topic Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7? in Solid State Drives (NAND)

Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

ABurn5 — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 21:00:50 GMT

Hi everyone,

Intels documentation states that the P3600 and P3700 Solid State Drives are not bootable with Windows 7 because only 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 have the native driver. Provided that the motherboard's UEFI BIOS supports booting from an NVMe drive I don't see why I shouldn't be able to load up the NVMe driver prior to attempting to install Windows 7, however I don't feel comfortable spending such a large sum of money on a P3600/P3700 until I know for sure that I can make this work.

So my question to you all is; is it possible to make an Intel NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7? Has anyone done this?

Many thanks,

AWBbox.

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

Jose_H_Intel1 — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:47 GMT

Based on the page 30 from the Intel® SSD DC P3600 specification document you can boot from Windows* 7 64-bit by installing the driver linked below. The system must support UEFI* 2.3.1 BIOS.

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-specifications/ssd-dc-p3600-spec.pdf http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/product-specifications/ssd-dc-p3600-spec.pdf

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23929 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23929

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

ABurn5 — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:24:32 GMT

Thank you for that find Joe!

I assume I would load that driver up as just prior to installing Windows 7 in order for the drive to be detected. The .zip file from that link appears to be corrupted in some way unfortunately, apparently it is not a valid archive. Do you have the same problem?

Also, just to save me making a new thread, you wouldn't happen to know what's planned for the P3500? News on this drive seems to have all but dried up after the three models were originally announced.

Thanks again for your help.

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

Jose_H_Intel1 — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:22:02 GMT

I was able to open the zip file, but please hold on while we double check regarding the support for Windows* 7.

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

ABurn5 — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:31:49 GMT

Thank you for your diligence Joe! Did you manage to confirm Windows 7's bootability?

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

Jose_H_Intel1 — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 19:41:47 GMT

We are still looking into it.

By the way the Intel® SSD DC P3500 is tentatively expected to be released during Q4.

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

Jose_H_Intel1 — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 19:47:14 GMT

Booting Windows 7 is possible, but our testing indicates that many systems do not have the correct BIOS implementation to make it work. We strongly suggest that you check with your system manufacturer to verify that they have tested booting Windows 7 from an NVMe device before proceeding with your purchase decision.

In addition, we have found that many systems that cannot boot Windows 7 successfully can boot Windows 8 or 8.1. This is true as long as the system meets the UEFI BIOS requirements.

Re: Is it possible to make an NVMe SSD bootable with Windows 7?

ABurn5 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 10:17:25 GMT

Thank you for your guidance on this, I will be sure to check with my prospective motherboard manufacturer before making my purchase. Once I've built my system I'll do my best to document the results for the benefit of others in a similar situation.