In case y'all did not know, Microsoft released to particular channels new 'official' install bits for the usual editions of Windows 7 SP1+ both x86 and x64, with all important or critical updates through AUG 2018 applied or integrated. 'Official' in the sense it is straight from Microsoft. e.g. filename for PROFESSIONAL x64 with standard language support (English)
7601.24214.180801-1700.win7sp1_ldr_escrow_CLIENT_PROFESSIONAL_x64FRE_en-us.iso
You can replace the corresponding edition and architecture in that filename and search the interwebs for download links on your own. e.g. HOMEPREMIUM or ULTIMATE, or X86. These do seem to be edition-specific ISO builds, with different file sizes. Not the 'all in one' ISO with ei.cfg to preselect an edition as Microsoft has produced before. These builds do not include support for 6th gen (Sky Lake) and later systems, or USB 3.0 drivers as do other non-MS builds (e.g. from DELL).
I got around to a clean install of PRO using this ISO (after creating USB stick with Rufus). Worked fine, except that automatic Windows Updates (of course) resulted in several 'failed' updates and restarts before finally installing successfully (a couple of them, after investigating, were not needed or superseded). I wasn't happy with that, so I gathered the successful post-install updates manually (e.g. from Microsoft Update Catalog), installed Windows again and applied them individually (set Windows Update to 'check but do not automatically install'). The updates were as follows, I installed them in order from top to bottom, restarting only when prompted:
KB2574819
KB2592687
KB2676562
KB2830477
KB2857650
KB2913751
KB2923545
KB2984976
KB3020388
KB3075226
KB3102429
KB3118401
KB3123479
KB4474419
KB4490628
KB4532945
KB4536952
KB4539601 (supersedes/replaces KB4534310 pushed by Windows Update)
After applying these, the only important or critical updates pushed by Windows Update were as follows, which I did not install for reasons:
KB4524752 - 2019-10 Windows End-of-Support Notification Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
KB4567409 - Microsoft Edge for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
I did allow Windows Updates to install a few other things like Security Essentials to replace Windows Defender.
Note: This does not result in Windows being truly up-to-date on security fixes. It just brings it to the level that one can receive via Windows Updates. There are a number of security updates released since, but you need to locate and find a way to bypass the ESR restriction to those manually, as of January 2020. Only thing Windows Update will offer after January 2020 are the daily definition updates for Security Essentials.
7601.24214.180801-1700.win7sp1_ldr_escrow_CLIENT_PROFESSIONAL_x64FRE_en-us.iso
You can replace the corresponding edition and architecture in that filename and search the interwebs for download links on your own. e.g. HOMEPREMIUM or ULTIMATE, or X86. These do seem to be edition-specific ISO builds, with different file sizes. Not the 'all in one' ISO with ei.cfg to preselect an edition as Microsoft has produced before. These builds do not include support for 6th gen (Sky Lake) and later systems, or USB 3.0 drivers as do other non-MS builds (e.g. from DELL).
I got around to a clean install of PRO using this ISO (after creating USB stick with Rufus). Worked fine, except that automatic Windows Updates (of course) resulted in several 'failed' updates and restarts before finally installing successfully (a couple of them, after investigating, were not needed or superseded). I wasn't happy with that, so I gathered the successful post-install updates manually (e.g. from Microsoft Update Catalog), installed Windows again and applied them individually (set Windows Update to 'check but do not automatically install'). The updates were as follows, I installed them in order from top to bottom, restarting only when prompted:
KB2574819
KB2592687
KB2676562
KB2830477
KB2857650
KB2913751
KB2923545
KB2984976
KB3020388
KB3075226
KB3102429
KB3118401
KB3123479
KB4474419
KB4490628
KB4532945
KB4536952
KB4539601 (supersedes/replaces KB4534310 pushed by Windows Update)
After applying these, the only important or critical updates pushed by Windows Update were as follows, which I did not install for reasons:
KB4524752 - 2019-10 Windows End-of-Support Notification Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
KB4567409 - Microsoft Edge for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems
I did allow Windows Updates to install a few other things like Security Essentials to replace Windows Defender.
Note: This does not result in Windows being truly up-to-date on security fixes. It just brings it to the level that one can receive via Windows Updates. There are a number of security updates released since, but you need to locate and find a way to bypass the ESR restriction to those manually, as of January 2020. Only thing Windows Update will offer after January 2020 are the daily definition updates for Security Essentials.
Last edited:
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