Trying to install Win7 on a Kaby Lake processor

[SuicideTree]

What can you suggest for someone trying to install Win7 on a Kaby Lake processor, which claims that it only supports Win10? Any attempt to install Win7 (either UEFI or Legacy way) results in a crash/BSOD upon first boot from the harddrive ("Starting Windows") - therefore the instalation even does not complete? It has no optical drive so I am intalling from a USB. The laptop has been tested with (reinstalled) Endless OS (it came preinstalled with it, but was subsequently deleted) and with Ubuntu - both instalations completed successfully and the laptop booted with those OSes without issue. The laptop in question is an Asus GL553VD with i5-7300HQ.

 

[mrjimphelps]

Here is information about how to install Windows 7 on a Kaby Lake computer:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3413666/guide-installing-windows-kaby-lake.html

Here is information about a patch you can install, which will allow Windows 7 updates on a Kaby Lake computer:

https://www.extremetech.com/computi...nblocks-windows-7-8-1-updates-kaby-lake-ryzen

Disclaimer: I haven't tried any of this myself.

 

[SuicideTree]

Here is information about how to install Windows 7 on a Kaby Lake computer:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3413666/guide-installing-windows-kaby-lake.html

Here is information about a patch you can install, which will allow Windows 7 updates on a Kaby Lake computer:

https://www.extremetech.com/computi...nblocks-windows-7-8-1-updates-kaby-lake-ryzen

Disclaimer: I haven't tried any of this myself.

I've mentioned there's no optical drive. I could not make an official iso downloaded from Microsoft boot from USB (Windows boot manager did not like something, I do not recall the exact error code). Even diregarding that. The guide assumes I need help with making Win7 usable, whereas the problem here is that it will not finish installing itself and crashes at first boot, before I am able to finish configuring it, before I am able to create a user/password and before I am able to login into the system and run, therefore I have not even come to the point where I would be needing any additional drivers.

The one time I managed to get an official albeit old Win7 iso to boot from a USB, it turned out the windows installer did not recognize my hard disk drive. I had to abort that attempt because I simply could not even install it - some drivers are missing, but what are they? How do I add them? Just throw onto the USB after it has been made bootable? I would love to do that, but what I am missing here exactly?

I do not believe the issue here is with the fact that I am installing via usb instead of a dvd. However because the official iso's did not work, I am forced to resort to iso's which have certain updates already bundled/integrated with the instalation, just because these showed promiss and started installing. Could the integrated updates be the problem? The article does mention certain updates that probably should not be installed, but it is hardly likely that it would make Windows crash with a BSOD saying "The BIOS in this system is not fully ACPI compliant. STOP: 0x000000A5". The BIOS is in fact up to date.

 

[mrjimphelps]

The reason this is failing is because you have an "unsupported" CPU in the computer. Without doing some sort of workaround, you won't be able to do this.

As far as not having an optical drive, you could get an external drive:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-8x-...yer-dvdrw-cd-rw-drive/5852919.p?skuId=5852919

The nice thing about this drive is that it works with M-Disks, in case you want to store information for hundreds of years.

 

[SuicideTree]

The reason this is failing is because you have an "unsupported" CPU in the computer. Without doing some sort of workaround, you won't be able to do this.

As far as not having an optical drive, you could get an external drive:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-8x-...yer-dvdrw-cd-rw-drive/5852919.p?skuId=5852919

The nice thing about this drive is that it works with M-Disks, in case you want to store information for hundreds of years.

Exactly right. I am looking for a workaround on this forum, because I failed searching on my own. If optical drive was the bottleneck in this case I would have obtained one one way or another, but I dont believe it is. I am not sure how would installing from an optical drive make my CPU less "unsupported", so a crash would still happen.

 

[mrjimphelps]

Exactly right. I am looking for a workaround on this forum, because I failed searching on my own. If optical drive was the bottleneck in this case I would have obtained one one way or another, but I dont believe it is. I am not sure how would installing from an optical drive make my CPU less "unsupported", so a crash would still happen.

The reason I posted about the optical drive is to let you know that they are available if you want one. It certainly is very useful to have an optical drive; but I agree with you that the lack of an optical drive isn't what is causing the issue here.

 

[Megahertz07]

You must set BIOS properly. Disable Secure boot and fast boot. Secure boot isn't win 7 compatible and you can enable fast boot after installation.
You don't need a ODD drive. You need to add USB 3.x and SATA and / or NVMe drivers to the installation disk.
Read my tutorial Create a Windows 7 USB flash installation with new drives for new MB's - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

[pantau]

Dear mrjimphelps,

have you found a solution? I got the same problem...

I'm trying to do the same on a X1 Carbon 5G, installing W7Pro from USB3 on an UEFI/GPT partition. I get to the point where Windows 7 installs, but after the first reboot I end up with a Blue Screen.

 

[mrjimphelps]

Dear mrjimphelps,

have you found a solution? I got the same problem...

I'm trying to do the same on a X1 Carbon 5G, installing W7Pro from USB3 on an UEFI/GPT partition. I get to the point where Windows 7 installs, but after the first reboot I end up with a Blue Screen.

The only information I have is what I have read from other people. Based on what I have read, and on the fact that the workaround is a "hack", I believe that it is likely that his Kaby Lake CPU is the problem here.

Have you investigated the two links I have posted above, about installing Windows 7 on a Kaby Lake system, and then about fixing it so that it will update?

About a year or so ago I purchased a new Windows 7 Dell computer. I made sure it had a pre-Kaby Lake CPU, to prevent these problems from happening. My system has a Haswell CPU, and I've never had any problems doing Windows updates. (So far, I haven't needed to reinstall Windows 7.)

 

[BogdanH]

About 10 months ago, I've installed Win7SP1 64bit on Asus H170-PRO motherboard using Skylake CPU. Because Kaby Lake is almost equal to Skylake, I'm quite sure Win7 can be "easy" installed on Kaby Lake too.
I can read many times how "Skylake/Kaby Lake isn't supported by Win7 OS" -which is not true! Truth is, Win7 installation disk contains no USB3.x drivers for Skylake/Kaby Lake motherboards. That is, USB chips on newer MB's aren't compatible with those used before Skylake. Even if we try to install Win7 via optical drive, it won't work -because USB (again) mouse/keyboard isn't recognized by Win7 install process.
What we need to do is, we need to update Win7 ISO with "new" USB drivers (I refuse to use word "hack" in this case, because it only spreads FUD). I mean, Win7 ISO already contains countless drivers for variety of hardware -we just need to add a driver for hardware that didn't exist at the time when Win7 was released. After Win7 ISO is updated, Win7 will install and work normally.
The whole process (updating ISO) takes only about 15 minutes -assuming you have new drivers and related tools by hand. Some tutorials for "how to do it" can be quite confusing, though. I used this one:
How to Install Windows 7 with only USB 3.0 Ports
-and it worked on first attempt.
And of course, Win7 recognizes "unsupported" CPU correctly

 

[Megahertz07]

There is a difference between Skylake and Kabylake.
On a Skylake you have official drivers for the internal HD 5X0 graphics from Intel. For Kabylake HD 6X0 graphics you don't. There is a workaround but it will say the driver isn't signed. Fix for Windows 7 drivers for Intel 7th gen HD graphics 620 610 615 630 Iris 640 650 - YouTube

I also read that M$ is installing a software (via WU) that recognize the Kabylake and blocks Windows updates. If it's true, it's absurd. It's not M$ right to decide in what hardware their customers install the OS they bought.
Microsoft may be blocking Windows 7, 8.1 updates on new Intel Kaby Lake, AMD Ryzen systems - ExtremeTech
Unofficial Patch Unblocks Windows 7 and 8.1 Updates for Kaby Lake, Ryzen - ExtremeTech