Download Dell Windows 7 64 Bit Reinstallation SP2 OEM .iso for a Skylake UEFI BIOS

Introduction

• Dell Intel Based Hardware
• Common Issues with 2011 Installation Media on 2011-2016 Hardware
• Dell OEM Licensing and Downgrade Rights
• Unofficial Dell Windows 7 Pro Reinstallation .iso April 2017 Media Refresh
• Official Dell Windows 7 Pro Reinstallation .isos January 2016 Media Refresh for 6th Generation Skylake Systems Only
• Create a Bootable USB
• Unified Extensive Firmware Interface (UEFI) Settings
• Installation Instructions
• Notes on Windows Update

This guide focuses on Intel 6th generation Skylake hardware only. This particular guide does not support Non-Pro Windows Editions. If someone purchased a Skylake system with Windows 10 Home they do not have Downgrade Rights and cannot buy a genuine Windows 7 License as its long reached End of Retail Sales.

• This .iso listed also works with 1st-5th generation Dell systems shipped with Windows 7 Pro OEM, Windows 8.x Pro OEM and Windows 10 Pro OEM.
• The remaining instructions assume a Skylake System and hence only focus on installation using a UEFI BIOS. 3rd-6th generation Intel System have a UEFI BIOS. 1st generation systems will not have a UEFI BIOS and 2nd generation systems may or may not have a UEFI BIOS (requires latest BIOS Update on some models).

Dell Intel-Based Hardware

Dell Intel-Based Hardware is always on the advance.

Dell use the name 3xxx (good), 5xxx (very good), 7xxx (excellent) and 9xxx (Xtreme Performance System) to determine the grade of systems within the following product ranges; OptiPlex Desktops, Vostro Desktops, Inspiron Desktops, XPS Laptops, Latitude Laptops, Vostro Laptops and Inspiron Laptops.

Likewise Intel utilise the names i3 (good), i5 (very good) and i7 (excellent) processors. One can gauge the age of their hardware by looking at their processor model number.

I’ll demonstrate this using a few example models and look at the BIOS type, USB type and storage controller type:

• Westmere – 1st Generation e.g. i7-860 (XPS 8100 Early 2010) – SATA2 – USB 2.0 – Legacy BIOS
• Sandy Bridge – 2nd Generation e.g. i7-2600 (XPS 8300 Early 2011) – SATA2 & SATA3 – USB 2.0 – Legacy BIOS
• Ivy Bridge – 3rd Generation e.g. i7-3770 (XPS 8500 Mid 2012) – SATA3 & mSATA – USB 2.0 & USB 3.0 – UEFI BIOS
• Haswell – 4th generation e.g. i7-4770 (XPS 8700 Mid 2013) – SATA3 & mSATA – USB 3.0 – UEFI BIOS
• Broadwell – 5th generation e.g. i7-5500 (XPS 13 9343 Early 2015) – NVMe & USB 3.0 – UEFI BIOS
• Skylake – 6th generation e.g. i7-6700 (XPS 8900 Mid 2015 & XPS 8910 Mid 2016) SATA3 & NVMe – USB 3.1 – UEFI BIOS
• Kaby Lake – 7th generation. These 7th generation i7 processors will ironically not support Windows 7. For more details see No Microsoft Windows Operating System support for Intel Kaby Lake Processors.

Needless to say Microsoft don’t follow Dell or Intel’s Logical Numbering Scheme with the exception to Windows 7 being one of their best Operating Systems of all time. They have instead; Windows Vista (Poor), Windows 7 (Excellent), Windows 8 (Abysmal), Windows 8.1 (Acceptable with Minor Annoyances) and Windows 10 (Excellent).

• Demo
• Dell Windows 7 64 Bit Reinstallation