows 10 just download StartisBack and you can get the windows 7 taskbar back.

Windows 7 is outdated and no longer supported, you are taking a huge risk using an outdated operating system.

Problems you might have:

• Incompatability with drivers and programs due to aged OS
• Security issues, you will need to get an anti-virus software as the windows defender in Win 7 is lackluster
• You will not be able to take advantage of the latest gaming technologies and will be left behind
• Probably won't be able to take full advantage of your hardware

Regarding buying Windows 7 keys from eBay, you don't need to do this, there are websites online where you can buy license keys at a very cheap price, I brought Windows 7 from what it was called before 'Software Geeks' in 2015 and it's been working to this day no issues, I upgraded to Windows 10 and then 11 as it tied it's self to my microsoft account, even then inputting the license key still works no issues.

Windows 7 Professional Product Key 32bit & 64bit for 1 PC - TheUnitySoft

Buy Windows 7 Professional Product Key Online, Lifetime valid keys with 1 year of warranty. Genuine and Legal Products with free support.

theunitysoft.com

You can use the media creation tool to put it on a USB then put the key in when you install is but still I highly recommend you get Windows 10 at least.

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

Buy Windows 10 Professional genuine license key with Lifetime Validity

Buy Windows 10 Professional genuine license key with Lifetime Validity and 1 Year Warranty on all orders. Free support from dedicated support team with all orders.

theunitysoft.com

I'm unsure if you can just get a Win 7 key and it lets you upgrade to 10 for free still.

 

[Ariel Schnee]

Yes, obviously.
I'm just saying - you don't need physical DVD media.

I prefer DVDs. USB flash sticks can become very corrupted. DVDs cannot become corrupted though.

USB flash sticks can glitch. DVDs cannot glitch. USB flash sticks can accidentally be erased. DVDs cannot be accidentally erased. DVDs are better. See?

Can the DVD listed on ebay install Windows 10 with the external USB DVD drive listed in the build?

 

[KyaraM]

I am glad that someone was willing to answer my questions. Thanks!^^ I appreciate it!^^

You do understand that people try to help you by asking you questions, too, right? Nobody asks you out of ill intentions. The reason why people ask being that what you want to do has serious security issues that could impact your ability to continue using your computer, or might not even work/pose issues trying to accomplish, and we are trying to understand the problem you have with Win10/11 to see how we might be able to help you with that.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Just checked Asus website. They don’t have Windows 7 drivers for your motherboard.

It would be best to use an OS that your motherboard supports (Win11 or Win10).

 

[SkyNetRising]

I prefer DVDs. USB flash sticks can become very corrupted. DVDs cannot become corrupted though.
USB flash sticks can glitch. DVDs cannot glitch. USB flash sticks can accidentally be erased. DVDs cannot be accidentally erased. DVDs are better. See?

DVDs can get scratched, broken, lost.
Your pc doesn't even support internal optical drives.
Nobody uses DVDs anymore.

DVDs have outdated windows versions on them. We get major windows updates twice a year (for windows 10/11).
Even if you install windows 10/11 from DVD, you'll have to download and install all the subsequent updates to update to latest version.
Each of those updates is size of full windows install.

DVDs are outdated and obsolete. See?

 

[The Paladin]

Can you install windows 7 on your 11xx CPU? sure
Will windows 7 properly function on your GPU? not likely, as the latest drivers are designed for windows 10/11, not 7 so you will end up with some low-end resolution, not to mention other issues with much other hardware that is not covered by windows 7 period. (no USB 3.1 Support, No WIFI Support, Ethernet may work but only as base10/100, not Gigabit depending on model compatibility. and I will just gloss over all the security concerns.

can you do it? sure go ahead, see the result and then you will understand what everyone is trying to spare you

Life is nothing but a great teacher when you learn something, so if you want to learn, instead of accepting answers from qualified people that have been doing this for decades, Go forth and install it. and see for yourself where all the issues end up being. it is nothing that a reinstall of windows 10 will not fix. (don't update from win 7 to win 10 in the conditions where you have issues with hardware not a great idea and likely bring more issues later)

 

[Ariel Schnee]

DVDs can get scratched, broken, lost.

Not if you take good care of them though. I have over a dozen anime DVDs that I have bought down through the years. They are all in very good condition.

Your pc doesn't even support internal optical drives.

It does come with an external one.

Nobody uses DVDs anymore.

Incorrect. Lots of people use DVDs. For lots of things too.

DVDs have outdated windows versions on them. We get major windows updates twice a year (for windows 10/11).
Even if you install windows 10/11 from DVD, you'll have to download and install all the subsequent updates to update to latest version.
Each of those updates is size of full windows install.

Good thing I've got an intertnet connection. And I'm patient. Something I learned from all the grinding I did in those SNES JRPGs back in the day.

DVDs are outdated and obsolete. See?

No.

Can you answer this question?

Can the DVD listed on ebay install Windows 10 with the external USB DVD drive listed in the build?