Install Windows 7 on i7-8850h processor
Install Windows 7 on i7-8850h processor
Good morning everyone, I’m facing a major challenge right now. We’re on-site supporting a customer, and we handed them an engineering station to set up our PLCs in the field... The issue is that my supervisor didn’t verify if the system would work with Windows 7—the last supported OS for their chosen programming environment. Our machine is a Siemens Field PG M6 with 32GB RAM and an i7-8850h processor. I’m trying to boot Windows 7 but it keeps failing, showing a black screen and not recognizing the boot partition or EFI file. The boot manager claims it should use an EFI Windows loader, but the ISO was created with a Windows 7 Image Updater that references Windows 10’s installation environment. My BIOS only allows EFI images, not legacy ones. I’m considering removing the SSD and installing everything from another machine in UEFI mode using Rufus, though I’m not sure if that will resolve it. This laptop is worth over 6000€, and I can’t just use it as a piece of furniture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time.
When running Windows 7, are there any Siemens drivers for it? Someone else faced the same issue but hasn't seen a fix: https://support.industry.siemens.com/tf/...-m6/223675 Then on the vendor site you find a note saying that if you still need Windows 7 Enterprise, the SIMATIC Field PG M5 is the final option. Orders should be placed soon before production ends for the SIMATIC Field PG M5 since Windows 7 won't work with the newer hardware there.
This suggestion seems reasonable, though there might be security measures in place that block booting to an OS not originally created on the same machine or unauthorized devices. Have you tried generating a Windows 7 UEFI image using Rufus? You mentioned using the Windows 7 Image Updater, which includes drivers for modern CPUs, Wi-Fi, and networking features. While I wasn’t familiar with it before you referenced it, it sounds like a solid option. Including basic drivers for your optical drive and USB 2.0 in the Windows 7 ISO is typical, so installing Windows 7 via a Rufus-created UEFI device and updating drivers manually might be feasible. If that approach fails, the i7 8850H processor is a six-core chip—could you set up a Windows 7 virtual machine on a Windows 10 host with VMware Workstation? You should be able to run it smoothly, as I’ve seen similar setups work well. Running it with four cores instead of six would likely produce nearly identical performance to a physical machine.
Here’s a clearer version of your notes:
1. I have an official ISO for Windows 7 Enterprise 64-bit that I first mounted on a USB drive using Rufus in UEFI mode. It booted at startup, but when it reached the four colored dots during installation and said "Starting Windows," it froze completely.
2. The ISO from the image updater is the only one that managed to install the OS, but after rebooting, the machine stays on screen after POST and seems completely unresponsive.
3. This is mostly a test situation. I’ll look for drivers as I progress. I noticed a driver disk for Windows 10 with some Windows 7 subfolders, which gives me some hope.
4. I attempted to follow a manual guide to install Intel RST and USB3 drivers on the ISO, along with a few standard updates, but it ended up producing the same freezing issue as point 1.
5. The software is a large multi-install (around 30GB), which is extremely difficult to use. I managed to install part of it on Windows 10 by using ResourceHacker and InstEdit, removing compatibility checks. The version for those interested is PCS7 v8.0 SP2; Windows 10 compatibility was added in version 9.0, which the customer doesn’t want.
6. The customer needs the software to run directly on hardware because their Siemens Field PG includes a built-in Communication Board for Profibus fieldbus. I’m not sure if this will work through a VM.
7. Unfortunately, the M5 model of the machine also ran Windows 10, but it might be possible to downgrade it. My last option would be to try installing on another PC and swap drives back to the problematic machine, hoping it works. Inside the system, there appears to be a Fujitsu board with some add-ons.
If that fails, I’d need to figure out why the modified ISO from point 2 doesn’t boot properly. It seems like a BCD error might be involved. This is really confusing—I’m not sure what to do next. Thanks again for your help, Fabio!
Imagine you managed to get it running. Are you or your boss taking charge of support for this Frankenstein-like device? If in six months someone messes it up and needs a full reinstall, the cost will be higher than just using it as a display... Consider returning it or using it differently and opt for a properly configured machine that still meets the requirements. If you can't locate a suitable option, inform the customer they’ll have to rely on second-hand parts and possibly an older, used Windows 7 system.
I think once it functions, I’d quickly create a snapshot of the SSD similar to what Acronis offers and keep it safely for recovery purposes.