Windows Forum·65,748 discussions

Windows 7 install problem

Tags: Operating Systems

I really hope you can help me because I’m tearing my hair out! I had a hd fail so invested in a sad. I wanted to reinstall win 7 because I’m used to it and like it. I have an official DVD so started the install, but I got a message saying there was a missing driver.
I’ve searched the net for an answer, watched numerous YouTube videos, but they talk about booting from a USB. I certainly didn’t encounter this last time I did an install, but that was within XP.
Can you help?

Topic

Don’t forget……

In reply to Windows 7 install problem

Microsoft no longer offers any support for versions of Windows older than Windows 10. You can attempt to use Windows 7 but most current programs also do not support Windows 7. The manufacturer of the program might offer some type of update or discount on a newer version of the original program. Best wishes.

That’s OK….

In reply to Don’t forget……

The computer is used for music production only and the software works perfectly well on Win 7. I know there is no support now, but that doesn’t worry me as there is no Internet connection.

Small world. Just last month I did a Windows 7 install.

In reply to Windows 7 install problem

It was AWFUL. And this was me with decades of some thousands of Windows OS installs (many versions.)

Today I won’t install on the newer gen CPUs. It fails hard with you guessed it, missing driver. There’s also older machines that require you to have a floppy with drivers for the old SCSI boards. Good luck finding folk that know that archaic install system.

At this point you’ve essentially told us “it doesn’t work” but left out all the meaty detail such as what PC (detailed!) so I can’t start to give you much advice other than to install Windows 10 and then skin it with Classic Start or Classic Shell to make it look like Windows 7.

PS. About apps that fail to run on W10 that did on W7. These are few and far between once we dismiss old Antivirus suites that well, shouldn’t run on other than the OS they came out for.

Spec

In reply to Small world. Just last month I did a Windows 7 install.

Its a Gigabyte PC running an ASRock N68-GS4 motherboard with AM3 processor. I could name you lots of software add ons for the main music programs, some quite old and no longer made, but run on Win 7 perfectly. They will run on Win 10, but need a conversion program to make them work.

Original, USB3 or R2.0?

In reply to Spec

It may not matter. But the AM3 CPU is not exact enough. I can’t check if it should work yet.

What gives us great pause is this item:
“SATA Floppy Image ver:10.3.0.42 (XP 32 / XP64 / Vista 32 / Vista 64) / 11.1.0.23 (Win7 32 / Win7 64)”
From https://www.asrock.com/MB/NVIDIA/N68-GS4%20FX/index.asp#Download

This may be one of those rare motherboards that you can’t boot and install Windows to without specifying drivers from the floppy disc.

These are not unheard of.

Also, once in a while folk try to install to a NOT BLANK HDD and hilarity follows.

Wish I had answers for you but I don’t have all the PC details yet.

Processor

In reply to Original, USB3 or R2.0?

As far as i can tell, its an AMD Opteron 3300.

No Opteron on the CPU support list.

In reply to Processor

I didn’t check the other two N68-GS4 models but I doubt the Opteron is supported there as well.

https://www.asrock.com/MB/NVIDIA/N68-GS4%20FX/index.asp#CPU

Maybe you don’t know what you have. A lot of folk don’t but so far I see no reason for this to work yet.

You are right..

In reply to No Opteron on the CPU support list.

it was a guess, but without an OS installed I’d need to take it apart to check. Just looked at the link you provided and I see Opteron 3300 at the top of the list, or am I reading it wrong?

This missing driver problem is very common, but all the solutions talk about installing from a USB stick not the original disk…
https://www.bing.com/search?q=win+7+install+missing+driver&FORM=HDRSC1

Just last month I did another W7 install.

In reply to You are right..

But here we don’t know much about the target PC. It looks very old so there be dragons and can be very non-standard for the install.

No expects to find a step by step for this yet. If you or someone did this with a two step install of XP then W7 then you should repeat what worked.

HOWEVER if you thought W7 installs were hard, today’s XP installs are no better as the update server on the web to get from XP to XP SP3 is offline. These areas are only getting worse and more expensive over time. Fewer techs can do this install and not one I know can write a step by step due to variations in the target PC.

Maybe it needs to be written that you can obtain, install and run W10 without paying a dime. Our oldest laptop was some 2006 Dell e1505 Inspiron with dual core 32 bit Centrino, 1GB RAM and the usual 120GB SSD. Boot time was about 35 seconds from cold and mom used that for bill pay and more till it was stolen.

Re: missing driver

In reply to Windows 7 install problem

You didn’t tell what driver was missing. I’ve never seen such a message when installing Windows from a CD/DVD, so it must be something special with your hardware.
The Gigabyte site should tell.

Been there…

In reply to Re: missing driver

….and just about everywhere else, but again they are talking about USB stick installs.
Don’t know what driver it is.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=RNTUSvgb&id=BF113BB312FB19E7215AAB61A25D1383308B5FDA&thid=OIP.RNTUSvgb9dACTpH9gCiw7QHaEJ&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-HBPhkX5wRBQ%2FV1Asmqgz0tI%2FAAAAAAAAESE%2FfB6AKynu704c1PS3MzJbGCR0Ax3YXo3kACLcB%2Fs1600%2FMISSNGDRVR.JPG&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR44d4d44af81bf5d0024e91fd8028b0ed%3Frik%3D2l%252bLMIMTXaJhqw%26pid%3DImgRaw&exph=896&expw=1600&q=missing+driver+win+7+install&simid=608046775129019560&ck=25751342D23A613F9EDE08025A7**790&selectedindex=2&form=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=4&sim=11

I’m seriously…

In reply to Been there…

…considering installing an old XP OS and doing the install from the desktop. That’s how I did it 8 years ago!

Been there…

In reply to Re: missing driver

….and just about everywhere else, but again they are talking about USB stick installs.
Don’t know what driver it is.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=RNTUSvgb&id=BF113BB312FB19E7215AAB61A25D1383308B5FDA&thid=OIP.RNTUSvgb9dACTpH9gCiw7QHaEJ&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-HBPhkX5wRBQ%2FV1Asmqgz0tI%2FAAAAAAAAESE%2FfB6AKynu704c1PS3MzJbGCR0Ax3YXo3kACLcB%2Fs1600%2FMISSNGDRVR.JPG&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR44d4d44af81bf5d0024e91fd8028b0ed%3Frik%3D2l%252bLMIMTXaJhqw%26pid%3DImgRaw&exph=896&expw=1600&q=missing+driver+win+7+install&simid=608046775129019560&ck=25751342D23A613F9EDE08025A7**790&selectedindex=2&form=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=4&sim=11

The Gigabyte did tell (me).

In reply to Re: missing driver

I noted this above that a big clue was dropped that we may have to have the floppy or other media with drivers for the board during install.

Few folk and techs run into this unless they do installs often enough but the clue was at the motherboard driver site.

Then again, it’s in a code words that only those that do installs would spot.

I think you already…..

In reply to Windows 7 install problem

….got the best answer available. Unless the software manufacturer offers some type of patch you will likely have to either buy a new version or different, compatible program.

When I attempted to install Quickbooks 2013 on a new laptop this week, I got an error and Intuit insisted that my old version was incompatible with Windows 10 despite the fact I had the software running on my prior laptop and my current desktop computers running Windows 10.

Sadly, there is no easy fix and only reality remains.

It sucks, but that’s the reality

About this.

In reply to I think you already…..

Windows 10 is no longer just Windows 10. If you had it installed years ago there can be support for old APIs that are no more in today’s Windows 10.

These APIs were found to be rarely used and exploitable so they had to go.

Sometimes I find there is a “special” MSI file I have to hunt down and install just like the old C RUNTIMES. Quickbook installers may not do this for us.

Example: Old Windows 10 may have those old C RUNTIME Libraries. A new clean install? Don’t count on it.

[Author]

Replies