Windows 7 Media Creator Tool

[Rhothgar]

Hi

It's been a long time since I've been on the forum.

I know that someone I have some MRIMG files with Windows 7 Professional X64 on but where I have no idea.

The Windows 7 Media Creator Tool is now unsupported it seems.

I may be digging myself a grave of stress here but is there anywhere I can find a repository which has a safe original version of the media creator with either the above version on or even all the available versions please?

I am not sure I really want to be 'downgrading' now that I am used to Windows 10 and Windows 11 is on the way but it just feels right to give Windows 7 another bash.

Can't seem to find another on the forum that is up-to-date regarding Media Creator Tool. I've had a re-read of my 2016 posts. WOW! Seems like I was really stressed trying to get Windows 7 activated.

The beauty with Windows 10 now is that it is digitally licenced and stored in my Microsoft Account.

Is the tenforum associated with this forum?

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year to you all.

I recall this as being such a great forum resource-wise.

 

[SIW2]

The Windows 7 Media Creator Tool

I am not familiar with that. Are you looking for installation media for win7? It usually comes as an .iso file

 

[Bree]

Is the tenforum associated with this forum?

Yes, they are both in the Design Media family of sites, as are Vista Forums, Eight Forums an Eleven Forum. Each has its own separate registration, but you'll find many members are registered on many or all of them - and you'll find the same friendly support on all. There are links to them all at the bottom of this page.




As for getting Windows 7 install media, it's getting difficult to find now. But the Heidoc 'Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool' can still get a few direct from Microsoft. Try their 'Windows 7 (August 2018)' option.

Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool

 

[Snick]

Rhothgar

I have a Win7 x64 SP1 All-In-One clean if you would like to borrow it. Original download from Digital River, now defunct authorized M$ website. Let me know!
Happy New Year!

@SIW2
Media Creation Tool is a Microsoft web link that permits download and creation of Windows install media. You have the option of creating an ISO, USB. Very slow in all as M$ usually does everything. I'm not sure if the Win7 is still available, Win10 is! IMHO. Happy New Year to you!

Snick

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Bree
The link you provided has dead download links for Win7. Went to Heidoc website and downloaded the new tool. My old one and the new one don't permit Win7 downloads. Happy New Year!
Snick

 

[Rhothgar]

As for getting Windows 7 install media, it's getting difficult to find now. But the Heidoc 'Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool' can still get a few direct from Microsoft. Try their 'Windows 7 (August 2018)' option.

Microsoft Windows and Office ISO Download Tool

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought they all looked similar.

I did see this Heidoc website from a general internet search but I was hesistant because it isn't an official source so I discounted it as a safe site.

In the text it refers to iso being downloaded from Microsoft in which case unless Microsoft has a secret repository then I imagine Windows 7 will no longer be available via the Heidoc tool.

I also lay awake this morning wondering if I could partition a 32Gb USB and have a number of ISO's ready to load or use a 128Gb or 256Gb USB to clone two computers with backups of each and also have a base clean install of which version of Windows together with all the apps and links to OneDrive.

Perhaps I do not need backups of each computer (one's mine, one's the partner's) but in reality I am so untidy in where I place documents electronically (and in reality ) that it may indeed be a good idea to save separate backups.

Be interested to hear what others do. Then I suppose it depends if you're a gamer or use it for productivity and general internet use. We're the latter.

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Rhothgar

I have a Win7 x64 SP1 All-In-One clean if you would like to borrow it. Original download from Digital River, now defunct authorized M$ website. Let me know!
Happy New Year!

Hi Snick

That would be great. I assume you have a file server I could download from as I see you are a Michigander. I once got 100% in a test on FaceBook about "Are you a Michigander?" I am UK based but have travelled extensively in the US. The UP is particularly one of my favourite places in the world especially Munising and Pictured Rocks area. Spent some time there in 2003. Also, been in main body of Michigan but only passing through Grand Rapids to Muskegon to get Lake Express to M'waukee (going was fine, coming back was rough and I'm not good on water at the best of times...)

Would appreciate your thoughts on cloning or backup as above comments to Bree

Bree
The link you provided has dead download links for Win7. Went to Heidoc website and downloaded the new tool. My old one and the new one don't permit Win7 downloads. Happy New Year!
Snick

As I suspected, our posts crossed. I've downloaded it. I shan't bother opening it if it links to the MS iso repositories anyway unless there is good reason for using that particular link? Are there any benefits over and above downloading from MS?

 

[SIW2]

@SIW2
Media Creation Tool is a Microsoft web link that permits download and creation of Windows install media. You have the option of creating an ISO, USB. Very slow in all as M$ usually does everything. I'm not sure if the Win7 is still available, Win10 is! IMHO. Happy New Year to you!

MCT is an executable file for creating win10/11 installation media .
It looks like this:





there used to be win7 iso files for download directly from MS, but no MCT for win7 that I have seen.

 

[Rhothgar]

@Snick

SINCE ANSWERED BY SIW2

As an aside, I have found a USB stick with something on that resembles clean install but it is not one I have created. Found it in my partner's drawer though she wouldn't have created it so no idea where it is from unless I borrowed it off my brother perhaps.

The file dates pre-date Windows 7 but some of the filenames contain Win7. This leaves me wondering if it's a beta version but a year before release?

Maybe it's Windows Vista? Do you recognise any of the file structure perhaps?

 

[SIW2]

Looks like oem installation/recovery media.

fbloader.bin is a clue

Windows 7 (32-bit, sold on an Asus eeePC)

Making Windows 7 installation media via Linux from WIM files - Super User

 

[Rhothgar]

I am not familiar with that. Are you looking for installation media for win7? It usually comes as an .iso file

Yes. The AIO option because I seem to recall I had massive issues with product keys last time I installed Windows 7 and I am not sure if Microsoft themselves solved it because my install path was something like Windows XP Retail, Window Vista Upgrade, Windows 7 Home Upgrade, Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate Upgrade and I wanted a clean install. It seems I used the double install method eventually and it worked. It was a massive headache though.

As it is I cannot afford to get as stressed as I did 5 years ago.

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Looks like oem installation/recovery media.

Oh crumbs! I dread to think which PC it would be for although, as I say, I most definitely haven't created it as I've never seen a Sandisk Cruzer Edge that is white and yellow. I have a few legacy PC's kicking around so it will no doubt be for one of them but I've always built my own. Perhaps my aging memory has faded a little.

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Since your edit! That answers it. We did have some Asus eee laptops at some point! Thank you. Brilliant detective work!

 

[torchwood]

Hi Rhothgar,

looks like that minitower was shipped with Vista, but not Ultimate,, likely why you had activation problems
Clean install of an Upgrade version requires a slightly different setup approach
(based on your specs)
anywhere near me im in southampton

 

[Rhothgar]

Hi Rhothgar,

looks like that minitower was shipped with Vista, but not Ultimate,, likely why you had activation problems
Clean install of an Upgrade version requires a slightly different setup approach
(based on your specs)
anywhere near me im in southampton

Unfortunately not, I'm 3 hours away in the East Midlands.

Hopefully, @Snick will be able to provide the link I need now that I've learned how to tag people here.

Thanks for reaching out torchwood

What I would like to do is have a copy of Windows 7 and 10 on same USB stick if possible that will install on any PC irrespective of hardware because I have started tinkering modding a HP Z420 and may need to swap drives out.

Planning on trying to be a little tidier now and keeping all content on OneDrive seeing as I pay for it! So if I have a hardward failure of any kind, I can whack a replacement piece of hardware in and get back up and running within an hour be that graphics card failure, hard drive or otherwise.

 

[torchwood]

you might want to check, your system bios setups they will likely be different
your old vista machine will most likely be MBR but your newer SFF machine could be EUFI

tip
Dual Boot Windows 10 with Windows 7 or Windows 8 | Tutorials

 

[Rhothgar]

you might want to check, your system bios setups they will likely be different
your old vista machine will most likely be MBR but your newer SFF machine could be EUFI

tip
Dual Boot Windows 10 with Windows 7 or Windows 8 | Tutorials

Maybe you have misunderstood what I am doing. I do tend to digress and that can lead to confusion.

The old Vista machine was long mothballed so I am not touching that at present and may never again other than to grab old photos off it.

All the machines will be MBR too because I have never used UEFI to date but will be looking to use that on the current machines at some point. That's possibly a whole new learning curve to me.

I am not actually looking to create a dual boot machine merely a USB stick with the relevant isos on in separate partitions so that I can choose which Windows to clean install or backup to restore. Not sure if it is even possible to do this.

Maybe Rufus plays a part somewhere.

I'll take a look at the Tutorial link you provided in the meantime.

 

[SIW2]

If you get the original ms iso files, one way is to use ventoy to create a bootable usb.

Then you just copy the iso files onto the usb stick. Windows 7 and newer will all work , but vista iso doesnt work with ventoy

ScreenShot . Ventoy

 

[Bree]

Bree
The link you provided has dead download links for Win7. Went to Heidoc website and downloaded the new tool. My old one and the new one don't permit Win7 downloads. Happy New Year!
Snick

Currently the only download links Heidoc has for Windows 7 ISOs from Microsoft are for 'Windows 7 (August 2018)'.





Heidoc are currently asking for donations to fund a Visual Studio subscription so that they can provide more Win7 downloads.

In order to be able to continue providing these downloads, and many more, it could be an option to generate the download links through a Visual Studio Subscription (formerly known as MSDN). The subscription for the first year costs €7707. To cover the payment fees, the funding goal is at €8000.

Fundraiser by Jan Krohn : Bring Windows 7 back to the HeiDoc ISO Downloader

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I did see this Heidoc website from a general internet search but I was hesistant because it isn't an official source so I discounted it as a safe site.

No, it is not an official source, but it does generate links to download direct from Microsoft (or direct from Dell for their system-specific recovery ISOs).

 

[Snick]

Hopefully, @Snick will be able to provide the link I need now that I've learned how to tag people here.

Rhothgar

Here you go Win7x64.ISO SP2 All-In-One In a zip folder.

Snick

 

[Megahertz07]

Do you have a Win 7 installation DVD or a iso file?
If you do, create your own USB win 7 installation drive.
To make a Win 7 USB boot able drive:

Open a CMD window as administrator and type:

diskpart
list disk (it will list all drives. Identify the USB drive number)
select disk n (replace n by the USB drive number obtained with list disk)
clean
convert mbr
create part primary
select part 1
format fs=fat32 quick
assign
active
exit (to exit diskpart)

If you have a Win 7 installation iso file
On Win 7 use 7Zip to extract all files and folders from the Win 7 iso file to the USB drive.
On Win 10, mount the iso file and copy all files and folders to the USB drive.

If you have a Win 7 installation DVD
On another computer that has ODD, copy all files and folders from the DVD to the USB drive

To make it UEFI boot able you must add the \efi\boot folder

To make it universal (all Win 7 versions), go to \sources on the USB drive and delete \sources\ei.cfg

 

[Rhothgar]

Rhothgar

Here you go Win7x64.ISO SP2 All-In-One In a zip folder.

Snick

Oh man! I wish I'd have seen this earlier...

I've just restored a Windows Image Backup from 2016 and spent time doing updates. In fact, I've just posted in general discussion about it. Nothing wrong with trying to expand my knowledge.

I'll still be tinkering anyhow so I've give your ISO a shot. Many thanks.

 

[Megahertz07]

I've just restored a Windows Image Backup from 2016 and spent time doing updates. In fact, I've just posted in general discussion about it. Nothing wrong with trying to expand my knowledge.

For the updates, use Single file with all updates - Simplix

 

[Rhothgar]

For the updates, use Single file with all updates - Simplix

Nice one! Megahertz07. Thank you.

After switching checking off, do I then only need to run it manually for driver updates and the like? And just never install any Windows updates?