Solved Installing Win7 after end of support

[Sidecar Bob]

I am working on several P4 computers that will mostly be used as music servers so that several people can listen to different music &c in different parts of the house. Unless I work harder than I want to (this project is supposed to be fun) I probably won't get to a couple of them until February.


I've read through a bunch of articles online and several threads here about the end if support and I know that there will be no new updates issued after then but none of them mention what will happen when fresh installations try to update after Jan 14th.


So what will happen if I re-install Win7 on a computer in 3 weeks and it tries to update?

 

[RoWin7]

Judging by what happened to XP, there might still be the old updates online. I say "might" because who knows how M$ thinks. I'm also setting up another one soon.

Will your servers be connected to the web?

 

[torchwood]

Hi Bob,

there are 2 threads in the installation and set up sub-forum where Up to date "iso's" are currently maintained.
supported by these users SIW2 & Wkeller
Hopefully these will become pinned at that time, Brink

Once that date is reached you could use either as your input media

Roy

 

[Brink]

Hi Bob,

there are 2 threads in the installation and set up sub-forum where Up to date "iso's" are currently maintained.
supported by these users SIW2 & Wkeller
Hopefully these will become pinned at that time, Brink

Once that date is reached you could use either as your input media

Roy

Done.

Update your Win 7 installation media.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

Thanks. I haven't yet had any luck burning ISOs to CD so that they actually work (this isn't my prime hobby, just a means to an end).



I was wondering if there was a way to save the update files from one computer and run them on another one?

 

[TechnoMage2016]

"Thanks. I haven't yet had any luck burning ISOs to CD so that they actually work"

So to that, I have just one question...."WHY?"

Download and run the latest version of "Rufus". There are several entries you must make, that are pretty self explanatory. In the center of the window will be two settings, side by side, that should be set to "MBR and BIOS".

You'll need a USB drive of larger size than the ISO you're trying to burn. Obvious, Eh?

Then let Rufus do its thing. You DO know, that you have to set your Bios to Boot from USB, right?

So far I've used this exact process at least a half dozen times without a failure.

I've given up burning ISO's to DVD's, since using Rufus for the first time.
Some of the newest ISO's are too big to even fit on a DVD-DL.

Good Luck, and Happy Holidays,

 

[Sidecar Bob]

I'll have to try that. Learning to install from an ISO has been on my list but there has always been something more urgent that needed doing instead...



I was taught most of what I know about computers by my son Matt. He was one of those people that fixed other people's computers and fixed up old, discarded computers for people that couldn't afford new ones so he looked after keeping ours running and updating hardware &c and finding or writing software to make them do what we needed them to do. Unfortunately, he died in 2016 (complications of diabetes) and I have had to learn to look after the computers on our home network.

It may not make me popular on this forum but I will confess here that he had just introduced me to Win10 before he died and I am one of the people that absolutely love it. Until then I had XP and it almost seems as if they had tried to make a version of windows that did what I wanted/needed right out of the box without all the stuff Matt had to like making it save things directly to the network drive so I can access it from the computer in the garage and adding a hidden toolbar on the left side of the screen to do what the start menu tiles in 10 do.


Anyway, I have been going through some of his stuff so that I can have another Antique Computers sale in the spring (the proceeds will go to charity and the stuff sold will end up with other guys like him that value older computers) and I came across a pile of Compaq D530 and DC5000 SFF computers (all P4 so no chance of Win10) that looked useful and decided to install Win7 on the ones I can get working and part way through installing the updates on the first one I got the message about the end of support so I started wondering about whether the updates would be available.

 

[iko22]

Thanks. I haven't yet had any luck burning ISOs to CD so that they actually work (this isn't my prime hobby, just a means to an end).



I was wondering if there was a way to save the update files from one computer and run them on another one?

You can use another computer to download the updates from Microsoft Update Catalog. This works well for Servicing Stack Updates and Service Packs. But this strategy would be tedious way of downloading all the updates.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

By the time I finished telling you long story I forgot what I was getting at: Matt taught me well. One of the first things I do when setting up a computer is look at the boot menu and make sure it looks for removable media before it looks at the hard drive. When he taught me that the wisdom was to look at the floppy drive first in case you had a problem with the hard drive and needed to use the boot disc...

 

[RoWin7]

"...
You'll need a USB drive of larger size than the ISO you're trying to burn. Obvious, Eh?...

How big a flash drive do you need?

 

[unifex]

How big a flash drive do you need?

8 GB is usually big enough.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

JFYI, I have several ISO's that I've downloaded, that will NOT fit on an 8GB Flash Drive.


Buying 8GB Flash Drives today, is just a waste of time and money.


I just got a deal on three 16GB 'ONN' Flash drives for Under $12, at Walmart.
My only regret is that I didn't buy more, at that price. (less than $4 each)


There have been several programs that claim they can burn an ISO to a flash drive, but I've had problems with all of them, till I tried Rufus. There is a new (Beta) version of Rufus that really works Great. I've had NO problems with it at all.


Rufus actually told me to use the following settings:


Partition scheme = MBR
Target System = BIOS (or UEFI-CSM)


Once I do that, the burn of the ISO to the Flash Drive goes off without a hitch, and the FD will boot up my PC and install the OS to whatever HD I specify.*


* I never try to install any OS, with two or more HD's connected to the system.


Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

[torchwood]

Hi @TechnoMage2016

Just downloaded a w7 technet iso its just over 5gb updated to 2018 ????


EDIT latest Rufus does not give FAT32 option



Roy

 

[RoWin7]

Hi @TechnoMage2016
Just downloaded a w7 technet iso its just over 5gb updated to 2018 ????
EDIT latest Rufus does not give FAT32 option
Roy

Technet wants a paid subscription. How much is that? But I know we can D/L it from elsewhere.

Check out sales at MicroCenter or Newegg for flash drives. Sometimes MC sells them really cheaply with another purchase, but in-store without another purchase.

 

[Barman58]

Technet was officially ended in 2013, not sure how long the rundown took but I doubt it is still running

 

[michael diemer]

Re: iso burners, I have had success with several programs, especially Etcher. some folks in the Linux world say they have had problems with it, but it's always worked fine for me, on Linux or Windows.


I found rufus a bit puzzling to use, Etcher is so simple a cave man could do it. but I guess everyone's system is different. And computers are getting finicky these days. not like the old reliable models that just worked. Well, mostly.

 

[torchwood]

Hi

Heidoc pulls the Technet Iso


Roy

 

[Megahertz07]

I am working on several P4 computers that will mostly be used as music servers so that several people can listen to different music &c in different parts of the house. Unless I work harder than I want to (this project is supposed to be fun) I probably won't get to a couple of them until February.


I've read through a bunch of articles online and several threads here about the end if support and I know that there will be no new updates issued after then but none of them mention what will happen when fresh installations try to update after Jan 14th.


So what will happen if I re-install Win7 on a computer in 3 weeks and it tries to update?

For the updates, you can use MS catalog or Simplix.
MS releases SP2 for Windows 7

 

[blue skies]

I have a related question and I hope someone can clarify things for me. I have an old Lenovo all-in-one computer that died several years back, and has since just been sitting in a box in the closet. I had a laptop to use, so I never even found out for sure what the Lenovo needed, but I am going to have to deal with it one of these days.

It has a TV tuner and a 1 TB HDD that I'm assuming needs to be replaced. If I get it working again, I will probably attach an antenna and use it to record a few over the air television shows primarily. (I think Media Center was really great for that - if I'm remembering the name of the software correctly.)

Post Windows 7 EOL, I would prefer to keep it disconnected from the internet.

I have an old USB with what I think is a clean copy of Windows 7. I made it in case it was ever needed for a reinstall and then never used it. I'm not sure if it has any updates or service packs applied.

My primary question has to do with replacing the HDD with an SSD. I have read that if the hardware no longer matches the original configuration, the original Windows 7 license number will no longer work. Is that true, and if so, could I still install Windows 7 and use it off line? (Assuming that it has to connect to check for authenticity... will it fail to function unless I do that?)

I have been wondering for a long time how that all works. The original license was an OEM Windows 7 Home Edition, I believe.

 

[Megahertz07]

blue skies
First of all you must find out if the Lenovo problem is the HDD.
Does it start? Can you enter BIOS?
The Win 7 SLP license is tied to the Motherboard, not to any other component. But if you don't have a Lenovo installation disk to restore Win 7 SLP license you can use any Win 7 installation disk and the license on the COA sticker. Remember that any Win 7 installation disk has all types (HB, HP, Pro and ultimate). With a little trick you can make it universal.
I'm have used some Crucial BX500
They are fast and cheep. So far, so good.