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Restore O/S from Windows 20 back to Windows 7

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  • 22-05-2020 7:29pm
    #1
    billyhead
    Registered Users Posts: 9,860 ✭✭✭


    I know windows 7 is unsupported but my laptop is running sluggishly with 10 and I am going to restore it back to windows 7. Does anyone know how to do this?


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    #2
    unkel
    Registered Users Posts: 65,414 ✭✭✭✭unkel
    Chauffe, Marcel, chauffe!


    Don't do it. Wipe it and install a fresh copy of Windows 10. If you have a bit of a budget, upgrade to SSD while you're at it. Your laptop will be way faster than it was when it came out of the factory brand new.

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    #3
    PropJoe10
    Registered Users Posts: 5,302 ✭✭✭PropJoe10


    Definitely wouldn't go back to an unsupported OS, even though I prefer 7 to 10 myself. As the first person said, Windows 10 and an SSD is absolutely fine. And you're guaranteed support on Windows 10 for a long long time to come.


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    #4
    sheepsh4gger
    Registered Users Posts: 622 ✭✭✭sheepsh4gger


    billyhead wrote: »
    I know windows 7 is unsupported but my laptop is running sluggishly with 10 and I am going to restore it back to windows 7. Does anyone know how to do this?


    If you have your product key then you can download the CD/DVD image for the Windows installer:
    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7
    It will give you a *.iso file you can burn onto a physical DVD. Then you need to change the boot order in your BIOS to look for the operating system on the DVD drive before the hard disk. Then when you restart the machine it should boot from the DVD into a Windows installation menu.


    Depending on what you use that machine for you might find a Linux distribution like Linux Mint more usable. You can download the DVD image the same way but you don't need a license key as it's free.


    If you're not careful and you mess it up then you will end up with a computer that has on operating system on it at all.


    Also assuming you went through the full Windows 7 installation wizard - you will be nagged to upgrade to Windows 10 and you will run into obscure software problems. I would not recommend doing it.


    If you're going to bother reinstalling, try to maybe do a full clean install of Windows 10 from scratch. If you upgraded to 10 from 7 then it 's likely it's clogged up with all kinds of junk and a clean install of Windows 10 would make it work faster.


    Also try adding more RAM memory. There's a lid usually at the bottom where you can add / replace RAM sticks.


    There's also a lid for the hard drive. If you replace the mechanical hard drive for an SSD you will notice a huge difference in speed. I do that to revive old laptops and get some use out of them.


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    #5
    irishgeo
    Registered Users Posts: 9,494 ✭✭✭irishgeo


    billyhead wrote: »
    I know windows 7 is unsupported but my laptop is running sluggishly with 10 and I am going to restore it back to windows 7. Does anyone know how to do this?

    what specs are you running it on?


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