Windows 8 downgrade

[WhiteD3]

Long story short.....

My parents (78 & 80 yo) have been using a Dell PC (their first PC) for 4 years, running Vista.

The PC is cactus (power supply I think) and I need upgrade them. Repair is not an option (according to my stubborn Mother).

Dell are only selling W8 now but there's no way I'll get M&D to get their heads around W8.

Dell don't make it clear what version of W8 they're flogging but I assume on a home desktop it is Pro, not RT or enterprise.

I understand W8 Pro can be downgraded to W7. Is this correct?

Cheers.

[d@rk51d3]

Seems to be conflicting reports getting around.

Some say that a W7 downgrade is going to be an option for a few months.
Microsoft FAQ says that once you have W8, the only way back is with your own discs.

[incisor]

Long story short.....

My parents (78 & 80 yo) have been using a Dell PC (their first PC) for 4 years, running Vista.

The PC is cactus (power supply I think) and I need upgrade them. Repair is not an option (according to my stubborn Mother).

Dell are only selling W8 now but there's no way I'll get M&D to get their heads around W8.

Dell don't make it clear what version of W8 they're flogging but I assume on a home desktop it is Pro, not RT or enterprise.

I understand W8 Pro can be downgraded to W7. Is this correct?

Cheers.

w8 comes in home or pro i would imagine

windows 8 isnt that hard once you get it thru your head the start bar takes up a whole screen :D

stardocks start8 gives windows 8 a start menu for $5 so it looks and smell like windows 7

[bee utey]

Blimey. Hit ebay or your local recycled office shop and buy someone's offcast. There must be zillions of good second hand computers running whatever operating system you want.

Earlier this year I needed a win7 laptop for a tuning program I got so I rang a repair bloke I know and got one for $150. Runs great.

[~Rich~]

Have a read of this article from PC Life magazine:

https://www.box.com/s/7a4y5ml72t9d4ylfdbx8

This allows you to revert to a more Windows 7 OS
Namely hide the Metro screen and more importantly give you back your Start button!

exe:
https://www.box.com/s/59j07pqmsdgxtablbuor

Please note no responsibility given!

Mind you I've just done the fix, it works great.
It even makes a Icon on the desktop that you can easily run to return to standard Windows 8. ;)

[p38arover]

Have a read of this article from PC Life magazine:

https://www.box.com/s/7a4y5ml72t9d4ylfdbx8

This allows you to revert to a more Windows 7 OS

That article was useful to me as a Win 7 user. I didn't know of the hotspot in the bottom RH corner. Very good to know!

[Chucaro]

Is there any advantage to upgrade from Win7 to 8?
My LT runs on Core 7 and have plenty ram.
Is all the software that runs in Win 7 compatible with Win 8?
I run several photography post processing software and I am worry about the risk involved in upgrading if the advantages are not there.
Excuse my spanglish :D

[incisor]

Is there any advantage to upgrade from Win7 to 8?
My LT runs on Core 7 and have plenty ram.
Is all the software that runs in Win 7 compatible with Win 8?
I run several photography post processing software and I am worry about the risk involved in upgrading if the advantages are not there.
Excuse my spanglish :D

the upgrade assistant warns if thinks are not compatible before you buy it

[lewy]

upgraded to win 8,now the printer drivers arn't compatable,and no updated drivers from HP till jan 13:eek:,HP laser jet p1005.

[~Rich~]

That article was useful to me as a Win 7 user. I didn't know of the hotspot in the bottom RH corner. Very good to know!

Do you know about the 50/50 screens?
Also shake?
Windows 7 new desktop enhancements and features (http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/windows-7-desktop-enhancements-features/)
Shake - Microsoft Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/shake)

The search feature in both Win 7 & 8 is excellent:
Just type in the search box in your Start menu:
Hint - dont press enter!

[clubagreenie]

What Dell is it? I might have a power supply if my old one is compatible. Dell won't sell the individual components unless you send it to them to fix and you don't want to pay for that. Alternately the markets Parklea down here) have assorted "sub continental" people who sell off a lot of ex govt dells. You should find something that is similar ot the same or even just the bits you need. The issue is the compact size of the cases they use. I've been using 2nd hand dells for ages, for $100- ea they are great units for running as linux boxes and servers. But to pull a power supply in their ultra compact case means the HDD, CD drive, RAM, most cabling and assorted other bits need to be removed. Thats usually why people won't touch them and say they can't be fixed.

[WhiteD3]

Here's a quote from my Dell account manager today............."Microsoft will allow users of Windows 8 Pro to downgrade their new PCs to Windows 7 or even Vista, according to the operating system's licensing agreement"

[d@rk51d3]

And a quote directly from Microsoft:

What if I change my mind? Can I just go back to my old operating system?


Not exactly. The version of Windows that you had on your PC before you upgraded won’t be there anymore. To get it back, you'll need to reinstall the previous version of Windows from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC. Typically, this is on a DVD.

If you don’t have recovery media, you might be able to create it before you upgrade from a recovery partition on your PC using software provided by your PC manufacturer. Check the support section of your PC manufacturer’s website for more info. Be sure that you have this recovery disk before you upgrade, because after you install Windows 8, you won't be able to use the recovery partition to create a recovery disk. For more info on starting your PC from recovery media, see Boot from the media you created to install on another partition.



Edit - It may just be a loophole available to NEW PC's only.

[clubagreenie]

What if you create a new partition on the HDD and have it save the old recovery data there and make it available even post W8 install? Is that sufficient in conjunction with original install DVD's (or solo) to revert?

[WhiteD3]

Here's a quote from my Dell account manager today............."Microsoft will allow users of Windows 8 Pro to downgrade their new PCs to Windows 7 or even Vista, according to the operating system's licensing agreement"

This is for a new PC with the OEM install, not an upgrade. If its the same as the old Vista/XP downgrade, you get the choice once at the initial boot up.

[Swaggie]

downgrade their new PCs to Windows 7 or even Vista, according to the operating system's licensing agreement"


Mate who in there right mind would bother to go back to vista..A lobotomy would be kinder !

[TeamFA]

upgraded to win 8,now the printer drivers arn't compatable,and no updated drivers from HP till jan 13:eek:,HP laser jet p1005.

That's the first I've heard of a Win7 driver not working on Win8 - all my devices for both Win8 and Server 2012 Essentials work using the Win7 drivers.

[~Rich~]

My Dell Bluetooth / Widcomm software was not compatible with Win 8, took a few days to sort it out. Dell forums helped me out.

[lewy]

from the hp site

HP LaserJet P1005 Printer*-* HP LaserJet Printers - Product Supported Soon in Windows 8 - HP Business Support Center (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=18972&prodSeriesId=3435674&prodNameId=3435675&swEnvOID=4131&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=Im-111468-1)

[CU55TM Disco]

Can still get OEM versions of win7 and even xp from here:

CCPU Computers - Software (http://www.ccpu.com.au/show_cat.php?cat_id=software)