Reinstalling Windows 7 in 2024

[dugganrouthorn5]

Hello HP Community,

I've recently bought 3 HP ProBook 6560b Laptops and they have no hard drives in them, and I need to reinstall the original OS, which is very likely Windows 7, but the problem is, I don't have any way to reinstall the OS. I've searched old HP Community Forums but all of them except one, had kindly offered the Microsoft Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool in a ZIP File.

Solved: Reinstalling Windows 7 Without Disk - HP Support Community - 6773913

But many of the old forum threads say to obtain a Windows 7 ISO File however the links in those old Forum Threads don't work anymore because Microsoft has pulled Windows 7 ISO Files from their servers because the OS lost support in 2020. How am I going to reinstall Windows 7 onto my ProBooks?

I'm aware I could install Windows 10 instead; however, I want to install Windows 7 and then upgrade to Win10 to ensure all of the drivers + software is working properly instead of installing the software directly onto Windows 10.

[banhien]

@dugganrouthorn5 

Microsoft Removed Windows 7 and it probably will remove Windows 10 next year. Millions and millions of machines would be useless and ending up at the land fills.

I don't know why you bought machines at the very end of their lives. Please try (the link is still valid)

             https://www.reddit.com/r/windows/comments/15qpei5/download_the_official_windows_7_iso_in_2023/

Regards.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @dugganrouthorn5 

The zip file I posted in the discussion you referenced was only for the tool to transfer the downloaded ISO file to a DVD.

it was not a W7 OS download.

The link that Banhien will most likely be useless to you because it is for W7 Ultimate.

Unless the PC's you bought have W7 Ultimate product keys on them that file will not work.

If your notebooks have readable W7 Professional product keys, as most ProBook 6560b Notebook PC's have, you can download the W7 64 Pro 64-bit ISO file from the link below (all the way at the bottom of the link).

Windows 7 Professional Free Download ISO 32 / 64 Bit (getintopc.com)

The thing is, I believe the file is English (US), not English International.

The other thing is I don't know if the W7 product key is going to work on your notebook.

It should but I can't guarantee it.

But you have nothing to lose by trying it, because right now you got nothing.

I would use the free Rufus utility to transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

I don't know if those PC's have a UEFI BIOS or not, so if you use the default Rufus settings (GPT partition scheme) and it doesn't work, change that to MBR.

The other thing you need to know is that Microsoft closed the loophole last October that allowed users to continue to get the free upgrade to W10 after the official end date for the upgrade of July 2016.

It is also possible that the notebooks you bought once had W10 installed, so if nothing works for you try clean installing W10.

When you get to the part that asks what version of W10 you want to install, select the version of W10 on the W7 product key.

Then when you are asked to enter a product key, select the I don't have a product key' option and if the PC had been previously upgraded to W10 it should automatically activate after you are connected to the internet.

[dugganrouthorn5]

@Banhien, I've looked at the Reddit Post and someone put a link to a website called files.rg-adguard.net, a website where the ISOs there are sourced from Microsoft's Servers. Safe link/program to download windows 1703 ? - Microsoft Community

However, when I click on the Download Button on the ISO I need, which is labelled "Download through File Sharing" I get 2 options, I didn't know which option is safer and better, so I googled it. People have said buzzheavier is not safe, but GoFile is safe, I tried GoFile but the Download Button in there for the Win7 ISO however, it got flagged by Windows Defender SmartScreen, so I didn't proceed any further and went back as SmartScreen suggested. Should I just get a Windows 7 Pro DVD instead or should I look on archive.org like the Reddit Post said to look?

[dugganrouthorn5]

@Paul_Tikkanen, thank you for your reply. I'm aware the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool is not for downloading Windows 7, it's for creating a bootable Windows 7 USB or DVD. My ProBooks very likely have Windows 7 Pro Licenses on them. I had a look at getintopc.com that you linked in your reply, but I don't feel comfortable in downloading from there. Where else should I look or should I source a Windows 7 Pro DVD?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I've downloaded the file from there before and it is the same size as any other W7 Pro ISO file from Microsoft that I used to download when they were available.

I also checked the ISO file for viruses/malware and couldn't find any.

I don't have any other suggestions for you to try other than trying to find a genuine Microsoft W7 Pro DVD on eBay.

For example, this one should be able to be used on any HP PC that could have come with W7, and you don't even need to enter a product key.

I have one just like that from my old HP 6930p notebook.

It's got a different part number on it but otherwise it seems to be the same.

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit DVD HP | eBay

[dugganrouthorn5]

@Paul_Tikkanen, that's good to know. I think I'll try and source a HP Disc or a Microsoft Disc for Windows 7 Professional. It was going to be one of my options anyway because I should be able to guarantee a legit copy of Win7 instead of searching on the internet for an ISO File where you have to be extremely vigilant whilst with a physical copy, you just have to look at the product and see if it looks legit or not. Last night, I did find this Like New Copy of Windows 7 Pro that comes with a 32-bit and 64-bit version. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (PC) FULL EDITION 32 + 64 bit DVD | eBay

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Yes, a retail version should work too.

As far as I'm aware unless there is a double-secret backdoor way to get W7 from Microsoft, they have removed all of the W7 ISO file downloads from their servers.

If you buy a HP disk, make sure it is not for a desktop PC because those are model specific and normally come as a set of 3 or 4.

I have those too.  They don't work on notebook PC's.

[dugganrouthorn5]

Excellent, thank you for your assistance @Paul_Tikkanen. I really appreciate it. 😊

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.