Windows new install problem. !

[#1]

OK... so I have a Dell Inspiron 15 5558 Laptop, originally delivered with WIndows 7 pro 64bit. ... But .. I have since migrated to Linux Mint 19 and now 20.... on various hard drives..

Out of interest, I went to the Dell Downloads site, to see if there were any "updates" to the drivers, but, of course, it did not detect a Windows operating system, instead offered me no updates on a version of UBUNTU 12.04.

I changed it to read Windows 7 Pro 64bit,... and there were a couple of "urgent" updates... the main one being the BIOS.. which came out early this year. So... I painstakingly downloaded and catalogued the necessary updates, and saved them all to a USB stick, ..

Yep... I know you can`t install downloads of Windows/Dell on a Linux machine... so I installed Win7 pro on a spare hdd on this laptop. ( being the one I wanted to update anything on the mobo ).. and proceeded to install the updates... only the BIOS actually updated... it then auto re-booted. 

So I proceeded with the other 14 updates... all of which reported this message, after a short wait from clicking the "install" button...

X The procedure entry point AddDLL Directory could not be located in the Dynamic Link Library Kernel.32dll

                                                                                                              cancel                  OK

well, no,..not really "ok"... but what else can you click on?  there is no other info to suggest how to correct the omitted DLL.

It`s not important... but just wondered, as I have never had this before when doing a fresh Install on a formatted Hard drive on this or any other laptop.. 

Effectively, if I tried to use Windows 7 Pro on that HDD installation, it would be useless, except for local keyboard action.. as there is no Internet/wifi/ethernet  nor any connection to the "outside world"...

[#2]

Presumably you been here  or somewhere similar.

I must admit I gave up trying to keep old versions of Windows going (TBH, I haven't looked back since) but if you run old progs then probably you're stuck with it.

[#3]

@idonno  Thanks for the linky.... no... I haven`t "been there"...... well.. I have ,..... just now...but I`ll go back and have a good read of it later.

The main thing I wanted was to update the BIOS on this machine, although I run Linux Mint 20 on it... and the only way I could think of doing that, ( via the Dell downloads site) was to use an old HDD ,... install W7pro 64 on it. and then do the updates... 

As I said... the BIOS updated.. but the rest of them did not... so.. I suppose, ( and I hope) that I have achieved what I wanted... and updated BIOS on this Dell machine ....

Thanks again.

[#4]

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@shutter wrote:

The main thing I wanted was to update the BIOS on this machine, although I run Linux Mint 20 on it... and the only way I could think of doing that, ( via the Dell downloads site) was to use an old HDD ,... install W7pro 64 on it. and then do the updates... 

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This or this might have been easier.

[#5]

@TheRoadCrew  Thanks for that   ! ! !! ....

Always nice to know, that someone has the answer on here.....  ! ... Hopefully, all is done now, but I will bookmark that page....and also the page by @idonno   Just in case I need them, sometime....

Thanks to both of you.