Article Number: 000147553

Requirements to Install Windows 7 on M2 Drives in Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) Storage Environments

Summary: Information on installing Windows 7 on M2 Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) drives.

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Article Content

Symptoms

Requirements for Windows 7

The following requirements are suggested for installing Windows 7 on systems with m2 based Solid State Drives (SSD) that use the NVMe storage subsystem.

Requirements

Below are the requirements to install Windows 7 with the m2 SSD.

"RAID On" enabled in BIOS.
"UEFI Boot with Legacy Option ROM enabled" in BIOS.
Windows Preinstallaton Environment (PE) 10.0.10586
Intel Rapid Storage 14.5.x (Latest version can be found: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/55005/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-)
MDT 2013 Update 1 / SCCM 2012 R2 CU3 running on Server 2012 R2.

The following article can guide you with creating a new Windows image: Creating a new Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 image in a VM for SCCM / MDT Deployment

This article can guide you with installing Windows 7 with MDT 2013: How to install Windows 7 on OptiPlex 7040 (and other Skylake systems) using MDT 2013 Update 1

NOTE: Some systems may require a change in the SATA controller setting in the BIOS from the default setting to AHCI.

If users are unable to meet all of the requirements, they may still be able to install Windows 7x64 in certain environments by adding KB2990941 prior to sysprepping their image. The hotfix was discontinued as Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows 7.
But can still be downloaded at the following sites:

NOTE: The BIOS for Precision Tower 5820, 7820 and 7920 systems contains an updated UEFI stack that may conflict with the KB2990941 and KB3087873 hotfixes.

When the BIOS boot mode is configured for UEFI, the Microsoft hotfixes may cause the windows 7 installer to fail. When installing Windows 7 on these systems for UEFI boot mode, do not add these KBs to the install media. They are not required as the BIOS and storage drivers support PCI-E storage pass through. The storage drivers will need to be (F6) preloaded. If the BIOS boot mode is configured for legacy, the KBs can be used to install Windows 7 without (F6) preloading the storage drivers.

NOTE: The Windows 7 ISO hosted on the Dell Support Website should include all USB 3.0 and Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers required for a Windows 7 installation.

NOTE: After you install this hotfix, you may receive a "0x0000007E" Stop error. To fix the Stop error, install Hotfix 3087873 SLN300689_en_US__1iC_External_Link_BD_v1