Introduction
Windows 7 Reached End of Life in January 2020.
This guide will instruct on slipstreaming the standalone security updates for Windows 7 SP1 taking it to the final standalone update in December 2019 and incorporating Intel Driver Updates for Storage Controllers and USB 3 Ports which allowed installation on up to 6th generation Intel Hardware.
7th generation Intel Hardware and newer do not have Windows 7 Driver Support and you should use a VMware Virtual Machine to use Windows 7 on newer hardware.
The main focus for these scripts has been Windows 7 64 Bit which includes screenshots and tutorial videos. Windows 7 32 Bit is less highly used. I have created the scripts for it below but have not tested them yet. You can however use the videos for the Windows 7 64 Bit scripts as the procedure is nearly identical.
Perquisites
This guide assumes you are using a Windows 7 SP1 or later ISO Downloaded Directly from Dell or Microsoft and have made no previous modifications on the ISO.
Copy your ISO Contents to C:\Win7
Open up your mounted Windows 7 ISO (in VMware or Virtual Clone Drive for a Physical Windows 7 Installation):
Press [Ctrl] and [ a ] (select all and [Ctrl] + [ c ] to copy the entire contents of the ISO.
On the C:\Drive create a new folder called Win7
Paste the contents into this folder.
Go to:
Right click the boot.wim and select properties, ensure that it is not read only.
Repeat with the install.wim
In this folder you can also optionally delete the EI.cfg for the Microsoft November 2010 ISO which will facilitate a select your edition screen during Windows 7 Installation. For the Dell ISO if you wish to switch edition you should modify two files using notepad++ in order to maintain OEM System Locked Preinstallation. For more details see:
Windows Updates
You’ll need to download the following.
The April Servicing Stack:
The Convenience Rollup:
Perquisite Updates for IE11:
Download the Gigabyte Windows USB Tool and extract it.
Find KB2990941 and KB3087873 from the extracted folder:
Servicing Stack Updates
December 2019 Security Rollup for Windows 7 x64:
Create a folder
It should contain: KB3020369-x86, KB3125574-x86, KB3125574-x86, KB2729094-x86, KB2670838-x86, KB2834140-x86, KB2639308-x86, KB4474419-x86, KB4490628-x86 and KB4530734-x86.
The file names will actually be longer (you should not modify the file names) as the script calls them up using their full name.
IE11
Download IE11 as a Cab File:
Create a folder IE11
Paste the IE11 Cab File here
Basic Drivers
Create a folder called Drivers. For a generic case download the following files:
You want to extract this file to the Desktop. Go to the extracted folder and copy the contents in
To a new folder called Drivers.
You want to extract this file to the Desktop. Go to the extracted folder and copy the contents in
ISO Folder
Create a fodler
Your updated ISO will be saved here.
All System Drivers
It is also possible to Download from Dell a Driver Pack which can be slipstreamed giving all Dell Drivers for your model. These are only available for Dell Business Models such as the OptiPlex, Latitude, Precision and some XPS Models. They are not available for the Inspiron Models.
This should be extracted with 7zip and the extracted folder which includes the subfolder of the 32 Bit drivers should be named Drivers. Use this in place of the Drivers folder above.
Slipstream Scripts
It is recommended to use Notepad++ to create the batch file:
The Script will only run on Windows 7 32 Bit and 64 Bit (use a VMware Virtual Machine if you don’t have a running Windows 7 install).
Copy the correct script for your ISO below and paste into Notepad plus.
Ensure the total line numbers are the same as the original and the top and end lines are complete.
Ensure the script is saved as a batch file (ending in extension .bat).
Microsoft Media Refresh SP1 November 2010 ISOs
If you have a Windows 7 SP1 ISO released near the end of 2010. This ISO will be multi-edition. This script will bring the ISO up to date until December 2019 for all Editions and add driver support for all Editions. Note you need to update both the boot.wim and install.wim for this ISO.
It is recommended to delete the ei.cfg file in the folder before running this script:
Dell Windows 7 Professional Skylake ISOs
In this ISO Dell have partially updated the Professional Edition to March 2016 which is why the commands differ slightly for the Professional Edition. This script will bring the ISO up to date until December 2019 for all Editions and add driver support for all Editions.
Note by default the Installation Media is setup to install Windows 7 Professional and automatically apply Windows 7 Professional OEM SLP offline on eligible systems. To change Edition and maintain OEM SLP see:
Troubleshooting Script
This will release all mounted directories and delete the folders if present. You should delete your install.wim and then try starting again with a fresh one:
If the troubleshooting script doesn’t work, you may need to start on a fresh Windows 7 install.
Running the Script
Right click the Script file and select Run as Administrator:
Accept the User Account Control:
You will be given details about the install.wim and each index on it:
Press any key to proceed.
On 6th generation Intel Skylake Hardware the script likely takes about 1 hour (it may take longer on older hardware). You will be given up to date details about the install.wim:
Press any key to continue and the ISO will be created.
You should now have your new ISO.
If installing on physical hardware you will need Rufus to make a Bootable USB. You should use MBR and NTFS for a Legacy BIOS and for a UEFI BIOS you will need to Disable Secure Boot and Enable a Legacy Boot.
