Ooh, ooh, bad OS on a bad PC. Will this work to get Win7 on a current box? That’s what I’d really like.
Windows 7 runs fine in virtual machines on current computers...
I have half a dozen computers that came with Windows 7 on them. The ones that I still use have all been upgraded to Windows 10 because of a plethora of advantages of using a supported operating system. I did resist the upgrade for quite a while long ago. I didn’t actually change over to Windows 10 on all my machines until after I purchased newer computers that came with it installed. After Microsoft ended support in 2020 it eventually became silly not to upgrade.
I am actually using a laptop right now that came with Windows 7, a Lenovo G560 with 8GB of RAM, an old i5 M480, and an SSD. Some people claim this computer is not a good fit for Windows 10, but that is just not true. This setup is more than enough for emails, web browsing, office apps, and watching YouTube videos. It loads up quickly and runs very smoothly, and I had no problems finding the drivers necessary. I have it setup to dual boot with Ubuntu Studio 22.04. The Windows 10 sound drivers are superior to the ones that I use with Ubuntu which is typical.
I upgraded to Windows 10 largely because with Windows 7 you now have very limited choices with browsers and antivirus software. I do have some software that was designed for Windows 7 which is why I have a licensed Windows 7 Pro virtual machine setup in Hyper-V.
As someone who actually uses both Windows 10 and Windows 11... I am very happy with both. They are very good operating systems if you make the effort to learn how to get them to work the way that you want them to. Nearly every feature that Microsoft took away in their default settings can be re-enabled fairly easily. Sometimes it is easiest to find a 3rd party solution like the many free applications that can get you back to previous “start menus” etc...
Please explain why you are unhappy with Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have a lot of time and effort working with obscure Windows 7 programs or old hardware like printers and scanners that will not work with a later operating system I can certainly understand your frustration. Then there are the frequent updates and obtrusive notifications. Both of these annoyances can be dealt with. Currently Ubuntu Studio or other builds of Linux are likely better alternatives than Windows 7 if what you are using it for is office, email, and web browsing.