Windows 7 won’t boot off external HDD

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  1. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
       #1

    Windows 7 won’t boot off external HDD


    I have NO idea if I will even get any help, because this forum is old and probably not many people is left here, anyways, I’ve been trying to boot windows 7 off my USB HDD/External HDD for the past 2 WEEKS, but no matter what I do, I always get the same 0x7B BSOD, even with usb 3.0, even with booting from internal ssd via VHD using ventoy, I’ve tried wintousb or easy windows install and Rufus, but none have succeeded, my laptop is a ThinkPad T480, has both uefi and legacy support, please help I’m tired of failing, i just wanna life the beautiful windows 7
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 16,431
    7 X64
       #2

    change the line

    set installpath =

    to whatever your usb letter is. for example if your usb stick is E:

    set installpath=E:


    set7_usb.cmd
    Code:
    @echo off
    setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion
    pushd %~dp0
    rem thanks to cdob
    echo Setting USB boot drivers &echo.
    set installpath=
    copy "%installpath%\system32\config\system" "%installpath%\system32\config\system_%random%.sav"
    reg.exe load HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM "%installpath%\system32\config\system"
    
    set ControlSetDefault=
    call :setReg Default
    call :setReg LastKnownGood
    
    reg.exe unload HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM
    popd
    
    goto :eof
    
    :setReg
     set ControlSet=001
     reg.exe query "HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\Select" /v "%1" >nul 2>&1 && (
      for /f "skip=2 tokens=3" %%a in ('reg.exe query "HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\Select" /v "%1"') do set /a ControlSet=%%a
      set ControlSet=000!ControlSet!
     )
     set ControlSetNNN=ControlSet%ControlSet:~-3%
     if %ControlSetDefault%.==%ControlSetNNN%. goto :eof
     echo. &echo ControlSet "%ControlSetNNN%" used.
    
     set Services=HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\%ControlSetNNN%\Services
     set Control=HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\%ControlSetNNN%\Control
    
     reg.exe add %Control%\PnP /f /v PollBootPartitionTimeout /t REG_DWORD /d 30000
     
     reg.exe add %Control% /f /v BootDriverFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 0x6
    
     set ControlSetDefault=%ControlSetNNN%
    goto :eof
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    I’m kinda confused, do I paste that command into the cmd or something? Where do I change the set install path? I hope you don’t mind explaining a little further
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 16,431
    7 X64
       #4

    copy the code and paste it into a text file.
    change the line in red below to whatever your usb letter is
    for example if your usb stick is E: the line should be
    set installpath=E:
    save it as set7_7usb.cmd
    then rt click on the set7_usb.cmd file and run as administrator

    @echo off
    setlocal EnableExtensions EnableDelayedExpansion
    pushd %~dp0
    rem thanks to cdob
    echo Setting USB boot drivers &echo.
    set installpath=
    copy "%installpath%\system32\config\system" "%installpath%\system32\config\system_%random%.sav"
    reg.exe load HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM "%installpath%\system32\config\system"

    set ControlSetDefault=
    call :setReg Default
    call :setReg LastKnownGood

    reg.exe unload HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM
    popd

    goto :eof

    :setReg
    set ControlSet=001
    reg.exe query "HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\Select" /v "%1" >nul 2>&1 && (
    for /f "skip=2 tokens=3" %%a in ('reg.exe query "HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\Select" /v "%1"') do set /a ControlSet=%%a
    set ControlSet=000!ControlSet!
    )
    set ControlSetNNN=ControlSet%ControlSet:~-3%
    if %ControlSetDefault%.==%ControlSetNNN%. goto :eof
    echo. &echo ControlSet "%ControlSetNNN%" used.

    set Services=HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\%ControlSetNNN%\Services
    set Control=HKLM\loaded_SYSTEM\%ControlSetNNN%\Control

    reg.exe add %Control%\PnP /f /v PollBootPartitionTimeout /t REG_DWORD /d 30000

    reg.exe add %Control% /f /v BootDriverFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 0x6

    set ControlSetDefault=%ControlSetNNN%
    goto :eof
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Sorry for the late reply, I was sleeping cuz I posted that on 12:40 AM my time, do I put the letter of my usb stick with WinPE/Windows setup, or the drive that i want to install it in? And don’t I need an iSO?? I’m very confused, sorry…
    Last edited by VelsDie; 18 Jul 2024 at 05:30.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Windows 7 wont boot off external hard drive (repost)


    So last night i posted a thread about how i cannot boot windows 7 off my external hdd (sata to usb adapter), i feel like i didnt explain it well (i think because i was sleepy) so i decided to post a new thread which is more detailed

    so i have been trying to install windows 7 and boot from my external hard disk for the past 14 days non-stop, but not a single success, i have tried WinToUSB, both in legacy and VHD mode, i tried via rufus which also didnt work, and i tried putting the hard disk (internally) and installing windows into it, then tried to boot externally and it didnt work, so i found a iSO with working display drivers and usb 3.0 drivers, and that didnt work either, i tried booting internally via vhd making the install with VM, and it didnt work,

    no matter what i do, i keep geting the same annoying god damn 0x0000007B stop code, i posted many threads on reddit for this, i posted like 10 posts on diffrent subreddits searching for help, and no help, i do not want to give up hope on this, i really really want to use Windows 7 on my thinkpad t480, the closest i got was windows 7 pe (a uncompleted version of windows to save/fix your normal windows) which is not really windows...

    please help if anyone can, i am really tired of keep failing on this :(

    ThinkPad T480 specs:
    intel i5-8350u cpu (i know its too new for windows 7, but there is people who got it working on this exact laptop)
    intel uhd 620 gpu
    8gb ram

    Sorry if i wrote too much or explained bad, i tried my best to give backstory and the methods i used

    i hope i can finally solve this and enjoy my beloved windows 7 again
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 16,431
    7 X64
       #7

    I already gave you a batch file to do it.

    Two registry edits are needed in the system hive of the operating system on the usb stick.

    You could do it manually.

    Use regedit or similar to load the system hive from the usb stick.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
    Thread Starter
       #8

    @SIW2 the code you gave me gives errors as "ERROR: The parameter is incorrect.", i dont know if i did something wrong, i did what you just added E: (the drive letter where my windows files are), and it didnt do anything and just instantly closed the cmd
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 16,431
    7 X64
       #9

    opps made a typo

    set installpath=E:\windows

    change the letter to the letter of your usb stick
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 15
    Windows 10 Professional x64, MacOS 14.4.1 x86 (hackintosh), Linux Mint x64
    Thread Starter
       #10

    @SIW2 did what you said… cmd said successfull, 0x7B jumpscare, I don’t know what to do at this point, maybe I can try manually? How do I do that, if you don’t mind explaining
      My Computer


 
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