Solved Do I have to setup a virtual network when I create a virtual machine?


Sqrly

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I want to install windows 7 sp1 on a virtual machine using Hyper-V.

I have a lot of old games and gaming hardware that will not work on 10 or 11 so I want to get a copy of 7 running, with zero network access, to play these old games on.

I'm following this guide How to Create a Windows 7 Virtual Machine on Windows 10/11 and I am at step 4 of section "How to Create a Windows 7 Virtual Machine".


Code:
Step 4: Open Virtual Switch Manager and create a virtual network for the Windows 7 VM.

Search and open Hyper-V Manager.
In the Hyper-V Manager tool, in the left pane, select your PC and then click the Action menu > Virtual Switch Manager…
In the Virtual Switch Managerwindow, in the left pane, select New virtual network switch under the Virtual Switches
In the right panel, choose External. Then, click the Create Virtual Switch
For the new virtual switch, please type the name, ensure External network is selected, and select the physical network card to be paired with the new virtual switch.
Then, click the OK button apply and save changes.

I do not want the Windows 7 to have internet or any network access.

Do I still have to create this virtual network?
 
Windows Build/Version
Win 11 Pro 23H2

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
If you don’t want network access, then no, you can skip that. I have plenty of VMs where I test… questionable software. I don’t let them on the network at all. They can’t even talk to each other.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC12WSHi7
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P, 2100 MHz
    Motherboard
    NUC12WSBi7
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    built-in Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 21.2 (Cinnamon)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC8i5BEH
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8259U CPU @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Iris Plus 655
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
It's my impression from reading about VMs that if it can use the hardware on the computer it can connect to the Internet in the same fashion as the base machine.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe M.2
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 4TB Seagate HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Theoretically @Berton, but those are bugs generally. Usually, the segregation works.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC12WSHi7
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P, 2100 MHz
    Motherboard
    NUC12WSBi7
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    built-in Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 21.2 (Cinnamon)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC8i5BEH
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8259U CPU @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Iris Plus 655
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
It's my impression from reading about VMs that if it can use the hardware on the computer it can connect to the Internet in the same fashion as the base machine.
MY understanding is that cannot happen unless you install the VM's network interfaces/drivers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2 Build 26100.2894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Powerspec
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900KF 3.20 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI (MS-7D25)
    Memory
    G.Skill DDR5-5600 / PC5-44800 DDR5 SDRAM UDIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Ti WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N407TWF3OC-12GD)
    Sound Card
    OnBoard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell - various (3)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD/HDD/NVME
    PSU
    850 Watt 80+ Gold Modular
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205 Mesh
    Cooling
    Coolermaster MASTERLIQUID ML240L V2 RGB
    Keyboard
    Logi MX Keys S
    Mouse
    MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    600 mbps
    Browser
    various (Opera, Vivaldi, Edge, Brave, Chrome)
    Antivirus
    anitmalwarebytes; superantispyware; defender
    Other Info
    Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.36.0
Most or all hyper visors offer multiple networking options, the most common for not commerial being "pass-through" where the host hardware is used and the VM will operate on the same logical network. This still uses a driver and often you will have a virtual network interface. There is also the option to leverage vlan tagging (mostly in a business or enterprise) and a isoloated virtual network where you only need the VMs to talk to each other. The last is a host level NAT which works the similar to NAT on your border internet gateway device.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
In the VM, if you do not actually create a network interface for the guest OS to use, it will not see one, and thus is isolated.

I do similar things as @pseymour using Hyper-V in Windows 11 on my desktop - if the NIC is not present in the VM settings, it has no access.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Thanks for the replies.

I was able to install windows 7 x64 sp1 to a VM using Hyper-V on windows 11 only to realize it could not do what I wanted. I would need a gen 2 VM and windows 7 is only compatible with gen 1.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
Why do you need a gen 2 VM?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Why do you need a gen 2 VM?

I need full access to all the hardware, usb ports, gpu, sound.

My goal is to play old PC games like "Need for Speed Hot pursuit" with my "Logitech Wingman Formula Force GP Wheel with Pedals" and "Jane's Attack Pack" with my "Logitech WingMan Extreme Digital 3D - Joystick".

I still have all my old games from when you had to go to the store and buy them in the box, even a few on 3-1/2" floppies, and my kid loves the retro games. I want my kid to experience gaming the way I did and not just use an Xbox controller for everything.

I still have my old pc's that ran 7 when built. I have one running on ZorinOS atm. I'm going to set that one up with dual boot windows 7 and Zorin OS.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
Good answer. Hmmm. According to this:


DDA should be available from either gen 1 or gen 2 (though that applies to GPU and NVMe only), as well as serial port access.

However, according to this:


Wind 7 only supports gen 1. And when I had Win 7 VMs (for testing, not gaming) I do remember that they were gen 1s as well.

And if you try to force a Win 7 install on a gen 2 VM, it goes stupid:


Q: Why doesn’t Microsoft support 64-bit Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 as a guest operating system in generation 2 virtual machines?


A: Certainly it is true that Windows 7 support UEFI, the first requirement for generation 2 virtual machines. However, Windows 7 has a hardware dependency on a Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) which is not present in generation 2 virtual machines. Even if Secure Boot is disabled, an attempt to install Windows 7 will result in an apparent hang at “Starting Windows” shortly after boot, consuming high CPU utilization. A similar effect to this will be seen if attempting a network install from a WDS server which has a Windows 7 era boot PE image – network boot will appear to hang as well. For that reason (along with the keyboard issue in Windows 8 PE) I strongly recommend any WDS server are upgraded to the Windows 8.1 PE boot image.

That is pretty clear, NO Windows 7 Generation 2 VM in Hyper-V!

I think your second idea of dual booting Win 7 on an older machine might be the better route to go anyway, if the hardware is too old to work with newer OSs.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Getting Windows 7 installed was a pain. I tried using the "official" 64 bit windows 7 sp1 iso I got from M.$. I tried using the CD I still have in the original packaging. I tried both UEFI and Legacy BIOS. The OS would install fine but when I tried to install drivers I got kernel errors.

I finally went searching and found Windows 7 SP1 AIO x64 Fully Updated and put it on a USB with Rufus and it's finally working with UEFI though secure boot has to be disabled. I still had issues getting the video driver in. Even with Driver Signing disabled the Nvidia package installer still made it cry for signatures. I had to unpack it and update the driver through the device manager.

I installed the OS with my legit product key and activation by phone, though tedious and time consuming, worked fine. They have an AI bot for the job now, so you have to "say" and 'hear' every single digit of the 54 digit install code instead of using the keypad on your phone and then listen to each 6 digit block of the 54 digit activation code twice.

Tomorrow I'll dig the Joystick and Wheel out of the attic. I have all the software for them so it should all work.

To give you a clue how long I've been a gamer, I still have windows 3.1 on the orignal 3-1/2" floppy disks ;)
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
To give you a clue how long I've been a gamer, I still have windows 3.1 on the orignal 3-1/2" floppy disks

Me too. Windows 3.1 on ~33 diskettes, and the 3.11 WfW 'update' lol.

I hope this works for you (and your kid!). Keep us in the loop, though I had Win 7 in a VM for a good while, I didn't actually use external hardware with it. I'm interested to see how this goes for you.

Also, this helped me tremendously in getting older Windows installations updated as much as possible (in terms of mostly security and post Service Pack updates):

 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 RGB + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge , Arc
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
I hope this works for you (and your kid!). Keep us in the loop...

The wheel and joystick work just like they always did running windows 7 (dual boot). Now the kids (and me) can play Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 (2002) and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2010) the way it was meant to be played! The hardest part was getting the wheel to clamp onto the round edge of the kitchen table.

I installed Star Wars Racer, Wing Commander Prophecy, and Everspace and got the stick all setup only to realize the stick is worn out. The electronics are fine but it has too much physical play in it to compensate for with dead zones.

So I ordered a Thrustmaster T.16000M. It's basically top of the line of cheap joysticks. It will work on 7/10/11 so we'll be able to use it for new games on 11 too.

PS I have to keep win 7 in test mode or it won't use the Nvidia Drivers. I've tried everything I can find online. I'll be jumping on Sevenforums to post that question.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windroid 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHZ
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 12GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 HP LA1911
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (150GB System / 850GB More Games)
    Crucial CT2000MX500SSD1 2TB (Games)
    Western Digital Green WD40EZRX 4TB (Data/Backup)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Storage)
    Western Digital Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + Isolated PSU Standard upward flow
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Elite White PS/2 (with usb adapter)
    Mouse
    Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse (rebuilt with ceramic bearings)
    Internet Speed
    450Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    Edge, FF, Tor
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus V2 Gaming Keypad
    Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX 505w (Orignal 10" Sub with (Fr, Rr, Ctr) Polk Audio satellites
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-14900K Raptor Lake Refreshed 6.0 GHz FCLGA1700 (Gen 14)
    Motherboard
    MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi
    Memory
    32GB (2x16) GSKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series (Intel XMP 3.0) DDR5 RAM 6700MT/s
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060Ti 8GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek® ALC4080 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor #1 Samsung Odyssey G50A WQHD G-Sync HDR10 Monitor #2 Samsung TU7000 55" TV
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 and 3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (System)
    Samsung 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 (Games)
    Crucial CT1000MX500SSD1 1TB (More Games)
    WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB (Data/Backup)
    WD Blue WD60EZAZ 6TB (Media)
    PSU
    Rosewill Hive-750S
    Case
    Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Cooler Master ML240L V2 Liquid CPU cooler + 3x120mm in + 2x120mm + Isolated PSU Reverse flow front exhaust
    Mouse
    MSI G20 Elite and Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK345 Wireless
    Internet Speed
    350Mb/s hard wired
    Browser
    FF
    Antivirus
    Win Def
    Other Info
    Razer Tartarus Gaming Keypad
    MSI GC30 Gaming Controller (Xbox style)
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