Thanks for the reply. I was able to flash very easily on a Mac.

But, you raise good points for others.

You are correct, the white cable included with the Pixel 7 worked. It does carry data.

I assume you did a Windows install? If yes, the answer to your question is no : after I entered the command adb devices no device showed up. My windows laptop laptop, fyi, , is 2 or 3 years old but is running Windows 11.