Troubleshooting Windows 7 on a Ryzen system with USB drivers, and considering an upgrade to Windows 10.
Troubleshooting Windows 7 on a Ryzen system with USB drivers, and considering an upgrade to Windows 10.
I managed to connect everything today for the upgrade to Ryzen. The system powered on and entered BIOS successfully, everything appeared fine. I moved on to installing the operating system and chose to install my Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64 Bit version, even though I’m aware Ryzen doesn’t officially support Windows 7. Surprisingly, the installation completed without BSODs—though I had to use a PS/2 keyboard since USB wasn’t functioning. After the install, using my keyboard still didn’t work on the USB ports, though it did in BIOS. I suspected a driver issue and began installing missing drivers, but time ran short at the location. Until Tuesday, I planned to seek advice and potential solutions. As a last option, I’m considering upgrading to Windows 10—would it recognize my Windows 7 key and convert it to a 10-key version? Or would I remain unactivated with an unlicensed 10 until I can afford a proper license? My current setup includes a Ryzen 3 1200, an ASRock AB350 Pro4 with 1x4GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400 DDR4 (defaulted to XMP profile 1 for 2400 at 14-16-16-31 with 1.2v, which worked). I haven’t tried profile 2 yet, but plan to. I also have a Seagate 2TB 7200RPM HDD.
Begin by installing chipset drivers. Locate them on the manufacturer's website for Windows 7. It is referred to as "all in one" or similar on the Asrock support page for your motherboard.
Set up Windows 10 first, then apply your Windows 7 activation key. According to what I remember, Windows 10 version 1709 can still work with a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 key for activation.
Ryzen backs Windows 7 officially. https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=490853 To enable USB 3.0 in Windows 7, you need to install the corresponding driver. This can be achieved using MSI Smart Tool to create a bootable USB drive for installation, or you can install it once Windows 7 is set up.
It's functioning! I missed the Driver DVD with the motherboard while working on it Friday, so today I brought it along and let it operate—perfect! It's now back home. All that remains is connecting it to Wi-Fi to complete the Windows updates, testing some games, and replacing my noisy Radeon HD 6970 with a quieter GTX 780.