The Windows 7 Upgrade Saga

It's been a couple years since the last Windows Upgrade Saga... so let's change that while I spend way too much time trying to upgrade through a bunch of Windows 7 builds.
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#MichaelMJD #Windows7 #Beta

[@fetyrol7108]

One hour of Windows 7. Perfection.

[@elijahwatson7837]

Should have been exactly 7 minutes or exactly 7 hours.

[@PineBoss]

I had 7 hours of windows 7 today lol

[@TrevorM97]

I have seven hours with Windows 7, seven days a week

[@Tairex777]

​@@TrevorM9777⁷7⁷⁷77⁷7

[@lisazheng8308]

Windows 7 is better than Windows Vista

[@yetinaut]

The fact that the 6931 build had a slow fade out of the "Preparing your Desktop" screen to then slowly fading in the desktop, that's junk you'd think people would do nowadays, but to see i was in a pre-beta build of Windows 7, in addition to that progress bar for the boot is kinda crazy!

[@Jorge.ALXNDR]

sometimes it's really hard to explain to someone why I get so excited about a video like this. For some it sounds like the most boring thing to watch and they really can't get it. I feel like an alien

[@vitamins-and-iron]

👽

[@mikesadorf]

There's a direct correlation between how entertaining these long form videos are going to be and how dejected Michael sounds in the intro. Love the channel and great work as always!

[@_helmi]

Fun fact, Windows 7 was released to critical acclaim in the year 2009 and called as the "Snow Leopard killer" - Snow Leopard being Apple's Mac OS X version 10.6, also released in the same year to critical acclaim. Personally, I was 18 at that time and had just started college. Windows 7 brought a lot of college memories and I always wanted a Mac/iPhone since forever but they were too expensive. Only got my first iPhone in 2015 - the iPhone 6S Plus and my first Mac - Mac mini M1 in 2020. But yeah, Windows 7 was probably THE best version of Windows ever.

[@j.w.techchannel]

70 minutes of Michael MJD content... And it's about Windows 7. This will be exciting 👍

[@Emayeah]

it's not an mjd video if it doesn't have road blocks

[@SuperLucaOne]

Actually 69.025 minutes🤓

[@rockpie]

​@@SuperLucaOneActually 69.4 minutes 🤓

[@Bo-11]

Of course 70 minutes 'cause this is Windows 7 😅

[@SDRIFTERAbdlmounaim]

it's for build 64 *69* 😂

[@SomnusLucisCaelum]

Win7 was the cutest, friendliest Windows environment MS created. Sometimes it feels like all of the improvements they made with this OS were thrown out with 10 and 11. But 8 was def the beginning of Chaos

[@BobLadif-ny8ni]

At least 10 11 consume less RAM compared to Windows 7 and that’s stupid theme

[@hatsumi_rou_]

@BobLadif-ny8ni you sure, last time i checked windows 7 only took 1 gb of ram compared to win 10 4gb

[@BobLadif-ny8ni]

@@hatsumi_rou_ Windows 10 64 bit takes 2 GB and 32 bit takes one, Windows 11 requires 4 GB of ram

[@BobLadif-ny8ni]

Are we also going to ignore the fact that Windows 7 was a reskinned Windows Vista?

[@MrLatte27]

@@BobLadif-ny8ni by the end of windows vista with its last service pack it was basically on par with windows 7, 7 is what vista should have been and the base hardware from oem's had finally caught up with the windows requirements.

[@HarmlessBongo0]

An hour of Michael AND Windows 7???? Perfect

[@TJDownchurch]

toilet gang??

[@murderer2022]

More like 70 minutes… yey.

[@philtkaswahl2124]

A full hour of Win 7 upgrades? Truly a saga worthy of the name.

[@justarandomskyfan]

windows ball z we got the whistler and longhorn saga man

[@CEO100able]

I have never seen Windows 7 beta builds being installed on an actual computer. It's cool to see them being experimented on that HP laptop though. Nice work!

[@mootwo_]

one of my favorite details is how the RAM specification changes between each build: sometimes it's 2.99, sometimes it's 2.00, and other times it's 4.00! it's a gamble on whether or not you'll be able to multitask!

[@FlyboyHelosim]

This video just goes to show that it's always best to do a clean installation!

[@apostolissofkos7472]

Continue making these upgrade saga videos, please. I really enjoy watching how Windows developed.

[@MyszkoServe]

Windows 7: The best windows ever released. No ads, no junk, no force updates, no tour to skip and no bloatware. An operating system that just worked very stable and looked good. 13 Years of use and no single crash or bluescreen.

[@SIPEROTH]

Windows XP were as good.

[@CWM102]

i miss windows 7.

[@Solinaru]

2000000% agreed. It says a ton as well that the modern Internet works just fine on Windows 7. the only reason to upgrade is due to security issues caused by the same modern Internet in making everything a large social media hellscape

[@random_person618]

I hate how Windows 7 or XP fanboys just spam their favorite OS, even though sometimes they haven't used them. Just because other OSes like Windows 10 and 8 were widely hated, they don't consider them. For me, I would copy and paste your comment but write Windows 8 at the start, even though I don't consider myself a fanboy of any operating system. I am not saying that Windows 7 wasn't good, it surely was, but it's incorrect to say it the best, because that could be highly controversial. Windows 8 was just as good, it's just that people didn't have the brain to use a way better user interface, with a good name, the Metro UI. (Not saying that Aero was a bad name) Sorry if this comment was rude. I just hate the unfair hate to other Windows versions.

[@MyszkoServe]

@@random_person618 Im not a fanboy, this are just facts. When I install Windows 11 I need to delete half of the stuff on there because its pre installed

[@MarcBaggett1]

Another great video!!! Really enjoy these upgrade saga videos!

[@BenState]

Back in the day, we'd update, then immediately do a fresh install. The way to do it for cheap. I definately remember that you couldn't go from beta to RTM. It was well advertised at the time.

[@Lampe2020]

In all the builds where Aero Peek doesn't seem to work, maybe it's just disabled (in the sense of "not chosen"), so maybe you can try to right-click the show desktop button and see if there is an option like "Show desktop on hover". I've seen that option in the right-click menu for the show desktop button and sometimes it wasn't selected.

[@CocoTheMii]

Aero Peek starts working in build 6931 after he runs Bluepill (48:47).

[@KatJustice97]

These are some of my favorite types of videos on this channel. There's just something so calming about being taken on a chill tour of the steps taken towards creating an OS. Moreso when Everything Goes Wrong...™ and we just get to hang out while you problem solve. Love that kinda thing

[@Stev417]

Windows 7 is my favorite OS of all time, I used to have a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 11.4 inch and I had Windows 7 Enterprise on it

[@FrederickMarcoux]

Note: the "autounattend.xml" file is to preset some stuff in the setup. It probably has an entry that blocks the upgrade completely (or forces a clean install) as the upgrade folder only contains .NET framework files, which are not required for an upgrade lol

[@leakyboatent-fr1yw]

Thanks Michael, I watched from start to finish, on my Win7 machine.

[@2DCheese]

Of course, after buying a win7 disk, going through the setup process, doing all that stuff, installing IE/edge, logging into your KZbin account, and clicking on the video. (Provided you didn't use a VM)

[@cheebadigga4092]

one of the best video series of all time! It's like the usual druaga1 stuff but in a different era of time lol

[@spaghetto181]

a few years ago i reinstalled windows 7 home premium rtm on my old pc and got through all that, it was a pain but kinda nostalgic getting all these updates...

[@WololoWololo2]

You should have downloaded Windows 8.1 instead of 7

[@nikolan123]

Hi, I think now that 22h2 will be the final 10 build you should do an upgrade saga not through betas but through rtm builds (1507,1511,1607,1703…)

[@craigmurray4746]

That would be fun actually come to think of it. There were a lot of changes between RTM and 1909, but the 2004-22H2 branch stagnated quite a bit really.

[@winelectronic101]

He'd have to ensure that he's running x64 because later Windows 10 versions drop x86 versions.

[@ThatRandomToast]

@@winelectronic101 Build 1904x ISOs are still available in 32-bit.

[@Techmej]

These vids are amazing! Keep it up my guy!

[@andrewsawesome]

One minute and 41 seconds into an MJD video, and something is already off. Perfection! Seriously though, thank you for helping us to understand the complexity of installing on older software, especially on older systems.

[@dieguix]

I thought you're going to make the upgrade until the Windows 7 RTM Service Pack 1 (Build 7601) but there's not any significative diferences between the first 2009 realease (7600) and the SP1 (7601), so its ok. Awesone video, i liked to see how the Windows Vista gradually was converting into the Windows 7

[@winelectronic101]

I think Windows 7 SP1 is the only type of Windows version where features weren't removed or added. There was a lot of that in XP and Vista service packs.

[@z9cubing574]

My favorite OS Is here! Thanks for this video Michael! Really apreciate it!!!!! !

[@smyry]

Love watching these sagas! It’s great to see a new one after a couple of years

[@blainepalmerza]

Awesome video, Michael!

[@ClaytinJvr]

A delightful 1 hour of MJD Windows 7! Just what I've been waiting for.

[@NutNugget23]

this is the first video I’ve watched of yours in a pretty long time and it’s great

[@xxace_tntxx4289]

Love the video man!

[@ollieduracell]

Nice one Michael as always

[@NEMo1103]

My favorite type of video on this channel is finally back!

[@alekspapiez2648]

Omg thank u Michael for making my Sunday 🥹

[@theinsideoftechnology5134]

One hour of mjd CANT WAIT!

[@ExistingBone]

Nice to see the upgrade saga get a sequel or whatever the ammount is

[@zzcole.]

This channel is one of my favourites

[@jamesfield1674]

Love your content... great vids

[@ukipopo]

At the start of the video, on the left, the tag from the power cable + the IBM logo on the white background, makes the shape of Nevada.

[@Dewaxel]

14:53 omg that's so beautiful! Where have the designs gone over the years.. Why good style of everything ended with Windows 7

[@_xxggmm]

Despite its hate i think windows 8 would also be an interesting one to look at

[@sanamasakodotxml]

Windows h8

[@namesurname4666]

the most interesting in my opinion, software aero was peak interface, this means aero out of the box, without a powerful gpu or drivers

[@u0aol1]

Betta builds. Man those were some good times.

[@profanedgod]

Finally actually interesting video imo ofc

[@gakabler]

That was just plain fun to watch.

[@Meshal_hagbanee112]

You videos are amazing 😻

[@javierdz]

Nice video!

[@eelomaa]

I remember watching the Windows 7 “Release Party” on “Windows Weekly” with Paul Thurott, good times.

[@bhasitl]

Am I the only one who noticed that the internal DVD drive was open till the end. That's why maybe it didn't detect it. Also, you could have tried resetting folder options and see if the Computer option appears. What is TS Workspaces? Like is it something that is a leftover of previous builds. Windows Power shell 1.0 and PowerShell 2.0 are also leftovers. You should really do a video to compare this Windows 7 RTM build with Leftovers to a clean Windows 7 RTM build. This would be a great video if there are several discrepancy. It was a very interesting video :)

[@konman2809]

Awesome video! It would be cool to see a Windows 8 upgrade saga video happen one day.

[@konman2809]

Windows 7 is simply the best version of Windows alongside Windows XP.

[@bothsamuel]

It would be nice, although I think that development versions are still leaking, I remember that, for example, versions with the first references to the Windows Store or the Start screen have been leaked, obviously they were nothing more than simple placeholders.

[@saturngamerx77]

@@konman2809 However Windows XP = the Windows XPerience

[@WololoWololo2]

Windows 8.1 is best Windows version

[@csbassin]

16:10 Sometime ago, I ran into a problem with Windows Vista's activation in my VM. I used the online activation button to open IE. Then, I opened Explorer. Finally, I used GPEDIT to disallow the program that checks the activation (I don't remember it's name now) from running. Free Vista 👌

[@DrFopdoodle]

Love your videos

[@MichaelEKaz]

I still miss the Aero Glass + Aurora visual style of Windows Vista and Windows 7. It just looked so good (most of the time). Even Windows 11, though improved from 10, feels bland and incomplete in comparison.

[@winelectronic101]

I mean you do have the mica effect in Windows 11 which brings back transparency but it only makes it so you can see through the wallpaper as opposed to anything behind it which literally doesn't make it true transparency. (Pun not intended).

[@DewaDonnie2]

Cant wait for windows 8 upgrade saga

[@MCBuilder]

Windows 7, what a great OS! Like this channel! Keep going!!

[@KnightspaceORG]

Last good windows edition tbh

[@WololoWololo2]

Last good Windows were Windows 8.1

[@oklahomasoonersfootball]

nostalgia was waiting for another video like this

[@Get-a-Mac]

Hey Michael, just wanted to say I love your content. I am 12 and I love retro tech. Your channel is awesome.

[@justaguy7263]

I am 14 :o

[@mscd9676]

it feels really weird when you call win7 retro tech

[@XXxerom]

​@@justaguy7263I'm 16 akshually

[@Get-a-Mac]

@@mscd9676Windows 7 is retro to some. Although I have to admit after Windows xp it was the best OS ever.

[@TheGoggengames]

Wow, you calling Windows 7 retro tech made me feel very old now. Windows 7 was top notch back in the day when I used it next to Windows XP of course. Cool that you are so young and yet so facinated by retro tech. Reminds me very much of myself.

[@hmklegend2791]

Man seeing this beta builds of Windows 7 is so good as it is still one of my favorite version of Windows even after 15 years

[@christaylorakaskunk]

Yay! Another adventure!

[@Tharwat-gp8dj]

Amazing!

[@user-acs64]

70 minutes of my favorite OS?? Heck yes..

[@presola]

You're using an ancient version of the 6510b BIOS. Update it to a newer version, and you will get the option to change the date and time.

[@waynelin5604]

0:00 Intro 2:52 Build 6469 (Milestone 1) 3:12 Setup loads 6:23 Windows is restarting 8:16 Loading into Windows OOBE/Windows Setup 9:44 Preparing your desktop... 9:51 Windows loads Noteworthy Changes 10:46 NT Version (6.1) 11:10 WEX BUILD Account 11:29 Early version of the Super Bar 13:14 Early version of libraries 14:42 "Hidden" boot screen (No GUI Boot) 15:17 Activation Screen 16:50 Changing themes to see if they change 18:45 Tries to install a display driver 19:38 Build 6608 (Milestone 2) 19:42 Setup Loads 19:59 Compatibility error 21:48 Build 6519 (Staged) (Milestone 1) 22:42 Setup loads 23:47 Loading into Windows OOBE/Windows Setup 24:12 Preparing your desktop... 24:18 Windows loads Noteworthy Changes 25:06 Super Bar with pinned icons 25:59 Libraries 26:28 New boot screen 26:51 "Spicing up" the theme 27:39 Build 6608 (Milestone 2) 27:57 Setup loads 28:48 Preparing your desktop... 29:22 Windows loads Noteworthy Changes 29:57 Enabling the Super Bar 32:15 Winver 33:19 Build 6801 (Milestone 3) 33:45 Setup loads 34:30 Installation error 34:45 Build 6931 (Pre-Beta) 35:44 Setup loads 36:45 Starting Windows 37:07 Preparing your desktop... 37:13 Windows loads Noteworthy Changes 38:17 Aero glass theme 39:12 New start menu 39:30 Areo Peek and Super Bar don't work 40:33 Redesigned explorer 41:02 Build 7000 (Beta) 41:14 Setup loads 41:41 Upgrade disabled (Partial Upgrade) 43:15 Exiting setup 43:14 Build 7100 (Release Candidate) 43:19 Setup loads 43:39 Upgrade disabled 45:29 Build 6931 (Pre-Beta) 47:48 Blue Pill 48:02 Super Bar and Aero Peek are enabled 49:16 Exiting setup 49:16 Build 6941 (Pre-Beta) 51:08 Setup loads 52:14 Boot screen 52:25 Preparing your desktop... 52:52 Windows loads 55:28 Build 7100 (Release Candidate) 55:28 Setup loads 55:56 Upgrade disabled 56:07 Build 6931 (Pre-Beta) 56:17 Build 7000 (Beta) 57:31 Setup loads 57:47 Windows loads 1:00:32 Build 7100 (Release Candidate) 1:00:36 Setup loads 1:01:00 Compatibility error 1:02:33 Build 6931 (Pre-Beta) 1:02:36 Build 7600 (RTM) (Windows 7) 1:02:41 Compatibility error 1:02:46 Build 6931 (Pre-Beta) 1:03:26 Modified Build 7100 (Release Candidate) 1:04:21 Setup loads 1:04:30 Windows loads 1:04:45 Modified Build 7600 (RTM) (Windows 7) 1:06:37 Setup loads 1:07:09 Windows loads 1:08:43 Outro

[@xStylerTNT]

this was a perfect video

[@PoisonIssac]

GREAT VID

[@robobox7595]

Windows 7 builds are always interesting to me because having spent so much time with post-reset Vista it's weird that they actually *finished* it.

[@Emil215p]

Ey, looking awesome.

[@LilyFlowers]

Just moved over from Win 7, absolutely loved it! It's a shame that the newer Windows never kept the same look that Win 7 had, but oh well. I ended up changing how my Win 11 looked to "Win 7" (Doesn't look exactly like Win 7 but it looks similar so me switching over isn't as jarring haha!), if they ever change newer Windows to look more similar to how Win 7 looked I think it'd be great, but the new logo is just *more recognizable now* (Still think Edge being forced was a bad decision though). Overall I spent 12 years on Win 7 and never regretted it

[@awesomechad7716]

Hey MJD, if you're making a video on the development history of Windows 2000, don't rush dude. Just take your time 😊

[@XPNGamer]

NEW MJD VIDEO!!!! LETS GOOO

[@kanaest]

I actually have the exact same laptop in my collection, also running Windows 7. I got mine for 8€. Nice! For context, i buy old laptops and computer stuff locally online. i have over 8 working laptops and even more desktops.

[@saturngamerx77]

try sending some to micheal if you can please

[@kanaest]

I live in Europe, and i dont have any special editions or sth like that? Would he even be intrested?

[@saturngamerx77]

@@kanaest Well you know that iBook Michael got (the orange one) was just like any old iBook and he still was able to give us two interesting videos. So I think that he would be interested in them as long as you don't format the drive (anything personal Michael can just blur out if you have stuff that you're not too happy to shear with the viewers)

[@Abhishek-C92]

micheal thanks for telling about legacyupdates. my win 7 is now good with all updates.

[@AddlerMartin]

I'm currently making dinner and listening to this video as a podcast. Mostly because I like these tech topic, but also because I really believe you're Falcon from Gameranx. (I'm watching you 😂)

[@leok4007]

i was JUST about to go back and rewatch your Win1.0 -> Win7 upgrade saga lol. Fantastic timing!

[@Bo-11]

It even doesn't need another part of the upgrade saga. It's full with 1 hour and 10 minutes shows us all Windows 7 developement builds that every single one has it's own exciting features... Even now, Windows 7 is the fastest and the best Windows OS ever Microsoft released (in my opinion). I also have a laptop with Windows 7 Ultimate, I started to use it everytime. However, in July of 2022, I bought a Windows 11 laptop but still, I have a virtual machine with Windows 7 installed, and use that OS. Windows 7 is really the best operating system since 2009.

[@WololoWololo2]

Windowd 8.1 is better

[@LOLMAN9538]

The best Windows since XP.

[@mesterduo]

perfect video

[@CubeAtlantic]

Windows 7 is legit relaxin' i haven't used it in probably yrs :)

[@hydroponicgard]

I missed long long videos from you Michael, I hope you have a good rest of the month! :D

[@winelectronic101]

Technically the month sort of just only started ... lol.

[@Win7TechTips]

Watched every second of this video, good entertainment.

[@pkcell5688]

41:45 “The partition you selected might contain files from a previous Windows installation. If it does, these files will be moved to a folder named Windows.old. You will be able to access the information in Windows.old, but you will not be able to use your previous version of Windows.” If I recall correctly, we had a MateBook D15 that used to have Windows 10 (now it’s running Windows 11 with a bunch of stuff on it), when we upgraded it, I could’ve seen the Windows.old folder and its purpose is to keep remnants of the previous Windows installation that used to be on it. (Edit: That MateBook D15 is currently with my mother in Japan)

[@tompsheridantsheridant7354]

AND YOUR MOTHER PLAYS WITH HER BELLY BUTTON.

[@namepending424]

That comic sans looks glorious😂 It never gets old.

[@Otonari_chan]

best hour of my life

[@KyrosKohKS]

9:28 I am surprised that I am watching this on Oct 3, 2023 in Singapore! :)

[@jacobmckenna8661]

There is a Consumer Preview version of Windows 8 that can run on the 98PC, I tested it on real hardware that doesn't have a PAE/NX bit.

[@406kal]

Woah.. So much builds...

[@Flaretale52]

Funny enough 31:26, I have Task Manager Pinned to my Taskbar to this day.

[@kyp12]

FINALLY. AN 1 HOUR VIDEO 🎉🎉🎉

[@Lampe2020]

"[...] I don't want to jinx myself" has to be the most often-used sentence in this video XD

[@keraptus9816]

I just noticed 1 video left until 700 total videos on this channel

[@TGAProMKM]

that's good to see our old OS friend windows 7 featuring in a video....

[@JetDzhet]

Hi Michael, I think you can make a video where you upgrade through some Windows 8 beta builds, it would be interesting

[@chrism869]

Bound to hit a nail on the coffin, on the same stretch of road, because of this saga

[@Freedomsvoice]

Hi I have been watching your videos for a while now and they inspire me to work with old computers and electronics. You need to do a collection tour soon. Please comment on this if you read it

[@ElGordo2497]

I listen to this video to go to sleep. Not meant as an insult I just find your stuff relaxing.

[@RexSucksAtStuff]

this reminds me of the good old days when windows was actually more fun and customisable

[@Homeminboss]

1:00 You say that like we dont want a mega long viedo

[@K9arcade]

Restored an AIO machine and it felt so right to have win7 running on it. Owner is gonna love it

[@73delgado]

That modified install cd was most likely modified by someone working in IT that instlled it onto alot of pcs or on a bunch of vms considering that file based on its name seems to be for a unattended install. That would also explain why it changed to the lightweight ui because realistically if you are using windows 7 for some type of business application you don't want to use the Aero ui its just way to much unnecessary processing overhead.

[@winelectronic101]

My schools used Windows 7 Enterprise with Aero enabled, so I'm assuming that performance wasn't that big of a concern.

[@73delgado]

@@winelectronic101 yeah in a school environment Aero wouldn't be a concern but in a enterprise environment that's a different story. The reason your school used windows 7 enterprise is because it would have more built-in features to network the PCs and whatever servers or SAN or NAS your school might have had as well as remote desktop features and other things.

[@winelectronic101]

​@@73delgado Is also for accessibility reasons (Windows 7's full screen Magnifier only works if an Aero theme is enabled).

[@73delgado]

@@winelectronic101 huh that's pretty interesting I had no idea about that one