Trying To Install Windows 7

[cc333]

I'm trying to get Windows 7 installed on a computer, and I have to slipstream NVMe drivers so setup sees my drive, but then Setup blocks me with "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing."  This would be fine, except I've already integrated ALL of that, so I shouldn't be getting this error, should I?  Every driver I try results in either "no device drivers were found" or, if I come across a valid driver and I tell it to load by clicking "Next", it will work for a bit and then tell me "no new devices could be found."

I'm using NTLite to add the drivers to boot.wim and install.wim.

What am I doing wrong?

c

[cc333]

Answering myself...

I devised a workaround:

1. Using the untouched Windows 7 ISO, install to a regular SATA hard drive
2. Configure the installation with NVMe drivers so it can see/boot from the SSD
3. Use Clonezilla to move the newly NVMe-enabled installation to the SSD

I'd still like to figure out why integrating drivers is so weirdly broken, but this ought to work for now while I wait for a fix.

c

Edited yesterday at 10:53 PM by cc333

[superleiw]

 

Are you trying to install Windows 7 RTM or with some updates?

Have you added the necessary NVMe hotfixes KB2990941 & KB3087873 along your NVMe drivers?

[cc333]

13 minutes ago, superleiw said:

Are you trying to install Windows 7 RTM or with some updates?

It's a Dell OEM ISO, so it has a few updates (SP1 and such).
 

13 minutes ago, superleiw said:

Have you added the necessary NVMe hotfixes KB2990941 & KB3087873 along your NVMe drivers?

Yes, but apparently that's not enough?

c

[cc333]

UPDATE:  I just discovered, by chance while researching something else, that Dell had apparently released an updated Windows 7 ISO back in 2016 for select models with Skylake processors (including the OptiPlex 7050), which, naturally, includes the updated NVMe and USB 3.0 drivers, along with any updates released up to then (of which there are many).

I don't know how to get it from Dell directly, but I found a copy of the 7050-specific ISO on the Internet Archive, which I'm downloading now.

I see no reason why this ISO won't work, so it appears that this is the solution I was hoping for!

c