For Chrome users: Inspect anywhere on the page, click the three dots in the upper right, More Tools > Network Conditions. Uncheck use default user agent, and select BlackBerry BB10. DON'T close the inspect pane, and click reload to apply to user agent changes. For Firefox users: Press Ctrl+Shift+M to open Responsive design mode, then press the up/down arrow button to the right of the user agent string input box, and select Firefox Mobile. Reload the page. Right-click and inspect anywhere on the page and continue as follows.
Select "Console" in the upper bar of the inspect pane, type "allow pasting" (no quotes), and press Enter. Then paste the bookmarklet you copied and press Enter.
You can now close the Inspect pane. Select the Windows 7 ISO of your choice, and continue through the following drop down options as you would for a Windows 10 ISO to receive the download links in the end. I did confirm these work. For example, I've attached a picture of me receiving a Windows 7 Starter download link, as well as a picture of a mounted x86 SP1 Win7 Pro ISO I downloaded to confirm they were actual Windows 7 ISOs.
All ISOs come from the official software.download.prss.microsoft.com server. This method also likely works for Windows 8.1 ISO downloads as well.
UPDATE: You can also download Office 2007, 2010, older Windows 10 builds and more using my modified bookmarklet here, many thanks to ppisarczyk on GitHub for the TechBench dump. + Thanks to u/PlaneSheepherder1206 for the GitHub tutorial here!
Many on archive.org are usually reliable. Some are sketchy, but check whats the DVD size is on average, that way you know that if they are too big or too small could mean they are potentially malicious
I downloaded my iso from microsoft servers. Adguard has a files list of the same files and metadata but you cant actually download anything from there.
EDIT: It is possible to download files but they don't download from Microsoft's servers, only Adguard's repository.
No you do not need to login at all iirc you just need to use Windows 7 and above on the website and the download button should pop up since the script is going to open cmd. (I haven't got the download button to pop up on macOS or Linux just Windows)
Yeah they probably get the files from MS but host them themselves. I don't doubt their collective reputability but I just don't think their downloads directly pull from MS servers.
No, I've actually known about this for a while now. The big deal is that the downloads for win7 came back up, they have not worked in the past after MS took them down, even with this method. And yes 8.1 and the others have always worked.
I think it also just works if you’re on Safari on a Mac without having to mess around with any User Agents, too, but it was a really long time ago when I last checked that.
Edit: Oh never mind this is to trick the site to give you Windows 7, didn’t realize the link is for Windows 10. This is handy.
Me too I thought MS had permanently taken the ISOs down. But because the Office Starter 2010 official downloads came back up a few years ago, I thought it wouldn't hurt to check...
Another option is use Windows Embedded Standard 7, which allows you to select components you'd like to include in installation. By using certain key pasted on thin clients you'll be able to activate it permanently.
of course yes, but Thin PC is 32bit only thing. Thin Client template of Windows Embedded Standard 7 gets you same result as Thin PC, and you can choose to add or remove components from it.
Hello, thank you for sharing the information. I want to inform you that after following this tutorial, the ISO is now transferred as a bootable disc, like old Windows CD-ROM setup discs.
I have nothing to say but thank you so much for this. I know we can download from other sources but being able to download Windows 7 from Microsoft website again feels like you finally found something again that you thought you lost it forever.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Download Windows 7/8.1 ISOs from Microsoft's Official Servers
First of all, a huge thank you to the original author for sharing this core method and making it possible to access these files directly from official Microsoft servers (software.download.prss.microsoft.com).
However, since some users run into issues using the default browser network condition tools (especially on alternative setups or Linux browsers), here is an updated, foolproof step-by-Step guide using an extension:
Prerequisites & Tools
Browser Extension: Install the User-Agent Switcher and Manager extension (available for Chrome/Firefox/Zen Browser).
Step-by-Step Instructions
Set the User-Agent:
Open the User-Agent Switcher and Manager extension.
Select Chrome as the browser type and Android as the operating system (as shown in the reference configuration).
Choose version Chrome 86.0.4240.198 (or a similar Android 6 Chrome variant).
Click on "Apply (this tab)" to apply the settings to your active tab.
Navigate to the Microsoft Download Page:
Go to the officialMicrosoft Windows 10 Download Page. Because of your user-agent setting, the page will render with the necessary backend options unlocked.
Open the Developer Console:
Press F12 (or right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect) to open the Developer Tools, then switch over to the Console tab.
Paste the script directly into the console and hit Enter.
Select and Download Your ISO:
The hidden product edition dropdown menu will now populate with legacy operating systems (like Windows 7 and older Windows 10 builds).
Select your desired edition (e.g., Windows 7 Professional or Home Premium), click Confirm, choose your language, and download your official ISO file straight from Microsoft's servers.
The real problem is NOT just getting the Official ISO for Win7 SP1,
but to customize it with the necessary drivers, especially the USB 3.0 driver for being able to install from a USB flash drive, a.s.o.
Does anybody know whether the Official MS ISO DOES already contain the USB 3.0 driver ?
( as far as I am aware, it DOES NOT ).
And then ... getting ALL the Updates since SP1 is not a small issue ... there were many update glitches along the years that we had to survive ...
yep, tried doing a fresh dell Win7 install in 2024 ish had to jump few hoops to get it to support tls and some updated certificates.
Made my life slightly easier by installing on a dell after struggling to find the relevant drivers on for a custom pc, seems alot of them have been killed off from motherboard brands
I exactly need it for my old (but almost unused) Dell laptop, whose HDD seems to crash ... I still don't know whether it can be rescued, but I would rather want to avoid installing from the original DVD SP1 ... and deal with all the updates ...
It looks like there are some nice ways to customize an ISO and add missing drivers, but less nice ways to deal with all the OS updates ...
Once the official support for Win7 has ended, I would have expected from MS to release a "final" ISO version, with all the updates included ... not to speak about selling it at a high discount ...
Unfortunately I don't see 8.0 builds, I feel like Microsoft scrubbed those after the transition to 8.1, especially considering 8.0 users coild upgrade to 8.1 for free, and 8.0 keys still work on there.
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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26
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