Preface

This tutorial is based on Windows 11 and is suitable for those who have a need to use the Windows 7 system.

Let me preface this by saying that Hyper-V does not have good compatibility with Windows 7. If you have requirements for system performance, you can refer to Installing Windows 7 in VMware.

Microsoft’s official best compatible system is Windows 8.1 and above, and Windows Server 2012 R2 and above.

1. Install Hyper-V

Reference: Installing Hyper-V Virtual Machine

2. Create a Virtual Machine

Select your computer host and find New — Virtual Machine in the right sidebar.
Go to the next page after opening it.
Set the name and location of the virtual machine. It is strongly recommended to place the virtual machine’s location on a disk other than the C drive, preferably a larger one.
Since Windows 7 is an older system, we choose First Generation.
For memory, fill in according to your computer’s configuration. Generally, 1G (1024M) of Windows 7 is enough.
For the network, we must choose Default Switch, otherwise the virtual machine will not be able to access the internet.
For disk capacity, fill in according to your needs. Generally, it should not be less than 20G to leave some space for the system.
Select the ISO file. Here is the download link for Windows 7 64-bit Professional with sp1 Batch Version, it is recommended to use Xunlei for downloading (make sure to choose the version with vl, otherwise the activation process will drive you crazy).
1
ed2k://|file|cn_windows_7_professional_with_sp1_vl_build_x64_dvd_u_677816.iso|3266004992|5A52F4CCEFA71797D58389B397038B2F|/
After clicking Finish, the virtual machine will be created.
Select the virtual machine you just created and click the Start button on the right.
After the status changes to Running, click the Connect button on the right.

Once inside, it should look something like this:

3. Install the Operating System

Select the language you are familiar with and click Next — Install Now.
Accept the license terms.
Choose Custom (Advanced).
On the disk selection page, click Drive Options (Advanced) (A).
Select the unallocated disk and click New — Apply — OK.
Next, the system will install automatically. Just wait for it to complete, and you can use this time to enjoy a cup of coffee.
After several restarts of the virtual machine, you will enter the system settings page. Set a username you like, then click Next all the way through. You can choose to set a password or not; updates will be discussed later. Just follow the images for the rest.
Enter the operating system.