Install W7 on Modern Machine ? - I want to play with some old toys

[FredM8]

Can I install W7 Pro on this machine ?
Or W98 SE ?


This is my PC
ASUS Z97 WS
i7 4790K CPU
32 GB RAM
AMD RX 6600 GPU
W10 Pro 22H2 Build 19045.5247

 

[Bree]

Can I install W7 Pro on this machine ?
Or W98 SE ?


This is my PC
ASUS Z97 WS
i7 4790K CPU
32 GB RAM
AMD RX 6600 GPU
W10 Pro 22H2 Build 19045.5247

With W10 Pro you could run Window 7 Pro as a Hyper-V VM. You wouldn't have sound though, Hyper-V's 'enhanced mode' is only available for a W8.1 or higher guest OS. Hyper-V does not support a W98 guest. XP is the oldest OS you can get to run in Hyper-V.

A VirtualBox VM could run W7 with sound though, and VirtualBox supports earlier version of Windows too, with networking even....

 

[michael diemer]

You could also install W7 as a dual-boot (that is, not as a virtual system). W98, probably not. I have an i7 also, a bit earlier (3770 or something), and am running W7 quite well.

 

[samuria]

The key point is are there win 7 drivers for everything most thing should run on 10 you may need to set it properties as win 7

 

[Malneb]

Windows 7 divers are mainly up to 6th gen skylake. 4790K is 4th gen system so there will be windows 7 support for that computer. its either way you can make a windows 10 or windows 7 computer with that system.

 

[MisterEd]

The only gotcha for Windows 7 is that it doesn't natively support USB 3.0. That means when you install Windows 7 you will only be able to use the USB 2.0 ports. I see that there are 2 x USB 2.0 ports on the ASUS Z97-WS back panel. After Windows 7 is installed you can install the USB 3.0 driver so that the USB 3.0 are working.

BTW, I just replaced the motherboard for my computer with a dual-boot of Windows 10 Pro and Windows 7 Home. It now has an ASUS Prime X370-Pro motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 7 1700X CPU. When I went to boot Windows 7 neither the keyboard or mouse worked. I finally realized that all of the front and rear panel ports were USB 3.0 or USB 3.1. I ordered a back panel bracket for the USB 2.0 headers on the motherboard. I could have waited for that but then realized that the motherboard had a PS/2 connector. I plugged in a keyboard with a PS/2
connector. I was able to boot into Windows 7. I managed to navigate everything without a mouse. After I installed the USB 3.0 driver the USB 3.0 ports started working. I was then able to use a USB keyboard and mouse again.