Something to watch out for on newer hardware.
Stock Win7 is now rather old -- the latest SP1 install CDs are from 2009. As a result, it is common that when you bring up Win7 on new hardware:
But since you don't have any networking yet, and might not have USB, it can be a bit challenging to get the drivers onto your new Win7 installation. Some investigation may be required to find the chip maker's VendorID (VID) and ProductID (PID) values from the Windows Device Manager utility.
I've done all the above. It's certainly possible. But it's time-consuming and requires patience and full knowledge of device driver installation.
i have an older computer- 4 years old now- and i downloaded windows 7 ISO back when it was available for download- (you can still get it- but have to jump through hoops to get it from the MS site)- it is just hte stock windows 7- no drivers or anything- except generic ones i think- it had enough to get me online to get the specific drivers i needed- didn’t have to do anything special to get online- it connected automatically- I do remember having some issues with hardware such as my usb3 (wonky brand card- and drivers weren’t the greatest- had issues with that)
My graphics were generic to start- and a pain to deal with 640x480 screen lol- but i circumvented the problem by downloading graphics driver onto internal second HD- and installed that right away-
[[Special features like camera, audio, fingerprint, etc. will not be recognized. ]]
I wasn’;t aware of those- don’t use them except for audio of course- but i believe the generic drivers are all I’ve sued for sound- don’t recall installing specific drivers for it-
The biggest problem i had with scratch install of windows 7 was getting the lousy rotten good for nuttin windows update working- In order to get it working, you need certain KB files- but in order ot get those files, you have to have windows update working- but i did manage to find them online- downloaded them, and installed them right away and was able then to get the next needed files from updates- eventually got it to where it would download updates say 20 updates, in about 1-2 hours
Of course you need a couple hundred update files- so you can imagine how long all that took-
linux i had all updated in under an hour- all specific drivers on- everythign working- an most tweaks done (I use a specific program called easystroke that uses mouse gestures- what a time saver that is when you get used ot doing gestures for htins like closing webpages, programs with a downward drag of mouse- going forward and backerds by dragging mouse left and right- opening certain programs by drawing say an “S” or “V” or soem letter-
Absolutely fantastic program once you get used ot using gestures to navigate- Can even do things like ‘Select All” by drawing say an “S”, or pasting something by drawing a “P” instead of right clicking and selecting from menu- Anyways0 it’s a must have for me- but takes a little knowhow to install it- but not too bad- just wish it had a feature ot save all the commands so i could just import them whenever i install the program so i don’t have to do it all manually- one by one- but oh well-
[[But since you don’t have any networking yet, and might not have USB, it can be a bit challenging to get the drivers onto your new Win7 installation.]]
Speaking of which- i wondered about creating an iso with specific drivers on the CD- not sure how one would do that?
I do have windows backed up with macrium reflect clone though- now that all the updates and such are done- i suppose that would constitute an installation ISO in a way?