How can I install Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate on a Microsoft Surface Go?

[bruno16757]

Surface Go

Device

Windows OS

Surface Go 3

Windows 10, Version 20H2 build 19042 and later versions 

Windows 11, Version 21H2 build 22000 and later versions

Surface Go 2

Windows 10, Version 1809 build 17763 and later versions

Windows 11, Version 21H2 build 22000 and later versions

Surface Go

Windows 10, Version 1709 Build 16299 and later versions

Surface Go with LTE Advanced

Windows 10, Version 1709 build 16299 and later versions

[bruno16757]

Surface supported operating systems - Microsoft Support

 

[jaclaz]

20 minutes ago, bruno16757 said:

Surface supported operating systems - Microsoft Support

 

Sure, but whether Microsoft supports (or fails to support) any given OS does not imply that another OS can run on it.

While, as said, it is very unlikely that 7 can be installed on a Surface Go for technical reasons, the fact that MS does not support it is not particularly relevant.

jaclaz

[RandomUser101]

29 minutes ago, jaclaz said:

Sure, but whether Microsoft supports (or fails to support) any given OS does not imply that another OS can run on it.

While, as said, it is very unlikely that 7 can be installed on a Surface Go for technical reasons, the fact that MS does not support it is not particularly relevant.

jaclaz

Is it possible to somehow "jailbreak" the Surface Go to install Win 7?

[jaclaz]

There are two base issues:

#1 the Surface Go is a UEFI only machine, as such has no BIOS (or CSM) whilst Windows 7 has not built-in proper support for UEFI booting, this can usually worked around using a later Windows OS bootloader and a couple of tricks

#2 if I recall correctly (but I may well be wrong) the Surface has UEFI GOP video which adds an additional problem, there is (right now the whole board is down, unfortunately) thread on reboot.pro about a possible way to force a Windows 7 to use a GOP driver through an extremely risky procedure (and BTW I cannot remember if it was a generic solution or specific to some particular hardware)

AND a third one:

#3 the hardware of a Surface (and particularly of the Go type) will need device drivers that simply do not exist for Windows 7

So, in theory everything is possible, but the issue is not "jailbreaking" (that usually means to expose existing functionalities that are locked down or inaccessible), one would need to have a whole replacement firmware AND all the needed drivers, as a parallel example you cannot install a *common* Linux distro on it, you need particular files:

https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface

because the Microsoft hardware on the Surface has its own peculiarities.

jaclaz

[Tripredacus]

Drivers may be a problem, however it being UEFI isn't. Win7 will work fine on UEFI without any tricks. Unless you count imaging the disk as a trick. I haven't used Setup to install Win7 in years now I think.

[jaclaz]

3 hours ago, Tripredacus said:

Drivers may be a problem, however it being UEFI isn't. Win7 will work fine on UEFI without any tricks. Unless you count imaging the disk as a trick. I haven't used Setup to install Win7 in years now I think.

AFAIK the Surface Go is a Class-3 UEFI:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-8.1-and-8/hh824898(v=win.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN

Quote

Windows® 7, Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server® 2008 R2 and Windows Server® 2008

Support UEFI 2.0 or later on 64-bit systems. They also support BIOS-based PCs, and UEFI-based PCs running in legacy BIOS-compatibility mode.

Support on Class 2 systems running in legacy BIOS-compatibility mode by using a CSM, so they can use the legacy BIOS INT10 features.

Are not supported on Class 3 systems, because these operating systems assume the presence of legacy BIOS INT10 support in the firmware, which is not available in a Class-3 UEFI implementation.

Windows Server® 2008 R2 and Windows Server® 2008 also support EFI 1.10 on Itanium-based systems.

And - still AFAIK - UefiSeven or similar is needed on such hardware:

https://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/426914-installing-win-7-pro-sp1-uefi-class-3-gen-10-laptop.html

https://github.com/manatails/uefiseven

Quote

Summary

UefiSeven is an efi module that enables Windows 7 to boot under UEFI Class 3 systems.

Windows 7 does not fully support UEFI and relies on legacy BIOS interrupt 10 (Int10h) during initial graphics initialization. On computers without proper legacy support Windows 7 might freeze on 'Starting Windows' screen or fail with error code 0xc000000d. Some motherboards have 'CSM' or 'legacy' boot options to fix this problem but it is getting increasingly rare as Intel decided to get rid of legacy BIOS support by 2020, and the option is virtually non-existent on consumer mobile devices. UefiSeven installs a minimal Int10h handler in the memory before Windows boots up so that the boot process do not fail because of the missing interrupt.

UefiSeven also contains a hack to enable screen output on hardwares that do not natively support 1024x768 as is needed by Windows Installer. Int10h handler comes with a macro, when enabled before compiling, that will enable serial console output which can be used to debug the handler itself.

I consider that "a trick".

jaclaz

Edited December 16, 2022 by jaclaz

[GD 2W10]

On 12/7/2022 at 1:55 PM, RandomUser101 said:

Hey there!

So, I want to install Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate on my Surface Go. I just don't know how to install it.

The specs are:

CPU: Intel Core i5 1035G1

GPU: Intel UHD Graphics

RAM: 4 GB (3.60 GB usable)

SSD: Hynix hC8aP> with 64 GB of storage

 

So, yeah, if anyone knows, I would love to install Win 7.

Goodbye!

It might be possible to install Windows 7 on that device. It looks like you have a Surface Go 3, which is a 10th gen Intel, which is unsupported, but it is possible to run Windows 7 on that device, as I have on my MSI GF63 Thin. I have also successfully installed Windows 7 on the Surface Pro 1, which is a UEFI-only device, see here for more info:

You can use the ISO linked in the post, which uses the Windows 10 PE, and follow the same directions, but you will have to modify the ISO by making a new Windows 7 install.wim by taking the original one, and slipstreaming drivers into it. You will need to slipstream a USB 3.0 driver, which you can get here: https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/usb-3-xhci-driver-stack-for-windows-7.81934/, and a graphics driver, but I am pretty sure such drivers do not exist for Windows 7, but you may not need them. You will also need to use FlashBootPro EFI files or UEFISeven for WIndows 7 to boot, but I would recommend the former, as it worked for me. FlashBootPro EFI files should be included in the ISO, so you should be able to boot Windows 7 with those files. However, it looks like you have an eMMC SSD, and I'm not sure if it is possible to install Windows 7 on an eMMC SSD, but @George King has claimed to have done so. See these posts for more info:

 

The NTOSKRNL Emu_Extender can be used for the eMMC SSD and potentially the graphics drivers, and maybe Wi-Fi drivers, which will not work with Windows 7, so you may have to use a wireless adapter. You can also look at XP2ESD (https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/tool-xp2esd-create-modern-windows-xp-installer-v1-6-2.82935/). In the folders, there may be some helpful apps/drivers to help you install Windows 7.

Another thing to mention is that I have tried to install Windows 8.1 on a Surface Pro 6, but I get the INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR BSOD. I don't know if it will be the case for your Surface Go 3, but it's worth mentioning. I tried Server 2012 R2 and it worked flawlessly, so maybe you could try using Server 2008 R2. You can also try deleting the IntelPMT.sys driver, here is how you can do so: 

 

If all else fails, and you only want Windows 7 for the interface, I made a modded version of Windows 8.1 that looks almost identical to Windows 7, or you can install Windows 8 8056 which is the closest build to Windows 7 that has built-in eMMC support, which can be found here. I can't post the links here, but you can look them up. The only caveat is that you have to set the BIOS date to 7/27/2011, then somehow debomb it after. It has some elements of the Windows 7 interface, such as Aero, but also has some elements of the Windows 8 interface, such as the login screen and start screen.

Edited February 7, 2023 by GD 2W10

[jaclaz]

Now that reboot.pro is online again, here is the thread about GOP hardware and windows 7:

http://reboot.pro/index.php?showtopic=21108

Maybe useful, maybe not.

jaclaz

[GD 2W10]

On 2/7/2023 at 5:26 AM, jaclaz said:

Now that reboot.pro is online again, here is the thread about GOP hardware and windows 7:

http://reboot.pro/index.php?showtopic=21108

Maybe useful, maybe not.

jaclaz

I have tried this but have gotten better results with the method I used to install 7 on the SP1.