Installing Windows 7 on the pure UEFI systems without CSM

First off, I am using Flashboot Pro, which is amazing and the only way I have gotten Windows 7 installed on newer hardware (i.e. hardware after Intel 200 (6th gen) series). Note that I choose the options to bundle usb 3.X drivers when using Flasboot Pro, which without I would not even have keyboard/mouse to get through the Win 7 setup.

My question though is have folks had success installing Windows 7 on Intel Rocket Lake (11th gen) hardware? I have tried a few different Asus B560M, as well as B460, motherboards and while Windows 7 installs fine and I have USB keyboard/mouse throughout setup, I lose keyboard support *once I am in Windows*. Various USB mice all work fine, but none of my USB keyboards work. And they are super generic, no media keys, etc.

Under the Device and Printers panel, I see the keyboards as an "Unspecified" device at the bottom. Going into the properties for any of the keyboards I try, it says "the drivers for this device are not installed: code 28”. Again, these are the most basic keyboard and have been plug and play just fine on my prior Windows 7 machines, under older hardware.

I've tried the USB drivers from the 'USB 3/XHCI driver stack for Windows 7' thread on this forum, but no dice.

I *can* successfully use a PS/2 keyboard, but I would like to avoid that, heh. It's also kinda crazy that I can use usb flash drives, usb mice, usb ethernet adapters all just fine with this new system, but I can't get a usb keyboard working with it.

Any thoughts? Much appreciated, thanks!

 

You could get an Asmedia USB controller as it has drivers for Win7. The keyboard should work fine after that. I tried installing Win7 on a Z490 and had the same problem as you....no gaming keyboard support. Everything else I think worked.

You could have also used the Gigabyte tool that came out for the Z370 to slipstream the USB and NVME drivers.

 

Did you try asus ez installer? It's supposed to modify correctly the W7 install media with all the correct drivers.

That said given the minimal cost an addon USB2/3 pcie card would solve your keyboard problem.

Alternatively you can use a usb to ps2 adapter, it should be releatively cheap as well.

 

@JKDC: Ah, thank you for a specific USB controller chipset (ASMedia) that works with Win 7. I did some research of available cards and other chipsets that claim to also work under Win 7. Does the Gigabyte tool offer USB drivers that are different (e.g. more compatible) than what is offered from the 'USB 3/XHCI driver stack for Windows 7' thread on this forum? The big issue is that with UEFI-3 motherboards and no CSM mode (as talked about in this thread) you are hosed without something like Flashboot Pro or other similar methods that deal with the vga 10H handler situation. Otherwise, you run into the Windows logo freeze situation.

@acer-5100: I haven't tried Asus-ez installer. Sounds like the Asus version of the Gigabyte tool JKDC mentioned above? I fear the whole UEFI-3 situation still applies here. Agreed that a USB pcie card is likely the way to go. ASMedia (ASM3142) seems to be the compatible chipset of choice. In regards to ps2 adapters, that is a possibility, but those adapters only work if the keyboard itself has a chipset that actually does ps2/usb. Older keyboards are more likely to support that or find a USB one that also says PS/2 compatible (e.g. 'V7 CKU200US'). But yeah, unfortunately the vast sea of USB keyboards on the market today won't actually work with a ps/2 adapter.

Thanks guys. I'm still baffled why it's just the keyboard that doesn't work but I think there are enough options (compatible pcie usb controller or m.2 usb controller) to get this going. Key was finding a motherboard with Realtek integrated audio and ethernet, since drivers still work with Win 7. Then just get a video card (e.g. NVIDIA has Win 7 drivers as of May 2022 - v473.62), since Intel integrated video chipset beyond UHD630 (10th gen cpu) just won't work with Win 7. And even getting that to work requires modified Intel 6th gen drivers.

Note that my experience is pure Intel CPU/motherboards here. Maybe an AMD path is a happier experience with modern hardware from them + Win 7?

 

I never used it, I don't have any HW to test it, and perhaps if I can't avoid UEFI, I install al my OSes on MBR formatted native VHDs. I just mentioned something that *may* work better.

Testing it is the only way to tell.

Nope, you are confusing the passive adapters (the small green/purple things), that came bundled with early USB Logitech keyboards (they cost less than 1$), with proper active converters, which actually includes electronics in it, and requires power to work (usually taken from PS2 or USB itself), those usually cost from 10 to 20$.

 

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An update to this.

So in device manager there should be a section called "Keyboards" At least that is what I see on my laptop and desktop that run Windows 7. However, I don't see that on the machine in question here when keyboards are plugged in. And that's highly suspect. However, if I go into "Devices and Printers" I do see an icon for the keyboard plugged in. Sometimes it's under an "Unspecified" section and other times it'll say for example "Dell USB Wired Keyboard". At least in a prior round it would, now they're always under "Unspecified". But the description always includes the word keyboard.

When you click properties on this icon, it says no drivers are installed for the device. It's also listed as an unknown HID device.

You can 'update/install' a driver for a device by pointing the prompt to a directory of driver files. I've tried this path many times with all kinds of generic USB 3.x drivers. Never did anything for the keyboard.

Just now though, I clicked the option that says "Let me pick from a list of device driver on my computer". It then asks what kind of device. In that list is an option for "Keyboard" Then it asks what kind of driver. There is driver for a "Standard keyboards" manufacturer with a model "HID Keyboard Device". Cool. Sounds super generic and just what we need. Choosing that it installs the driver and boom, the keyboard works now! Now I have to do these steps for each of the USB ports the keyboard could be plugged into (whether it's ones on the motherboard or the pcie cards), but once I do those prior mentioned manual steps it finally works and I can type.

Why on Earth can't it do this itself, like every other Win 7 machine I have ever interacted with. I'm choosing the most generic driver already on the system from that list. It's almost like it doesn't actually know this is specifically a keyboard being plugged in until I physically tell it so. Like I said, it was always being listed as unknown HID device.

I wish I tried this before wasting time with so many different motherboards and USB installers. But hey, maybe this will help future people that stop by here with this problem.

 

I have installed Windows 7 with CMS option. Now I try to switch CMS off. With FlashBoot creating USB like in description on @PrimeExpert Software page, then copied *.efi files to my boot partition.
1. If I turn on Above 4G Decoding in BIOS, get message about unsupported hardware. If it disabled - screen looks normal. But never mind what configured, a have second problem:
2. After loading on login screen, picture not refresh - stay on loading progress and freeze. But Windows works - I can login, run all and I see desktop via RDP. But on monitor still same picture just before login.
What do I wrong?

Previously try disabling VGA services, but same effect like in point 2.

Ryzen 2600, Windows 7 + SP1 (CD with SP1 too), RX 6600XT and last driver for Win7, SSD SATA (no NVMe), B450 from Asus, graphic card connected via DP with monitor.

Can someone help or hint me, what can I do else?

PS. Can't run system from USB created in Flashboot - blue screen and PAGE_FAULT during loading drivers in fimsfs.sys.

 

Yeah in Win 7 you have to hunt drivers and configure it yourself. I just had to do the same thing for raid support. It tried to install an older driver, which wouldn't start so I had to manually find it since windows update doesn't work anymore. Even then I had to force it to use it since it didn't recognize that it would work. I went with motherboards I could find on Ebay like X299 and Z370 that are 100% compatible with Win7 as my builds. Z370 has to be coaxed to accept the drivers, but they all work. X299 is supported out of the box.

I used the Gigabyte tool in on my X299 and Z370 so I don't know if it works for newer hardware, but my Win7 USB boot drive supported my mice and keyboard just fine.

 

I purchased Flashboot Pro, but unable to get anything installed on my HP Probook 435 w/Ryzen Pro 5850. Any help from the dev would be appreciated.

Edit: Got it working! Didnt integrate any drivers except Nvme, and USB that were included. For some reason when I try and use a modified installation ie, updated with the newest patches, it wont install. If I use a barebones SP1 disk, then it works.

 

So any ISO that has been slipstreamed with all of the updates will not work to install windows 7? I used NT lite to do this, and created an updated ISO, but flashboot says it will not install the VGA patch, because the loader does not belong to Windows 7 x64??
Is there a way to check the installation media and determine if the patch is integrated?

 

Hmmm, I know the vga patch is not installing on updated/slipstreamed disks. Is this a known issue? Is there going to be a fix for this? I want to create an ISO with your vga bypass, with all the current updates, and the driver files I would require, and possibly the bcEdit to remove driver signature. What I dont get, is why someone doesnt release an ISO with all of this done already?

 

Lol, ya I trust MS about as far as they can be thrown. Drivers are just getting more, and more difficult to come by now. Not enough people modifying them to keep up.

 

@PrimeExpert Software
Microsoft released a new bootmgfw.efi（version：6.1.7601.26022）in kb5017361，it has a SHA256 Microsoft Signature。
So win7 can work when secure boot is enabled now.
But FlashBoot's patch for UEFI loader destroyed Microsoft Signature.

 

Try to sign it with custom certificate and import it into system. It should be enough.

 

Can Patch for UEFI loader be created as a separate a file like Uefiseven?
So that signature will not be invalidated.