Get the Windows 7 ISO file for download.
Get the Windows 7 ISO file for download.
I faced the same problem while setting up Win7 on an MSI X470 board with an M.2 NVMe Samsung 960 Evo. I had to load USB3 drivers during installation by pressing F6 or clicking "load drivers" on one of the screens. I don’t recall which screen it was—just before you pick a drive. At that stage, I also needed to add the Samsung NVMe drivers. Using Rufus, I formatted the USB stick with GPT support for EUFI. After formatting and copying the Win7 ISO, I transferred the drivers as instructed. If you’re installing on an NVMe drive like mine, you’ll need the exact drivers for that device. Many motherboard makers offer tools to inject drivers into Windows ISOs during installation. I spent a lot of time getting Win7 to work on my hardware, so I hope this helps speed things up.
I previously attempted to install drivers during the setup of Windows 7, but the process failed. When the installer displays the error about missing drivers, I try to search for them using the browse option. Once located in the menu, I select them and proceed to open them, but it still reports that it can't locate the right drivers for my hardware. Since I have an Intel CPU, I considered downloading drivers from the Intel website. Could I be better off using MSI drivers instead? Because my motherboard is from MSI.
Here’s a revised version of your text:
I’ve identified some hardware components related to CPU, storage, and Mobo that often cause problems when installing Windows 7 on new systems. The main issues seem to stem from USB3 compatibility and NVMe controller support. When the installation prompts for drivers, it’s important they are clean and properly signed. In my experience, I needed to download NVMe drivers directly from Samsung’s site—this was an .exe file—and had to separate the .cat, .inf, and .sys files before loading them into the Windows installer.
If you’re having trouble during driver installation, Windows may display messages like “cannot find drivers.” There’s an option at the bottom of the dialog to unhide drivers; if it’s unchecked, you might not see the ones you need. You’ll likely encounter an error about unsigned drivers. MSI offers a tool called MSI Smart Tool that can help inject USB3 and NVMe drivers onto your Windows 7 installation media. You can find more guidance here: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=261560.0
Intel also provides a utility at https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloa...or-Utility. I recommend trying both options and see which works best for you.
Having mouse and keyboard support during installation suggests the USB3 drivers might not be the main issue, but something else could be at play. Sharing your hardware details will help narrow it down.
My computer details are: CPU - Intel Core i5 8600K Storage for Windows: TOSHIBA DT01ACA050 500GB Motherboard: MSI Z370 A PRO I believe USB3.0 isn't the cause of my inability to download Windows 7, as I've tested both USB3.0 and USB2.0 without success. I plan to attempt downloading this tool and see if it assists. I've already used the software but don't find it very appealing. When trying to install USB3.0 drivers on my bootable USB drive, the program freezes completely. After waiting 30 minutes, no confirmation appears on my screen indicating completion. I'm hoping this provides a solution and appreciate your assistance.
I want to explain what I mean here. You mentioned that both USB2 and USB3 ports didn’t work, even when using a USB3 port. Once the motherboard had USB3 ports, Windows treated all USB ports as USB3 because they shared the same controller or chipset. My problem was that during installation, once it started and Windows took over, I couldn’t use the mouse or keyboard to finish. I managed to succeed later by using MSI’s Smart Tool to inject drivers directly into the Windows 7 ISO, which gave me mouse and keyboard support. If you’re unsure what hardware is causing this, consider these steps: 1. Update your BIOS to version 7B48v25. 2. Install all relevant drivers for your motherboard—Intel Z370 chipset drivers and SATA drivers from Intel or MSI. Note: the MSI drivers listed for Windows 10 64bit support Windows 7 64bit too. 3. Use MSI Smart Tool to add USB3 and iRST drivers during installation. Make sure they’re in .inf.cat.sys format; Windows can’t recognize EXE format drivers.