X280 Win7 Pro 64bit driver issues

[Allounder]

I'm trying to install Windows 7 Pro 64bit as dual boot on my Lenovo X280 (8GB RAM, 264 GB SSD) alongside Windows 11. Win 11 installed fine, no problems, made a second partition, was a hassle, but worked, installed Windows 7 on it with USB drive, made from Win7.iso, worked and found most necessary drivers to get the wireless network adapter going.

Have access to my WLAN and can access the drives on my local network, Windows states it has internet access, but opening a browser, it says no internet connection. Tried with LAN cable, connected, but no access to internet.

Windows Update can't connect either, no access to internet.

What drivers do i need - and where to find them? Most of them, I got installed, I have from Driver Hub, but there are still some missing, as the Device Manager says.

I am missing drivers for:
base system device,
pci data acquisition and signal processing controller,
pci memory controller,
pci simple communication controller,
sm bus controller and
universal serial bus (usb) controller (although I have acces to USB ports, but don't know if they're running 2.0 or 3).

I need Windows 7 for some old car diagnostic and programming software, I have tried to run them on a virtual machine (on X1 Carbon 7th gen), but had massive problems with crashing every five minutes, internet connection, lagging and very slow overall performance. So I thought, try this, others have had it running (sort of, as I understand)

[TPFanatic]

perhaps these resources can help:

https://old.reddit.com/r/windows7/comme ... kpad_t480/

https://github.com/VelsDie/Windows-7-for-new-hardware

Windows-7-for-new-hardware
A windows 7 tutorial for originally Thinkpad t480 but can work any new hardware, also for booting via VHD or booting off a external drive!
need help? or have questions? contact me directly on discord! VelsDie, or email me! velsdie@gmail.com

NOTE: This guide might not work for you, it's tested on the ThinkPad T480. I am NOT RESPONSIBLE for any bricked devices or data loss. This ISO was made for a ThinkPad T480 but will work on any computer that has too new of a hardware.

Please note that Windows 7 should not be used as a main/daily OS on a modern hardware, this is for experimental reasons and for the nostalgia, if you want this on a old computer as an main OS, please try Linux, distros like Linux Mint are lightweight,modern and easy to use, if you need windows, you can use Tiny10 till 2027, or Tiny11, if you want a modern OS but want frutiger aero and the nostalgia, check out Classic7 which is windows 10 reskinned to look like windows 7.

special thanks to: u/Sevoos for his help, to SIW2 for the installation media! and to u/gutenprint19 for sharing the driver pack for the t480


the iso comes with usb 3.0 drivers out of the box, which is important to install in a new hardware, the display, wlan, ethernet and more drivers might not work for you out of the box, lucky to T480 users, i have provided a driver pack for them, others, sadly have to find the drivers by themselves, from the manufacturer or community made.
So before i start with the guide, this is tested on the thinkpad t480, please give feedback on the other computers.
INSTALLATION GUIDE
install the iso from

here: iso torrent

or as a pure iso from google drive: pure iso

I do not provide a license for Windows 7. Distributing or using software without a valid license is against copyright law and constitutes piracy.

If you do not trust my iso, you can create your own modded iso with drivers slipstreamed from this guide that i used Installation media guide from SIW2
install the thinkpad t480 drivers from

here: Drivers

if you cannot download torrent files, here is the google drive link: Google Drive Drivers
the guide is separated into three types: normal installation, booting from VHD, booting from an external drive (hdd/ssd)
Normal installation

you will need: a pc running windows, an usb stick (minimum 8GB of space)

install the iso
get Rufus from here Rufus
open rufus and select the iso
then select the targeted USB
select the image option as standart windows setup
select partition scheme as GPT
leave rest as default
start and wait for the burning
after its done, close rufus and remove the usb
press windows key + R
type diskmgmt.msc
select a partition/disk that you want to install windows in (if you have an partition made for it skip this step)
right click that partition/disk and select shrink volume
enter the size of the partition you want (minimum 20GB) IN MB (e.g. 20000mb for 20gb)
click ok and wait for it to complete
select the new unlocated partition and right click on it and select new simple volume
and then just fast forward it, make sure its NTFS
now power off the computer and plug in your usb
boot into bios via f1 (or f2,esc or any key for your pc)
Open the Security tab, and then select Secure Boot menu. Select Secure Boot, and then select Disabled, after that go into the boot section and enable CSM support, press f10 to save and exit
enter the boot menu via f12 (in thinkpads, on other models could be diffrent)
and boot from the usb
now you can just proceed with the installation, make sure you install on the correct partition
after its done just install the drivers from the driver pack, put them on a usb or go into your main partition and find it (for thinkpads only, some drivers like the wlan,display,audio might work on other laptops other than that, you will have to find them yourself)
now you are all done!

NOTE: doing this will mix your windows 10/11 boot manager with windows 7, which will give 7 the priority, to fix this you can burn a windows 10/11 iso to a usb stick and repair the boot manager, and you have to enable CSM support everytime you boot into windows 7, i recommend keeping it off when you are not booting into windows 7
Booting from a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
this way is a pretty easy way of booting windows 7 along side windows 10/11 without mixing the EFI folders
for this you will need a VM and an USB stick with an at least 2gb of space (the VHD will be on the internal ssd)

for vm i suggest orcale vm virtualbox, you can get it from here

First intsall the iso
install orcale vm virtualbox (SKIP THIS IF YOU ALREADY HAVE IT OR HAVE OTHER VM WARE)
press the windows key + R
type diskmgmt.msc and hit enter
click on action on top
click on create VHD
click on browse location and set it on the root of your main drive ( in most cases, C:/ )
then enter the space of the VHD (at least 20GB)
then leave everything as default and create it
after its created go down and select the VHD
right click on it and click on initialize disk and select it as MBR
Then detach the vhd
now open your VM as admin
make a new machine
select the iso as the given iso and name the machine as Windows 7 and click on skip unattended installation
go to the hard disk option and click on use an existing VHD and select the VHD you just have made
now proceed with the installation, but after the first reboot pay attention, after the vm reboots second time, quickly pause the vm and power it off
now get your usb stick and plug it in, and if you have anything important there, just back it up
install ventoy from here Ventoy
unzip the ventoy file and run the ventoy2disk
select your usb and install, it will ask you if you are sure twice, just click ok
after its done go into your usb stick and make a folder on the root and name it ventoy
in the folder that you just made paste this file ventoy_vhdboot file
after that power off your laptop with the usb plugged in
go into bios via f1 (for the t480 its f1, if youre trying this on a diffrent model it could be f2, or esc or something else)
Open the Security tab, and then select Secure Boot menu. Select Secure Boot, and then select Disabled, then go into boot section and enable CSM support, press f10 to save and exit
enter the boot menu via f12 (in thinkpads, on other models could be diffrent)
boot from the usb
after that the ventoy menu should appear
press f2 and enter your main drive/partition
and find the vhd you made
enter it and it should boot
and you are done! windows 7 should proceed normally with the installation, after its done downloading, for t480 users just use the driver pack i gave (for non t480 users, you will have to find the drivers yourself). note that the wlan and ethernet drivers do not come out of the box.

this will not mix your efi partitions and its a safe way to use windows 7, only bad side of its that you have to use the USB everytime you want to boot into windows 7, and you will have to enable CSM support everytime you want to boot, i recommend keeping it off when you are not booting or using windows 7
Booting windows 7 off an external drive (hdd/ssd)
this way of booting windows is great if you dont have much space, dont want to mix your efi folders, make use of an sata hdd/sdd and more

for this you will need an external drive that is via usb, or an sata to usb adapter, NOTE that this method needs a clean disk, so back up your important data from the disk, you can put them back after the installation, this method can work via big enough usb or sd card too, this method only works with VHD!

first install the iso
plug in your external drive
then install WinToUSB from here WinToUSB
install WinToUSB setup and finsh it
open the program
select the Windows To Go option
select the given iso
select your external drive
select the partition scheme as MBR
select the installation mode as VHD and enter the size
leave the rest as default and start the process
after its done turn off your computer with the external drive plugged in
go into bios via f1 (for the t480 its f1, if youre trying this on a diffrent model it could be f2, or esc or something else)
Open the Security tab, and then select Secure Boot menu. Select Secure Boot, and then select Disabled, after that go into the boot section and enable CSM support, press f10 to save and exit
enter the boot menu via f12 (in thinkpads, on other models could be diffrent)
boot from the external drive
and you are done! windows 7 should proceed normally with the installation, after its done downloading, for t480 users just use the driver pack i gave (for non t480 users, you will have to find the drivers yourself). note that the wlan and ethernet drivers do not come out of the box.

the only down side of this is that you have to keep your external drive on while using windows 7, other than that it will run little slower because it is booting and working from an USB.
And thats it, if you have any problems or errors (errors after installation or after the boot (NON BSOD) fix could be found on youtube or google, or forums), contact me from discord or email, or here, if you are intrested in hackintoshing your thinkpad t480, you can find my full guide and pre made working efi here: (if you are reading this, the repo is not made yet, stay tuned!)

if you see this repo unprofessnional, please be understanding, this is my first github repo, and if you see/spot any writing mistakes, please report them to me.

thats all from me, i hope you have a great morning/day/afternoon/evening/night