Crying shame, that MS doesn't update the Windows 7 ISO images, for modern (SKL, KBL) machines.

[VirtualLarry]

Well, the Intel USB3.0 Win7 ISO tool works wonders. Got Win7 Pro installed on my DeskMini.

Interestingly, I did Windows Updates, and the plugged in the M.2 NVMe drive and installed Win10 Pro in UEFI mode on that, and then when I booted back into Win7 Pro, it saw the NVMe volume.

Is the Windows 7 NVMe driver included in the Cumulative Update Roll-up?

Edit: Found beta Win7 KBL HD630 drivers, too.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, the Intel USB3.0 Win7 ISO tool works wonders. Got Win7 Pro installed on my DeskMini.

Interestingly, I did Windows Updates, and the plugged in the M.2 NVMe drive and installed Win10 Pro in UEFI mode on that, and then when I booted back into Win7 Pro, it saw the NVMe volume.

Is the Windows 7 NVMe driver included in the Cumulative Update Roll-up?

Edit: Found beta Win7 KBL HD630 drivers, too.

Somehow, we're both feeling a sense of relief and accomplishment with our attention to these various but related matters.

I was only looking into this issue of preparing Win 7 for NVMe since this essential Skylake system was up and running in October. Not much could have changed since then. Or -- I couldn't say if MS provided a Native NVMe driver that you could download, whether they would put that into monthly Updates. I'm inclined to think they wouldn't -- but you can check however that might be determined.

What I found was this. There is an MS download for a Native Win 7 NVMe driver. I don't have the link handy, but you can probably find it. Sorry I couldn't be more specific. I know I downloaded it earlier -- it's on my server in the general "Software" folder which is my repository for everything and every system.

That is "download # 1." Unfortunately, some people who installed the driver download began to experience system instability, so MS developed a second download to fix that -- call it "download #2." It should be linked on the page for the first download.

I looked at the prospect of doing this before realizing the context of my upgrade: SATA SSD clone to NVMe after installing the NVMe driver to the SATA boot disk. Somehow I didn't detour to the MS Native driver, finding the Samsung NVMe driver right away before physically installing the M.2 drive to the system.

I'd also say that anyone who buys an NVMe M.2 of a different manufacture for which no driver is provided would certainly need that MS NVMe driver installed to Windows 7. Win 10 is a different situation, since the native driver is already provided.