Windows 7 Guide!
Hello this is my guide to getting setup with Windows 7 in 2024 and beyond! A lot of the info here has been gathered from around the web, particularly the windows 7 subreddit, but I wanted to archive it all here!
Firstly, Why Windows 7??
The software you use defines your experience of any form of digital creation, be that websites, games, drawings - anything! Every OS has a cultural, aesthetic and practical mix of attributes that define who you become as you use it. Iv picked Windows 7 as a focal point because it sits as a really weird mix of modern and old - its from the last moment of the 00s, yet it runs all the way up to the 20s - in a way it holds a candle of early computing values that are lost in later versions, while still having a lot of the functionally and software from both eras. Having a Windows 7 setup is like holding onto a moment in time, and having a magic box of digital tools that no one can take away from you. No update can break it, no subscription can end it and it can be your secret space for years to come! Think of it like a box of art supplies for the digital craftier, one that you can count on year after year to stay the same and free from the whims of the world.
Getting your hands on a Windows 7 computer!
There are lots of ways to get an old computer, maybe you can find a used one from someone you know, maybe you'd like to build one using older parts - the best way I recommenced is to find an old workstation PC, they are usually cheap and very powerful.
Tips for finding Windows 7 hardware: (Iv listed lots so if you don't understand one you can use others)
- Look for parts made between 2012 - 2017 for best compatibility.
- Between 8 - 32GB of ram is great - your system may come with less, but old ram is super cheap to upgrade
- Systems that use DDR3 ram are the best option.
- An Nvidia Geforce 670/770 would be great for Windows 7 era games.
- An Nvidia Quadro M2000 is a great GPU for 3d modeling (and lower end gaming)
- Sandy Bridge LGA1155 or LGA2011 are a perfect generation of CPU/motherboard to aim for
- Put an SSD in your Windows 7 system, its worth it!
- Lenovo ThinkStation and DELL Precision are good desktop workstations to search for.
- Lenovo Thinkpads are a good type of laptop to look for.
- Some Workstations will have legacy PCI slots that allow you to use much older SoundBlaster sound cards (Audigy, X-Fi) - just for fun
- Look for the "Supports Windows 7" sticker on the case (Even if it says its got Windows 10+ installed)
- Look up the systems manual in order to check what parts its compatible with.
- Precision T3600, HP Z620 and ThinkStation E31 systems can be found on eBay for around euro/$100 and should be great!
- Parts are super cheap, so you can always swap things around and tinker as you use your computer.
- You can install Win 7 on Macs made between 2010 and 2014 and they work great, however you may need to downgrade to a lower macOS version (10.10 for example) becouse they removed the Windows 7 Bootcamp option in later versions - you can upgrade mac again once Win7 is installed in bootcamp
- Don't overpay for Windows 7 hardware, keep your whole budget under $200
- Don't pay more than $50 for any part of your Windows 7 computer
NOTE: The hardware you are getting will be old, and possibly well used! It may be worth looking up how to replace the thermal compound and de-dust your system, this will ensure it has a good long life.
NOTE: Its worth inspecting the hardware you get for any setup mistakes, AND inspecting the BIOS settings for weird configurations. For example the PC I received had its PCI-E bandwidth set to 64bit, but my GPU was 128bit, meaning I was getting slightly worse performance than I otherwise should; also the ram was incorrectly installed, making it a tiny bit slower. These are small things, but if you know how to fix them its worth it!
Installing Windows 7 on ur computer!
First you'll need to get a copy of Windows 7! There is a version that was released in 2018 that includes 10 years worth of updates up to that point and its the de facto one to grab!
- Here is a download link on archive.org (if the link is broken search for "7601.24214.180801-1700.win7sp1_ldr_escrow_") - You'll see a list of files, and a selection of .iso files. You have three options to pick "HOMEPREMIUM" "PROFESSIONAL" and "ULTIMATE". If you're computer has a Windows serial key printed on its box, download the one that matches your key! (If not don't worry, just pick ULTIMATE) - You will also see x86 and x64 veriants, x86 is for 32bit computers, x64 is for 64bit computers ~ in most cases you will want x64 unless you know you can only run 32bit OSs on your CPU.
- Use Rufus to make a USB installer key (you'll need a 8+GB usb stick or external ssd)
- Stick your USB stick into a USB2.0 port (it must be a USB2.0 port, if you only have USB3 on your computer you can still install, but you'll need to do some junk to include USB3 drivers on your installer and its a pain) (its ok if your USB stick is USB3, as long as the port you plug it into is USB2) - You may need to select it as a boot device using F12 or Delete
- Install Windows 7 using the usual process (I'm sure you can find other guides if needed)
First you'll need to get the drivers for your system, if its a Dell, Lenovo or other big brand you should just be able to search on the company website and pick Windows 7 drivers!
If its a Dell you can check the BIOS to get your Service Tag in order to get the exact drivers!
If you are installing on an old Mac, you can find all the drivers on this page!
- Open the Start Menu and search Device Manager, look for anything on the device list with a yellow alert triangle, then keep installing drivers until the yellow triangles go away!
- Run Windows Update! You may need to run it a few times, but eventually it will say "Your system is up to date" - at this point, completely disable windows updates because there will never be any more!
If you installed an old SoundBlaster Audigy or X-Fi card - the Daniel_K's fan made drivers are here.
To install, select Properties on the setup.exe - then enable Compatibility Mode for Windows 7 - then run the setup!
After its working, you can use Vista Midi to tell windows to play midi files using the hardware wave tables on your soundblaster!
You should now have all your drivers installed, and be up to date! But there are some extra housekeeping steps I recommend.
- Run this script to remove buggy updates an telemetry updates added in the Windows 10 era. (save the raw page as a .cmd)
- Install 8 Gadget Pack - it resolves some security issues in the included gadgets.
- Install the Pale Moon or Basilisk browser (An updated Firefox fork that uses the old UI)
- If you don't have a Windows 7 Serial Key on your case, get "Windows 7 Loader v2.2.2" (just search online) to fully activate your install. Otherwise don't forget to enter your key to activate!
- Download an Antivirus - Panda is not perfect, but its free and still supports XP and 7!
- Grab Winaero Tweaker (I don't use it a lot, but you might enjoy exploration its options)
- Check settings to make sure the firewall is on and stays on!
OK so the software you pick is really up to you, I'll list some recommendations and tips though!
Office - you can find Microsoft Office 2007 on archive.org, Office 2010 is also a good choice, but I like the UI in 2007 more! You will find serials very easily with a search on the web! Both versions support .docx format files just fine. I do not recommend you use Outlook 2007 as its too old!
Adobe (Photo editing, Video production etc) - CS6 is the best version for Windows 7, this software is no longer sold, but you can find "CS6 Master" Suit collections with crack files on P2P sites with names that are very "1337". If you are downloading from P2P sites I recommend you do it on a more modern system and virus scan it before you move it to Windows 7. I also recommenced you use a VPN when accessing such sites. (This applies to any other software you might need from P2P sites, and it also applies to archive.org although archive tends to be a lot safer!)
Check the cool 3D software thread for 3d software.
Blender - the last official Windows 7 version is 2.92! - There are also unofficial builds of the latest blender version that have been compiled for Windows 7.
Geany - by far the nicest website/code editor on Windows 7
Games - The best way to get games is from GOG (obvs pick games that you know are old enough to run) - I think Steam will just about still install as of writing, but I've not tested it and I'm not sure how long it'll work.
If you play SecondLife you can use the classic style Singularity Viewer to connect!
If you wanna play our Minecraft Server, you can install an older Prism version then follow the regular guide.
First download the Visual C++ Library x64 and the x86 version - Then install Prism 7.2 Legacy Edition.
Other good things to install;
Notepad++ (Code edits), K-Lite Codecs (For playing videos), Winrar (I like it more than 7zip ok!), Seamonkey (alternate browser), Thunderbird (email client), WACUP (A fan update of WinAmp), XMPlay (Another cool music player that's great for mods and tracker music!)
Final Notes!
Is it safe to use Windows 7 online? Yes its fine, particularly if you are only visiting smaller indie spaces. Just make sure you have your firewall on and you act sensibly. I dunno how long Windows 7 will be usable online more generally, prob a few years, but for now it works fine!
Good luck and enjoy Windows 7!
addition (5 Nov, 2025):
Wanted to share a cool discovery! There's a port of wine for windows that you can install on Windows 7 (up to 11) that lets you run super old 16bit windows programs on modern windows builds!
Normally you'd have to be on XP or older to run these, but this basically lets you launch them like normal programs. It seems pretty stable, I was able to run some early 90s ray-tracing programs with it
- matt rose
