Downgrading from Win 8.1 to Win 7

comongethappy

Hello.

My husband got a laptop last week.
We thought we would give Windows 8 a try for a while, but our mutual hate for the system has only increased.

Question.
If we were to downgrade to Windows 7, would there be any issue with the Laptops hardware?
ie: it has 8gb ram & 2gb graphics..... will these work fine with a different OS?

also, will windows 7 help run older programmes?
The windows 8 compatibility wizard has proven useless.


many thanks.

Saganist

No reason why you can't install windows 7 on it.

Just be aware of some of the newer features of most new laptops. i.e. You may need to disable secure boot if it is a UEFI laptop.

See below for more.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/186875-uefi-unified-extensible-firmware-interface-install-windows-7-a.html

If you post the make / model of the laptop you may get more help.

comongethappy

thanks for that. I'll have a read.

its a dell Inspiron 17R

gctest50

Try this :

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8

or

http://www.classicshell.net

before you downgrade

PropJoe10

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by changing to Windows 7, in my view. Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell installed is absolutely fine. I use this system and havent laid eyes on the Metro interface in months.

http://www.classicshell.net

TheBody

PropJoe10 wrote: »

There is absolutely nothing to be gained by changing to Windows 7, in my view. Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell installed is absolutely fine. I use this system and havent laid eyes on the Metro interface in months.

http://www.classicshell.net

+1 to this. Classicshell is great.

Overheal

Saganist wrote: »

No reason why you can't install windows 7 on it.

Yes there is. It is very doubtful anything new on the market has available drivers for Windows 7. Most drivers might work but not all. As a result you could have missing or malfunctioning features when you downgrade.

Personally I don't see what the deal is. Boot straight to desktop and you essentially have Windows 7.

The big gripe is without the start bar, thats where most people are trained to go to launch a program.

Keep in mind, the average user maybe uses on average, 5 programs? Web Browser, file explorer, etc. All of which it's easier or just as easy to pin them to the taskbar. The few times you have to launch something else you can use the same key-presses you used in Windows 7 - to start calculator for instance, just press the Windows key, type "Calc" and press enter. The trouble is many users were accustomed to doing it the clunkier, graphical way.

Capt'n Midnight

Saganist wrote: »

No reason why you can't install windows 7 on it.

There is the issue of the license.


You would have to go out and buy a full retail license, if you can still find one, if not then you have to buy a Business windows 8 license that allows downgrades. It sucks but if you want a cheap OS get Mac OSX, if you want a free OS then BSD/Linux etc. etc. But if you want windows you either have to take what comes pre-installed or reach deep into your pocket.



Upgrade to 8.1 / 8.1.1 as that fixes a lot of the niggles

classic shell is your friend.

Overheal

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Upgrade to 8.1 / 8.1.1 as that fixes a lot of the niggles

That is racist :eek:

old_aussie

You can get an OEM Windows 7 and install it on your 17R

Windows 7 is available from Dell on your laptop.

So all drivers and software should be downloadable from Dell.

http://configure.ap.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=w521281au&model_id=inspiron-17r-5737&c=au&l=en&s=bsd&cs=aubsd1

Capt'n Midnight

old_aussie wrote: »

You can get an OEM Windows 7 and install it on your 17R

Nope.

a - OEM can only be used by a system builder and should only be sold with a mother board.

b - OEM can't be used on a system that already had windows installed.

Like I said windows licensing sucks

IMHO Microsoft should either restrict the sales of OEM to the channel or publicly announce that they won't take legal action against end users that break the license agreements by installing OEM. Anything in between amounts to criminalising a huge chunk of their fan base.

There shouldn't be any issue with downgrading a Windows 8.1 Pro OEM licence to Windows 7 as the licence does allow for it.

However the continuing love for Windows 7 is doing my head in. I've been building up some new IT systems for clients recently and probably 8 out of 10 are going with Windows 7 - it's definitely becoming the new XP at this stage and will probably have to be kept on extended life support the same way XP was. Some are choosing 7 due to software issues, which is understandable, but most are simply brainwashed by the media and have never even tried Windows 8. Admittedly, at first I thought at first that I'd hate Windows 8 but once I actually got down to using it and kept an open mind, I wouldn't go back now.

Overheal

Even the ones trying are not entering into it unbiased.

DesperateDan

OP please don't downgrade until you've installed classic shell and given it a go. The whole pc is basically identical to Windows 7 then. There's no point going near any of the metro sh1te without a touch-screen, and even then I'd be hard pressed to find anything genuinely more useful than the desktop mode.

But Classic Shell skips you over the Metro splash screen so you don't even need to look at it. Windows 8 really is a cracking operating system.

PropJoe10

Karsini wrote: »

There shouldn't be any issue with downgrading a Windows 8.1 Pro OEM licence to Windows 7 as the licence does allow for it.

However the continuing love for Windows 7 is doing my head in. I've been building up some new IT systems for clients recently and probably 8 out of 10 are going with Windows 7 - it's definitely becoming the new XP at this stage and will probably have to be kept on extended life support the same way XP was. Some are choosing 7 due to software issues, which is understandable, but most are simply brainwashed by the media and have never even tried Windows 8. Admittedly, at first I thought at first that I'd hate Windows 8 but once I actually got down to using it and kept an open mind, I wouldn't go back now.

Same here. I have used both 8 and 8.1 with Classic Shell and it does everything I want it to, in a far more efficient way than 7. I have moved away from 7 completely and have no intention of going back to it. Unfortunately though, the anti-Windows 8 mentality in the press will ensure that people will never use or trust Windows 8.

Blikes

Gotta agree with these guys.

Get the windows 8.1 update and install classic shell, you won't even know metro is there but you'll get the improvements and security of windows 8.

It really is a cracking operating system.
if you go with windows 7… you're going to find yourself in trouble in a year or 2 when updated drivers aren't released for 7, programs don't run reliably, security updates are few and far between.

uncle_sam_ie

Karsini wrote: »

However the continuing love for Windows 7 is doing my head in. I've been building up some new IT systems for clients recently and probably 8 out of 10 are going with Windows 7 - it's definitely becoming the new XP at this stage and will probably have to be kept on extended life support the same way XP was. Some are choosing 7 due to software issues, which is understandable, but most are simply brainwashed by the media and have never even tried Windows 8. Admittedly, at first I thought at first that I'd hate Windows 8 but once I actually got down to using it and kept an open mind, I wouldn't go back now.

I agree

I upgraded an OEM Win 7 to Windows 8 pro ( and Start8) from day one because it only cost me 15 euro at the time. I have to say it's been a very solid OS and I've had no issues with it at all. My wife's iMac on the other hand was upgraded to Maverick and that was buggy and broke a lot of stuff.

PropJoe10

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I agree

I upgraded an OEM Win 7 to Windows 8 pro ( and Start8) from day one because it only cost me 15 euro at the time. I have to say it's been a very solid OS and I've had no issues with it at all. My wife's iMac on the other hand was upgraded to Maverick and that was buggy and broke a lot of stuff.

Same here, I've been using 8 and then 8.1 for over a year on my main PC and have never suffered any slowdown whatsoever, compared to my last installation of 7, which started slowing down after a couple of months. Its a very solid OS, once you install a start menu. I have no plans to ever go back to Windows 7. We're going to have the same problem with 7 in 10 years time that we now have with XP.

_Kaiser_

Running 8.1 here as well but with Start 8 installed and all the Metro stuff disabled at the Desktop

I do leave it on elsewhere though as I'm using an XPS 12 tablet/laptop convertible.. only in tablet mode does Metro make sense - I NEVER use the touchscreen in laptop mode

But even despite that, it's still pretty crap as once you delve past the most basic settings, you're back to a mouse/keyboard-intended interface so it's time to switch into laptop mode again. Plus they've removed/hidden stuff (like network/VPN settings) in 8.1 so as to be a total pain!

But the biggest problem I think - as Dan said above - is that even when using 8.1 as intended - in Metro on a tablet - there's no real reason to! All the apps and websites and what not are generally a poor cousin to their Desktop equivalents so it's easier to just go there anyway.

Put it this way.. I use the tablet functionality so rarely that I have this machine up on Adverts and intend to replace it with a "normal" laptop or ultrabook.

Bongalongherb

PropJoe10 wrote: »

Same here, I've been using 8 and then 8.1 for over a year on my main PC and have never suffered any slowdown whatsoever, compared to my last installation of 7, which started slowing down after a couple of months. Its a very solid OS, once you install a start menu. I have no plans to ever go back to Windows 7. We're going to have the same problem with 7 in 10 years time that we now have with XP.

In all fairness to windows 7...Any operating system will slow down over time if the system is not maintained/cleaned on a regular basis. This goes for the registry entries as well from installing and removing many programs over time with remnants still stuck in the registry.

All operating systems will hold well and fast if maintained and cleaned properly every few weeks on a long-term basis. I have always heard of people complain that their operating system has slowed down after a few months of use, but this is always down to non cleaning of the system.

I personally have used windows 7 now since it was first released after the release candidate version and not once has it slowed down to this day. A computer/house clean-up is in order if it does slow down, there's nothing more to do, just maintain the system to 100% efficiency by regular cleaning methods.

BopNiblets

I like Windows 8.1, even without classic shell, there I said it!
Once you remove/uninstall all the tiles you don't need from the new menu it's fine and really snappy, especially if you're used to typing in what you want and hitting enter!
And W8.1 boots so fast compared to other versions, sweeet.

200motels

My Windows 7 PC boots to desktop in 11 seconds, it's way way better than 8 or 8.1 or whatever it's called now, it's a terrible cumbersome operating system and the sooner 9 comes out the better but I'll be sticking with the reliable excellent 7.

2014-08-12 19_55_00-Startup Manager.jpg

PropJoe10

200motels wrote: »

My Windows 7 PC boots to desktop in 11 seconds, it's way way better than 8 or 8.1 or whatever it's called now, it's a terrible cumbersome operating system and the sooner 9 comes out the better but I'll be sticking with the reliable excellent 7.

2014-08-12 19_55_00-Startup Manager.jpg

I find it hard to understand how you can think that if you've tried 8.1 with Classic Shell, but each to their own.

200motels

PropJoe10 wrote: »

I find it hard to understand how you can think that if you've tried 8.1 with Classic Shell, but each to their own.

I have Windows 8.1 Pro on a laptop and it has start 8 installed for the start button but I still don't like it but as you said each to their own.