How to Install Windows 7 on NVMe SSD | 3 Useful Ways

Why is Windows 7 installation not showing my NVMe drive?

Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is a communications interface/protocol developed especially for SSDs, which is regarded as the future of SSDs. As a more than 15-year-old operating system (OS), Windows 7 does not have native support for NVMe drives.

Based on different motherboards you use, you will meet two kinds of problems when you try to install Windows 7 on NVMe SSD.

• For 100/200 serial motherboard, all the USB ports will not work in the Windows Setup screen due to lack of USB 3.0 driver.
• For other motherboards, the NVMe SSD cannot be recognized in the Windows Setup due to lack of NVMe driver.

Depending on what situation you face, you need to prepare differently.

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Method 1: Add NVMe driver to Windows 7 ISO

What you need to prepare:

• Windows 7 64-bit ISO.

• A USB drive or disc as the installation drive.

• A tool like Rufus or UltraISO to burn ISO to USB drive.

• Window Installation tool provided by the motherboard manufacturers. For example, for MSI motherboard, you can use MSI Smart Tool.

• NVMe driver for your SSD. You can download from the SSD provider.

The process

After preparation, you can follow the process below to install Windows 7 on NVME drive:

1. Create bootable USB from ISO in windows 7 by burning the Windows 7 ISO to USB flash drive.

2. Use the Windows Installation tool to add USB3.0 driver and NVMe driver to USB drive. Here, we take MSI Smart tool as an example. In Step 1, select the USB3.0 driver and in Step 2 select the USB flash drive that you use to install Windows 7 and check the option “Add NVME driver”. Then click Start.

3. When it finishes, you can boot your computer from this USB flash drive to install Windows 7 on an NVMe SSD. From the Windows Setup screen, you will see the NVMe SSD finally appears.

Method 2: Manually load NVMe driver at Windows Setup

If your motherboard is not 100/200 serial, then you can use this method, which is much easier.

1. Create a Windows installation USB drive as in Method 1.

2. Connect your NVMe SSD as a secondary drive on a working Windows 7 PC.

3. Download and install the correct NVMe driver for your SSD. Locate the driver and then copy it to the USB bootable drive you just created.

4. Boot your computer from the bootable drive. In the Windows Setup, click "Load Driver" to manually load the NVMe driver for the install. After loading the driver, you should be able to select the NVMe SSD to install Windows 7.

Method 3: Transfer Windows 7 to NVMe SSD

Besides these two methods, there is an easier way - cloning Windows 7 to NVMe SSD with AOMEI Backupper Professional, the best disk cloning software for Windows PC. It is easy to use.

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• Intelligent Clone: Clone larger hard drive to smaller SSD by cloning only used sectors.

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The main process:

1. Install Windows 7 on a regular drive.

2. Then connect the NVMe SSD as a secondary drive to your computer.

3. Install the proper driver for the NVMe SSD.

4. Clone Windows 7 with NVMe driver to NVMe SSD.

After the clone, you can set Windows 7 NVMe SSD as the boot device and boot your computer from the cloned drive because the needed driver is also cloned over.

Clone Windows 7 to NVMe SSD

For those who are not familiar with hard drive cloning or system migration, you can follow the instructions below and clone Windows 7 to NVMe SSD in simple steps. These steps are applicable to clone Windows 10 to NVMe SSD and other operating systems as well, including Windows 8/8.1/11.

Note: The cloning process will delete all the data on the NVMe SSD during clone. If there is any data on it, make sure to backup the SSD.

1. Install and run the disk cloning software. Under Clone tab, select Disk Clone.

2. Select the current boot drive as the source disk and then select the NVMe SSD as the destination disk.

3. Check the option “SSD Alignment”, which will improve the performance of the destination SSD. If you are trying to clone smaller SSD to larger NVMe SSD, you can click “Edit Partitions” to resize partitions on the cloned SSD. After that, click on Start Clone to start the clone.

When the cloning process finishes, you can reboot your computer into BIOS and change the first boot device to the cloned NVMe drive. After that, you can enjoy the fast speed. Above steps also apply to clone NVMe to NVMe SSD.

FAQs about installing Windows 7 on NVMe

1. Can I use Windows 7 on NVMe SSD without installing drivers?

No, Windows 7 cannot recognize NVMe SSDs without the appropriate drivers. It will only recognize AHCI or IDE-based drives by default. You must load the NVMe drivers either by integrating them into your installation media or by manually loading them during installation.

2. Should I use GPT or MBR for my NVMe SSD?

GPT (GUID Partition Table) is recommended if you're using UEFI boot mode, as it supports larger disk sizes (over 2TB) and offers more partition flexibility.

If you’re using legacy BIOS boot mode, you’ll need to format the SSD with MBR (Master Boot Record), but this is not ideal for newer systems with NVMe drives, as it limits disk size and partition support.

3. How can I ensure my NVMe SSD is performing at optimal speeds in Windows 7?

To get the best performance out of your NVMe SSD in Windows 7:

• Install the latest NVMe drivers for your specific SSD model.
• Enable AHCI mode and UEFI in your BIOS.
• Make sure your motherboard supports NVMe and is using the latest firmware/BIOS update.

Summary

Among these three ways to install Windows 7 to NVMe SSD, you can choose the best one that suits you. Besides the cloning function, AOMEI Backupper is also regarded as a backup and restore tool. You can use it to backup system on your old HDD in case of system crash and backup external hard drive to another, etc.

If you want to protect unlimited computers within your company, you can pick AOMEI Backupper Technician. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file on server-side computer to multiple client-side computers over network.