How To Install Windows 7 on Dell Precision 7720 with Kaby Lake I5-7440HQ and Samsung NVME Drive?

I just bought a used precision 7720 from ebay. It does not come with an OS.
I was thinking of installing 7 on the laptop since i don't like windows 10 and try not to use it whenever i can.
However, i read that there could be several problems installing windows 7 on this laptop:

1) Supposedly windows 7 can't be installed on the i5-7440HQ since it's a kaby lake CPU and windows 7 is not supported on it and kaby lake only supports windows 10?

2) I heard that windows 7 can't be installed on nvme drives since it's not recognized?

3) Can i just download windows 10 from dell and install it on my laptop? The laptop comes with the service TAg on the bottom cover, but there is no CD key for windows 10, even though there is a windows 10 pro sticker on it. I've heard that most new laptops don't ship with CD keys or physical Install disk anymore right? I've heard that the windows 10 license/CD key is installed in the bios itself and should auto-activate when installed with an OEM- windows 10 iso? DOes this mean i can just download windows 10 from dell, install it, and it will be auto fully activated with no problem?

Is Anyone able to install Windows 7 on the Precision 7720 and also get their NVME to function at Full Speed?
IF you did, is there anything i should be following in particular? any Bios Settings? Thanks

Sorry for the retarded questions, I haven't updated/bought a new laptop in 12 or 13 years. My Current laptop and main laptop is still an inspiron 1520, And i still prefer windows XP. I've been using windows 7 since the last year, but still really don't have any experience with windows 8 or 10, so i'm not familiar with all it's issues.

Thanks in Advance.

 

It's time to be using Windows 10. Windows 7 has eight months of support left and after that they will not be issuing security updates anymore. They also don't support it for 7th gen Intel Core CPUs and up, as you mention; even if you do manage to install it, Windows Update will not function. Hardware manufacturers have already stopped supporting Windows 7 for drivers, and some third-party software vendors will stop supporting it soon after official support from Microsoft ends.

You can download Windows 10 from here, use the tool from another PC and it will offer to create bootable media for you. You'll need a USB flash drive (that will be erased/formatted) or a blank DVD.
https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10
A product key is not required, it is "burned in" to the BIOS. It should auto-activate shortly after install.

If you really want to install Windows 7, you will need to load a disk controller driver before it will "see" the drives and allow you to pick one to install Windows on. The easiest way that I know of to do this is to switch it to RAID mode in the BIOS (even if you are not going to use a RAID array), download the Intel Rapid Storage "F10 floppy" drivers and have those extracted and available on a flash drive, and then use the "Load driver" option to hand that to the Windows installer when you get to the disk selection screen. It should be able to find the drives after that. You're on your own getting the rest of the drivers loaded.

if you are installing Windows 10, set the system to AHCI mode instead of RAID mode in the BIOS before you run the install, if you are not going to have a need for a RAID array. (If the system is set to RAID mode you will have to load the Intel Rapid Storage drivers before you can see any drives, just like with Windows 7. Windows 10 has a built-in NVMe drivers so it can see the drives immediately if the system is not set to RAID mode.)


I used an Inspiron 1720 system, the "big brother" 17" version of your 1520, for a few years back before I got my M6700. Great system, well built, but I had to get off of it, 4 or 6 GB of RAM became too restrictive pretty quick...

 

1) Is there any way to permanently Disable Window update on windows 10? I've Did some research heard that no matter what you do, it will still auto-update on windows 10. IS this still true? that's a No-no for me. In windows 7, i can permanently disable windows 7 updates and manually install any updates i want.

2) I can download the iso from MS but i have to download the same windows 10 version from it to work right? Windows pro, if i don't a different one, it won't work?
Also there is no difference between the MS iso and the windows 10 iso from DEll themselves? Cause i remember back then, the Windows xp resinstallation CD from Dell was considering a dell OEM CD and was different from a regular Windows XP CD from Microsoft.

Also , thanks for the info the on the RAID and AHCI settings, i didn't know about that. I thought RAID included AHCI support by default. Also this precision 7720 default bios and factory settings have it on RAID and not AHCI, so i thought i would leave it like that, now i know i should put it on AHCI

 

1. One of my main complaints about Windows 10 is how updates work, but really it's not that terrible. Yes, automatic updates are there. Not that it matters that much to pick and choose, they just put out a big cumultaive update every single month, it's not as pick-and-choosey as it used to be. My main complaint is the forced unexpected reboots. I get around this just by knowing exactly when the updates will drop (1PM U.S. Eatern, second Tuesday of the month) and planning to reboot around that time, but there are other ways. To avoid unexpected issues, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with Microsoft's twice-per-year Windows 10 feature upgrade cycle and plan to stay one or two releases behind the latest one. (Feature upgrades are normally where new problems come in.) Starting with the upcoming 1903 update they will not be applying feature upgrades automatically, leaving it up to users to decide when they want to upgrade, unless the branch you are on is nearing the end of support, then the update will be automatic.

Again, Windows 7 support is going away... You can continue using it, but the longer you go on, the more issues you will have (outstanding security issues, and vendors no longer providing drivers or updates to software that support Windows 7). Kind of got to get used to the new normal, you'll have to do it sooner or later.

2. Using the tool that I posted, you will get a single installer that can install Home or Pro. It should auto-select the correct one during install if it finds a key in the BIOS. If it doesn't then you will be prompted for which one you want. It is no longer required to have OEM media to install Windows to have the key work like it was back in the XP days, as long as the correct edition gets installed then you are good.

You shouldn't have to worry too much about drivers. You might have to download either the Ethernet or Wi-Fi driver from Dell in order to get the system online. Then, just run Windows Update and it will pull down almost everything else. Install the latest BIOS update, the Thunderbolt drivers and firmware, and the touchpad drivers from Dell.

 

Hello and welcome to my boat.
I try to keep W10 as far as aI can.
You should be able to install W7 64 bits on it using one of the non standard builds from hkrg.
Using the official media you will at the very least be missing USB3 and NvME support.
Those guys over there do wonderful builds, with added drivers.
Start here:

https://www.teamos-hkrg.com/index.php?search/9899/&q=windows+7+nvme&o=date
(free registration required)

Caveat emptor:
*NOTHING* prevents them installing malware and you are installing a tampered OS with additional capacities beyond what the vendor intends, so, kid of warning there.
Before commiting your hardware, test it in a virtuabox VM or something like that.
Regards
Sebastian.

PS: you might as well avoid all the hassle altoghether and use Ubuntu. It is much more compatible and friendly that any Winwhatever, comes with all the necesary drivers, you can use secureboot, etcs.
Edit: I hadn't noticed that a registration was needed in order to use the search service.