Windows 7 install "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing"

[erroneus]

The dreaded "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing".
There are several threads dedicated to this, and so far nothing seems to be working.

Asrock z170 ITXm/ac
Win 7 OEM install DVD purchased from Amazon
LG external USB optical drive

I am only using the USB 2.0 ports
I have tried the following:
Unplugging all devices from USB 3 ports
Unplugging DVD drive for x seconds at install screen, plugging into other ports
Changing BIOS settings:
USB legacy auto
PS2 emu enabled
SATA is not set to RAID
I do not believe there are any other relevant BIOS options.
Inserting (USB2 slot) a FAT32 or NTFS-formatted Kingston thumb drive with various driver .exes (such as SATA drivers and USB drivers). Unfortunately, neither the drivers nor the USB show up
Creating a bootable USB with grub-install:
http://onetransistor.blogspot.com/2014/09/make-bootable-windows-usb-from-ubuntu.html
But this also complains about the driver. Unplugging/replugging the USB does not fix the problem

But to no avail. Note also I do not have a running Windows OS: only Linux and Mac.

 

[Gnuffi]

win 7 doesnt have native usb 3 support,
so using an usb optical drive or usb thumb wont help much without those usb 3 drivers already in the install ISO, there are guides to do this using Rufus
you need to either install from a sata odd or if "must" install via usb, you need to get those usb drivers slip streamed in the install

in bios enable CSM, and ofc USB legacy enabled
PS2 emu enabled too
disable fast boot
and disable secure boot too if possible on first install
and make sure the boot menu is set to UEFI+Legacy
see if that works with your ISO to begin with
otherwise suggest you start over making the ISO with proper USB 3.0 drivers already in

 

[Gnuffi]

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/Win7Install/

 

[erroneus]

I've updated by original post.
I am only using USB 2.0 ports
No Windows, so Rufus / Win7install

CSM enabled
legacy / Ps2 emu enabled
secure / fast boot disabled

SATA drivers issue?

win 7 doesnt have native usb 3 support,
so using an usb optical drive or usb thumb wont help much without those usb 3 drivers already in the install ISO, there are guides to do this using Rufus
you need to either install from a sata odd or if "must" install via usb, you need to get those usb drivers slip streamed in the install

in bios enable CSM, and ofc USB legacy enabled
PS2 emu enabled too
disable fast boot
and disable secure boot too if possible on first install
and make sure the boot menu is set to UEFI+Legacy
see if that works with your ISO to begin with
otherwise suggest you start over making the ISO with proper USB 3.0 drivers already in

 

[Gnuffi]

using usb2 ports means nothing on the intel 100 chipset, its all running of the same controller in terms of win 7 and drivers and such, (not speed)

and no sata driver issue, it only happens when using a usb type connection/driver
thats why using an sata optical disc drive vs external helps
or you need those usb drivers already in teh ISO or slip streamed during the install

because while the hardware will recognize it, win7 simply will not recognize/accept any usb device on Intel 100 chipset until the chipset drivers are installed one way or antoher

 

[erroneus]

You are correct.
It was, indeed, the USB3 drivers.
I ended up doing the crazy thing: I took a spare SATA drive, ran grub-install on it, then was able to install. Then, from my Linux disk, I copied the Intel USB3.0 drivers for the board into the Windows disk, rebooted Windows and ran the firmware. I then was able to install the rest of the drivers from the Asrock DVD.
Easier path would have been to add the USB3 drivers to the iso or slip stream.

using usb2 ports means nothing on the intel 100 chipset, its all running of the same controller in terms of win 7 and drivers and such, (not speed)

and no sata driver issue, it only happens when using a usb type connection/driver
thats why using an optical disc drive vs external helps
or you need those usb drivers already in teh ISO or slip streamed during the install

because while the hardware will recognize it, win7 simply will not recognize/accept any usb device on Intel 100 chipset until the chipset drivers are installed one way or antoher

 

[Gnuffi]

as long as it works it doesnt matter just glad you got it to work
skylake is a tiny bit different to install win 7 on than most people are used to since they arent aware of how it works, the whole "cant just plug in to usb 2, because they run on same controller as usb 3", gets a lot of people at first, and honestly mobo manufacturer should prob have informed about it alot better and many issues/posts could have been avoided if they had like a big label inside the mobo box: "Windows 7 needs different install!" or something like that

 

[Magnia_UK]

I had this same problem, while trying to install Windows 7 using an ISO burned to a USB stick to replace Windows 10 on a Toshiba NB510 netbook with a SATA disk drive and no optical drive. The installation halted after boot-up from flash drive and asked for CD/DVD drivers disc.

After a few hours battling with it, my time finally paid off. I discovered a solution by sheer chance that worked:

Where I saw the "browse" button on the window where it asks for a drivers CD/DVD, i browsed the USB installation flash drive directories and looked in the folder Windows/System32/DriversStore (directory name may be slightly different, but there's only 2 and its the other one, not "drivers").

There, by chance, I selected the "cpu" driver, and it worked!

The next screen finally came up, install to drive with a list of my partitions and the installation proceeded.

Note: I suspect, depending on your hardware, your problem may be different to mine. It could be any number of things to do with exotic hardware preventing Windows 7 from installing.

There's basically two ways you can deal with this:

1. If you're able to, the fastest and most sensible way is to download all the hardware drivers (.inf) files for your hardware into a directory on a USB stick and browse there. Unfortunately Toshiba (and some other manufacturers) put driver files as .exe compressed files inside .zip files so unless you have access to a Windows machine, you're pretty well buggered if that happens.

If you can't get or access the drivers from the manufacturers support website, try this:

2. The trial and error method using the installation drivers. Try guessing what hardware might need a specific driver. I started with the obvious (usb drivers, disk drive, cpu) and got lucky on the third option (cpu). Many drivers are all in the directory I mentioned above on your Windows 7 installation disc/usb stick, unless your hardware is *really* new, then you might be stuck.

Note: The Toshiba NB510 has an Atom processor and perhaps Windows 7 just didn't recognize it and needed telling it needs an additional driver bundle which is actually in the Windows 7 iso file oddly enough.

I hope this helps someone!

P.S. If you're trying to make a Windows 7 ISO installation disc on a USB stick and having trouble getting it to boot, download the Rufus tool (for Windows) or use Microsoft's USB installer generator tool. You can't simply copy the .iso files onto the USB stick. It requires a bit more than that!

Here's a couple of useful links explaining how to make a USB installation stick and where to the download original Windows 7 iso's, plus the Rufus tool:

https://www.pcsteps.com/45-download-windows-7-iso-legally-free-digital-river/

https://www.pcsteps.com/630-create-a-windows-installation-disc-or-usb/#How_to_create_a_Windows_installation_USB_Flash_Drive