Windows 10: What is the HASH of Windows 7? I need to know the HASH, so i can check if my Windows copies...

Hello. I used Windows ISO Downloader to download the following Windows editions:Windows 7 Pro - 32bit English, USWindows 7 Pro - 64bit English, USWindows 7 Pro August 2018 - 32bit English, USWindows 7 Pro August 2018 - 64bit English, USI need the checksums of these .ISO files, so i can compare them to the HASHs i get after using Get-FileHash in PowerShell, so i can know whether or not the copies are original. The copies were downloaded from official Microsoft links, however, i still want to check the checksums.Thanks.

:)

 

Hashes mismatch while copying data

A hash is a numerical representation of a file. Basically, a complicated formula is applied to all the 0's and 1's and from that a long hexadecimal number is created. That number is called a 'hash.' (Not the same as the hash I smoke - that's different.)

When copying a large file (typically from the internet) you will frequently be shown the original file's hash. After copying the file you can calculate the hash of the copy with the same formula that was used to calculate the hash of the original. Now you
can compare the two hashes; if they are identical then the copy is identical to the original.

Therefore, a hash mismatch means that the file wasn't copied accurately. The cause depends on where you copied the file from and where you copied it to.

 

MD5 Hash number changing Upon Copying

Intro to hashing:

You probably know that to a computer, everything on your hard drive is nothing more than a vast string of 0's and 1's. A hash is the result of applying a fancy mathematical formula to the 0's and 1's in a single file, a collection of files, or even an entire
hard drive, that converts the 0's and 1's to a large hexadecimal number, and that number is called the hash. The mathematical formula applied, in your case, is called MD5.

At any time, you can re-calculate the hash for the same file, group of files, or hard drive, and you will always end up with the same hash (i.e., the same hexadecimal number.) This makes hashing very handy, because it tells you whether a
copy of a file, or a group of files, or an entire hard drive, is identical to the
original. If the hashes match, the copy is identical to the original. If the copy is as little as a single 0 or 1 different from the original, the hashes will not match.

You told us: " ... the MD5 hash number on the file is different on the hard drive and the USB drive." That means the copy of your Backup.pst doesn't match the original. That's why I advised "Try copying again."

 

MD5 Hash number changing Upon Copying

How are you calculating the hash?

If you include metadata in copying like date and time of create or copy of file then because when you copy it shows different time, hash will be changed.