Install Windows 7 on HP Envy DV7 7373ca

[cesardav]

Hi, 

I'd like to install windows 7 on the laptop. I have tried but, it seems that it is blocked or not allowed, since windows 7 displays an error because of the configuration of the hardware. Can it be done? or can I request recovery disks with windows 7 instead of windows 8?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

HP does not support new consumer notebooks for any other operating system but windows 8.

There are no W7 recovery disks available.

I am not experienced in exactly what needs to be done to install W7 on your notebook other than to let you know that you need to enable legacy mode in the BIOS, and to disable secure boot.

You may be having difficulty getting W7 installed on the hard drive because it is GPT-formatted vice MBR-formatted.

Before you continue your efforts, make sure you have made your set of recovery disks.

Several forum members have installed W7 on their dv7-73xx models, so I know it is doable.

Once you get W7 installed, below are the links to the drivers you can use from a related model as there are no W7 drivers for you model on your PC's support and driver page.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=5273846&...

[cesardav]

Hi, 

I'd like more the link to the members that have installed W7 on the same models. Because I did all that, but, I get an error where W7 says that it cannot configure the hardware of the laptop. This is a recurrent error, as I tried with new media.

if you can provide the links, I'd be grateful, as I'm about fed up with w8 and about to return the laptop... as it refuses to run the programs I need or even crashes when I attempt to run others...

by that I mean that I managed to disable the uefi thing, enabled legacy and got to the formatting and all that, but, once windows 7 tries to activate services it displays an error where it refuses to start because of the configuration of the hardware (and I made sure to delete all the hidden partitions the laptop had. So, it was a fresh install)

and, yes, I also created recovery media, 7 dvd's to re install all the ... applications it came with. 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

I can't find any info offhand.

In any event, no one has detailed how they got W7 to install, they just ask for W7 drivers.

See if this article from MS is of any help to you.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2466753

I had the problem when I first installed the W8 Release Preview and wanted to go back to Windows 7 on my HP 8200 Elite desktop.

What I ended up doing was booting from a Windows XP installation disk, delete the partition, quick format the partition and loaded Windows XP.

Then I loaded W7 with no problems at all.

In order to install XP on your PC, however, you need to know what SATA AHCI or RAID driver needs to be installed at the F6 prompt or by slipstreaming the drivers.

I don't know if the BIOS in your PC has the drive controller set to RAID or AHCI.

In the device manager, under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers section, if the BIOS is set to AHCI, you will see an Intel series 7 family chipset AHCI controller installed.

If it is set to RAID, then you will see a Storage Controllers lisitng in the device manager and you will see an Intel SATA RAID controller listed there.

[cesardav]

... thanks for the info.

Regrettably, I have decided it's not worth the effort and will return the laptop to the seller. If I do get the full money of what I paid, I will get another laptop that has windows 7 and avoid all these problems.

I think hp has lost a consumer here. My old laptop is hp...

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

You may want to look into getting a business notebook, because I don't think you can get a consumer notebook from any manufacturer that has Windows 7 on it anymore.

The HP Probook and Elitebook line of business notebooks provide support for W7 and XP.

[cmesh]

I picked up a HP dv7-7243cl at a great price.

Never booted it up. I'd like to remove the hard-drive (for safe-keeping) and put in a fresh drive to load windows xp onto.

Is this even doable?

Anyone have chipset-vendor driver links that might help with the task?

Has anyone done this successfully yet?

Thanks !

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Installing XP on your model might be doable since you can try the graphics driver from Intel and try other drivers from business notebooks with the same hardware.

No guarantees though.  The toughest devices to get to work would be the video and audio--with the audio being the hardest.

But since you're not going to try and mess with the current hard drive, it may be an interesting experiment.

Below are the links you need to get XP installed...

Read the Intel section and then follow the instructions in the document to slipstream all of the drivers.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-e-g-Windows-8-and-Software/SATA-drivers-for-...

Below is the link to the drivers you need to slipstream.  2nd download is for XP 32 bit.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=2101&DwnldID=21730&keyword=Intel+Rapid...

If you go through with this, try the Intel video, audio, usb 3.0 drivers from this model.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=5229457&...

Before you install the audio driver you must install this first...

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=32...

[cmesh]

Thanks.

I presume the camera driver is included somewhere in those links...

Could those drivers be loaded after a "vanilla" install instead of slip-streaming the install?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I doubt the camera driver would work. 

Below is an XP downgrade guide link which may be of help to you regarding finding XP drivers for things like the camera.

Some models only need the Cyberlink YouCam software.  You would want to read the info listed under the Difficult Models section.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-e-g-Windows-8-and-Software/General-XP-Downgr...

Unless you have a USB FDD where you can load the specific AHCI driver you need at the F6 prompt, the only other way to get XP installed is to slipstream the drivers.

That is because there is no BIOS setting in most consumer notebooks to change the drive controller setting from AHCI to IDE, and XP does not have the newer SATA/RAID drivers incorporated into its driver database, so just after you get to the message where "Setup is starting Windows," the system crashes and normally blue screens with a stop error because XP can't find the hard drive.