Windows 7 Support

[Vasudev]

@usmangujjar-> Tried several programs that makes iso bootable on usb (even MS) all failed at one file install.wim as size of the same was greater than 4GB and these programs were made keeping in mind users don't use slipstreamed iso that would increase size of iso. You know this usman as you yourself removed unwanted files to trim the iso. Another point to be noted is that you can trim size of iso by removing unnecessary language packs & drivers for AGP etc.
You can multiboot different iso's by creating multiple partitions. Humbert tried on his 32GB usb.

[humbert]

Fuj - thanks for your reply regarding Rufus. No more need to search everywhere for for a program that supports the ISO I'm trying to boot from.

If they could only make a multiboot version of Rufus. The minimum size of today's flashdrives is 8GB - this is enough for several ISO's. Even if you do find a 4GB flashdrive or smaller, the price difference is such that it makes no sense to buy it. As far as I know all multiboot programs that exist support a limited number of ISO's, or at least will allow you to run a test using GrubDOS or Syslinux.

[doomcake]

Why aren't these uploaded links for win 7 compressed .

I just downloaded a win7 ultimate iso that was compressed to 900mb approx'
The only problem ,it isn't updated to jan 2015.
So now i will be downloading mahers iso ,but surely it can be compressed smaller ,it would help those of us who have slow net connections.

[doomcake]

Code Select Expand

http://www.arab-eng.org/vb/t466066.html
I got it from here  and it's approx 3.3gb after extraction.
All the dates in the iso seem to be 2009.
So it would need to be updated ,which is not good.

I compressed it with poweriso and it's now 830mb Daa file.

I'm now starting to download Mahers iso ,but it will take long time as i'm on 60kb sec 3g connection.

I found some update packs here:

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http://www.drwindows.de/windows-7-updates-and-patches/15232-windows-7-update-pack-by-drwindows-februar.html
The big one(536mb) is for  win7 sp1 iso and the small one(142mb) is jan-feb 2015 updates.
It's a German site ,so not sure if they're ok on English win 7.

[Vasudev]

Fuj I  think the iso dates back to 2009 ie w/o sp1, with sp1 integrated iso would be atleast >4GB.

[Vasudev]

Fuj-> I think compressing to a very small size using latest h/w and tweaking dictionary size is a waste of time since everyone who distributes iso's would find hard time to decompress them & install on lappies,netbooks & low end computers.

[scarface]

At least 1Gb could be stripped off Maher's install.wim without putting at risks future updates. A lot of files are unnecessary like wallpapers or wav files in the huge winsxs folder. I could work with him but Im not sure he's interested.
Im not working with the specialist harkaz any longer, I guess we dont need each other's help, but lately I used win7 x64 sp1 N from digital river (the version we have always used)... updating it with the latest updates, included ie11 and net framework...I removed the unnecessary files and the whole iso weighs a mere 2.7 gb. I keep it because I know its updatable and its preventing me from starting from scratch if im doing further modifications which are not proving good on my current work. As I wrote on the winreducer forum,you can remove wallpapers, wav files or eventually fonts from winsxs, but you cant guess what will be necessary for future updates. Go there if you want to read the whole message.

[humbert]

I gotta agree with Scarface on this one. I wish there was a Windows version without the "features", i.e., just the raw OS and everything it needs to work. I as a user have the option of downloading and installing what I want. It bothers me is that every time I do a Windows installation I have to sit by the computer for another hour (or more) doing nothing more than removing and disabling "features". There should be an option not to include such programs as Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and Notepad (among others) given that there are tons of free media players, browsers and and editors out there.

An analogy of what I mean are 2 programs I use extensively - Firefox and Total Commander. Both come totally bare out of the box - you can go to their web site and install only those addons you need. Windows works in reverse -- all kinds of addons installed and you remove the ones you don't use.

[scarface]

Well, it seems the forum is experiencing a few problems, it's hard to get connected. I can't connect any longer with my smartphone. Maybe the dns is broken. I sent a mail to maher.
By the way, I removed a few posts, because they were not understood. Personally, even if I needed maher's iso, I don't know if I would download it, just because of its size. For those who want to know how much space you could save, do what I say: remove the wallpapers and the sounds (use gimagex, I talked about it in another topic and search for *.jpg and *.wav...), eventually empty the softwaredistribution/download folder (don't know if there is something in it), remove mrt.exe from windows (used once to detect if there is no virus...). Finally if you want to go further, remove every "prn", "mdm", and "wia" folders from system32/driverstore/filerepository. Keep absolutely the folder ntprint for the printer support...
They are old drivers so if you have no very old modem and if you have the drivers of your printer they are useless, removing them will save quite a lot of space.
Here is the folder of my edition...I never had any problems (I also removed the 2 biggest folders which are old nvidia or ati drivers if I remember well). The generic drivers are still there:
http://pastebin.com/XiWtB04u

And for those who want to keep only the ultimate edition, well it's a bit harder...if you know how to use sysprep...just install ultimate edition and then sysprep and retrieve the wim with gimagex (you'll need vmware and a winpe.iso...), as explained in a topic by harkaz...it will automatically strip off the other editions...which are useless since they are not updated.
I won't dl maher's iso and do it for you, you know, I'm not your father and you are responsible of yourself, but I'm trying to help since some of you are worried because the iso can't fit on a dvd any longer...

[humbert]

Personally I couldn't care less if my copy of Windows was "touched" or "untouched". There is one bottom line -> does it work or not? If it works I'm in business, assuming of course it doesn't contain malware.

I define "useless" as something which is unnecessary for the OS to run and function well. Programs such as Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer and Notepad (among others) should be voluntary add-ons, not "subtract-ons".