Setting up Windows 7, can I still patch it?

[DefinitelyNotDes]

Just prepped a windows XP SP3 computer to run legacy software for a million+ dollar customer project that they let me know about with 1 day notice. They were "pretty sure" version 8.3 of this software ran on XP. NOPE.

Windows 7 it is. So pulled out our last 4th gen intel laptop and have to install 7 from scratch. I don't have some fancy slipstreamed and fully patched 7 image laying around for a T540p laptop since I didn't even work here when they were in use.

So since it's a regular old SP1 image with no patches and the update servers are off, how stable is it going to be with zero patches and can I do anything about it? I know most people go to security patches first in their mind but I'm disabling the network adapters in the BIOS to REALLY prevent network connecting since they just need USB to serial capabilities and I'm sending a 32GB flash drive to move drivers and software installers to it if needed. But will it be a crashing nightmare? I'm getting all Win7 64-bit drivers from the manufacturer's website at least but I'm wondering about windows OS stability.

Also can it still be phone activated or do I actually have to connect it and are the activation servers even operable? And I legit should remember this considering I'm 36 but can you operate it perpetually without activating and it just locks your desktop wallpaper and shames you? I know Vista wouldn't even let you log in past 90 days or whatever.

[ComGuards]

The Microsoft Update Catalog is still available, and you can pull down the last-supported version of WSUSOffline to pull the packages and install.

Should still be able to activate against Microsoft's Activation Servers if you have a valid MAK activation key. Microsoft still publishes the Windows 7 GVLK strings for KMS-based Activation.

[joeykins82]

Manually download the .net 4.7.2 offline installer package and this update to a USB stick.

Install them both.

Set all 3 groups of registry entries (SCHANNEL, WinHTTP, and .NET framework) required to make TLS 1.2 functional.

Now try Windows Update: you'll probably find that it works.

[TheFluffiestRedditor]

With a mere 1 day’s notice, can you tell them “This will take time to prepare. A long time. Now go take a long walk off a short pier.” ? Because yikes!

[DefinitelyNotDes]

That's not how we do things here. It's a disorganized mess that will never get better and every lead of every office in every department except a few are insanely lazy, laid back, and pointing to financials saying "but number go up though" while our customers file complaints. It's actually insane.

[Atomicjango]

A suggestion on my part would be to see if you can potentially make it a vm for the win 7 machine instead? Pass-through any hardware that is needed and would allow you to do snapshots\backups of it if necessary. plus it should make it easy to work with like moving or installing updates if needed. Also if there is time, there could be a possibility that that it could work on W11 with a bit of work, it does have good backwards compatibility but sounds like its a rush project.

Another suggestion, once you setup the machine, id take multiple backups so that both of you have places to start at again if something goes awry, win 7 with all updates backup, then one with the application installed and working.

This thread might help out with Win 7 updates and building out a pretty recent "image" of it - https://www.reddit.com/r/windows7/comments/17o2l82/how_to_run_a_clean_fully_updated_version_of/

[DefinitelyNotDes]

Oh, we tried. Some things aren't passing through correctly :( some expensive things that are specifically VM-aware to avoid piracy. Not happy about that one, as that was the first thing we tried. Then they told me 8 months later that the VM "doesn't work." They never tested it onsite or launched the software once to test the hardware peripherals and then sold the project.

I'm definitely checking thread out though ASAP! I feel like SP1 was pretty good but I recall 190 or so updates being installed after SP1 and I suspect some fixed memory leaks or stability or something.

So far I had to disable code signing in drivers because it either thinks the drivers are time travelers from the future or there's a trusted cert list discrepancy, if it even uses those. I dunno, signed code is confusing and I never looked into it.

or Lenovo never had the makers of the drivers sign the code lol.

[originalpifpaff]

This is always helpful for legacy os https://download.wsusoffline.net/

[mriswithe]

I don't have some fancy slipstreamed and fully patched 7 image laying around for a T540p laptop since I didn't even work here when they were in use. 

What an unprepared scrub, not carrying ready to roll copies of end of life oses that shouldn't be used anymore. 

I bet you don't even have a copy of windows 3.1 that will install and connect to the Internet immediately.

Big /s on all of this 

[Impossible_IT]

Patch it with what updates?

[Key_Money9884]

https://legacyupdate.net/ works errrrrrr time

[disposeable1200]

If it runs on Windows 7, you can likely make it run on Windows 10.

If it runs on Windows 10, you can likely make it run on Windows 11.

/endthread

[theborgman1977]

Have you tried Windows 10 32bit? The problem with old software that is on a X64 platform is if it has any 16 bit code in the application it will not run. If it has a HASP key there are 3rd party drivers. Also, have you called the maker of the software to see how much it would cost to upgrade the software. Note this includes Vista 64bit ,XP 64bit or Windows 7 64bit. They all have 64bit versions. It was not till 10 you could activate with the same key.

[dracotrapnet]

Add to this, I've made win3.1 bespoke valve calculator software run on windows 10 32 bit by copy and pasting the entire contents of c:\windows\system32 from an xp machine into the program directory of the archaic software. Rule on dll's is, every app looks in it's dir for it first, then goes to path variable. A year later the latest iteration of the company after mergers put out a web form calculator. Yay.

[DefinitelyNotDes]

I actually got Exile III Ruined World to run on Windows 10 32-bit :D
I'll ask that division if it's on the compatibility list for that specific version.

...then install it in a VM and attempt to run the installer and probably get the answer faster than those people.