Can I change Windows 8 to Windows 7 ??

My new laptop has Windows 8, and I absolutely hate it !
Can I take it back to Currys, where I bought it, and have Windows 7 put on it ?
If I can do this, will they charge me to do it ?
Or would it be easier to just swap it for a laptop of the same specifications, but with Windows 7 on it ?
My new laptop is only about two months old.
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Comments

  • PuckyPucky Posts: 4,505
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    My new laptop has Windows 8, and I absolutely hate it !
    Can I take it back to Currys, where I bought it, and have Windows 7 put on it ?
    If I can do this, will they charge me to do it ?
    Or would it be easier to just swap it for a laptop of the same specifications, but with Windows 7 on it ?
    My new laptop is only about two months old.
    PC World/Currys won't install Win 7 on your laptop. You might be lucky and find that they still have stock of Win 7 machines but as it's been so long since Win 8 launch then I very much doubt it.

    However, you can install Win 7 on your machine - you'll need to buy a copy of the OS (if you can still find it that is, places like Scan or EBuyer may have it still). You'll need to create the recovery disks that came with your current laptop first as Currys won't support the machine if it doesn't have the original OS installed on it. If you need any support you'll need to re-install Win 8 on it first!

    Win 7 won't come with any pre-installed software or drivers on it either - although that shouldn't be a problem with the laptop being new.
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,453
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    My new laptop has Windows 8, and I absolutely hate it !
    Can I take it back to Currys, where I bought it, and have Windows 7 put on it ?
    If I can do this, will they charge me to do it ?
    Or would it be easier to just swap it for a laptop of the same specifications, but with Windows 7 on it ?
    My new laptop is only about two months old.

    Just install the freeware Classic Shell and configure it how you like it - it will block 99.9% of Metro so you never have to see it, and will give you back the old Start button and Start Menus in Windows 7 or Windows XP style. Two minute job.

    http://www.classicshell.net/

    Problem solved: you know it makes sense. :cool:
  • Andy BirkenheadAndy Birkenhead Posts: 13,450
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    d'@ve wrote: »
    Just install the freeware Classic Shell and configure it how you like it - it will block 99.9% of Metro so you never have to see it, and will give you back the old Start button and Start Menus in Windows 7 or Windows XP style.

    http://www.classicshell.net/

    Problem solved: you know it makes sense. :cool:

    Thanks :D
    Does anyone else hate Windows 8 as much as I do ??
    NOTHING is the same as Windows 7. Even down to switching the machine on !
    EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT :mad:
    But isn't this 'shell' just a cosmetic thing ?
    Will it let me play my DVD's and CD's ?
    Will it give me the free Office software that Windows 7 came with ?
  • tealadytealady Posts: 26,262
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    Will it let me play my DVD's and CD's ?
    Will it give me the free Office software that Windows 7 came with ?
    For DVD/CD use vlc
    Office software is not part of the operating system. It is a separate application that would have been a hidden cost to your purchase. Try libra office
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,453
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    It just replaces the Metro boxes start screen and all the other new front-end stuff (including charms) with the previous start menu system but you don't get any Microsoft software apart from what comes with Windows 8. It will obviously let you play DVDs etc., (or let you download Media Player free) that's a given. Plenty of great free Office and Media software out there anyway.

    Best to just install Classic Shell, try it, configure it how you like it. You can uninstall or reinstall it in moments as many times as you like, if you want.
  • call100call100 Posts: 7,264
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    Thanks :D
    Does anyone else hate Windows 8 as much as I do ??
    NOTHING is the same as Windows 7. Even down to switching the machine on !
    EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT :mad:
    But isn't this 'shell' just a cosmetic thing ?
    Will it let me play my DVD's and CD's ?
    Will it give me the free Office software that Windows 7 came with ?

    Just read the other Windows 8 threads. You will find plenty of people who don't like it or can't work it, so don't like it.
    The answer to your question is that Windows 8 is the same as Windows 7 so you can get it to do anything that 7 could do.
    Use google....Plenty of tutorials to do whatever you want with it.
  • davethorpdavethorp Posts: 8,701
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    Thanks :D
    Does anyone else hate Windows 8 as much as I do ??

    When I first saw it and used it I really didn't like it and for the first several months of using it I bypassed the interface formerly known as metro (manually) and went straight to desktop only drifting quickly into TIFKAM if I wanted to launch something that wasn't on my desktop

    Nowadays and whilst I still avoid TIFKAM 95% of the time I am finding myself using it more. Recently I was selling a number of items on ebay and had the ebay app with my items in a list snapped to the right hand side of the screen permanently so I could see at a glance all the time what the items were going for so TIFKAM does has its uses
  • TheBigMTheBigM Posts: 13,125
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    NOTHING is the same as Windows 7. Even down to switching the machine on !
    EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT :mad:
    But isn't this 'shell' just a cosmetic thing ?

    Surely you just press the hardware power button on your laptop to switch it on? :confused:

    A technique that has been used on most electronic devices for years.
  • call100call100 Posts: 7,264
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    TheBigM wrote: »
    Surely you just press the hardware power button on your laptop to switch it on? :confused:

    A technique that has been used on most electronic devices for years.

    :D:D.........
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,231
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    Thanks :D
    Does anyone else hate Windows 8 as much as I do ??
    NOTHING is the same as Windows 7. Even down to switching the machine on !
    EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT :mad:
    But isn't this 'shell' just a cosmetic thing ?
    Will it let me play my DVD's and CD's ?
    Will it give me the free Office software that Windows 7 came with ?

    Not me. It took me about 4 hours to get used to things but I'm fine with it now. Things that puzzled me a bit before are now a doddle.
  • iangradiangrad Posts: 813
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    Windows 7 will go down in history as the definitive classic operating system , and unfortunately the end of proper PC's as we know and love it ! There are a number of people who can get on with win 8 -- there is win 8.1 due in October but its still not the real thing !

    Might even mark the end of major corporations decline as well !

    Classic shell works very well but its still not win 7 . Personally I would ( and have done for others ) buy a copy of win 7 and format the hard drive on the new PC and do a clean install , you will still need a version of office to put on the revamped system .
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,231
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    iangrad wrote: »
    Windows 7 will go down in history as the definitive classic operating system , and unfortunately the end of proper PC's as we know and love it ! There are a number of people who can get on with win 8 -- there is win 8.1 due in October but its still not the real thing !

    Might even mark the end of major corporations decline as well !

    Classic shell works very well but its still not win 7 . Personally I would ( and have done for others ) buy a copy of win 7 and format the hard drive on the new PC and do a clean install , you will still need a version of office to put on the revamped system .

    Honestly, do they think people are made of money?
  • wiltwilt Posts: 978
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    zx50 wrote: »
    Honestly, do they think people are made of money?

    It is a free upgrade.
  • d'@ved'@ve Posts: 45,453
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    delete
  • John259John259 Posts: 28,328
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    Microsoft have a free downloadable manual available for Windows 8's Metro mode. Rather strangely they call it an "End User Training Brochure".
    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39055

    However, most people find that the only real solution to Windows 8 is to install one of the utilities which fix the user interface problems. Most of these utilities include options to boot in Desktop mode, restore the Start button and its menu, and disable the Charm icons which annoyingly often appear on the righthand side of the screen. There's a list of the best known of the utilities here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Start_Menu_replacements_for_Windows_8
  • James2001James2001 Posts: 73,434
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    Does anyone else hate Windows 8 as much as I do ??

    Apart from a handful of Microsoft fanboys, pretty much everyone hates it!
  • psionicpsionic Posts: 20,188
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    Will it give me the free Office software that Windows 7 came with ?

    I think you asked this before. Office Starter doesn't come with Windows, but some OEMs used to bundle it with Windows 7 machines.
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,231
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    wilt wrote: »
    It is a free upgrade.

    Ah, okay. Fair enough.
  • cnbcwatchercnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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    iangrad wrote: »
    Windows 7 will go down in history as the definitive classic operating system , and unfortunately the end of proper PC's as we know and love it ! There are a number of people who can get on with win 8 -- there is win 8.1 due in October but its still not the real thing !

    Might even mark the end of major corporations decline as well !

    Classic shell works very well but its still not win 7 . Personally I would ( and have done for others ) buy a copy of win 7 and format the hard drive on the new PC and do a clean install , you will still need a version of office to put on the revamped system .

    Windows 7 will be the new XP. People will keep on using it for years and years even when support ends. I really hope Apple doesn't go the same way. If every desktop OS became like Windows 8 and its cartoonish Start screen full of coloured tiles I think I'd just give up computers. Microsoft should really have kept selling W7 alongside W8. Not everybody wants a tablet OS.
  • call100call100 Posts: 7,264
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    James2001 wrote: »
    Apart from a handful of Microsoft fanboys, pretty much everyone hates it!

    Really.....hows your imaginary friend?:D
  • MarkjukMarkjuk Posts: 30,391
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    iangrad wrote: »
    Windows 7 will go down in history as the definitive classic operating system , and unfortunately the end of proper PC's as we know and love it ! There are a number of people who can get on with win 8 -- there is win 8.1 due in October but its still not the real thing !

    Might even mark the end of major corporations decline as well !

    Classic shell works very well but its still not win 7 . Personally I would ( and have done for others ) buy a copy of win 7 and format the hard drive on the new PC and do a clean install , you will still need a version of office to put on the revamped system .

    I have tried windows 8.1 and to be honest I am not overly impressed at all.

    It is an O/S that has clearly been designed for tablet, mobile and touch screen devices whilst forgetting about the rest of us without touchscreen devices for day to day tasks.

    The "re-introduction" of the start button is nothing but a marketing gimmick and does nothing but switch between the desktop and metro interfaces. It is nothing like the classic start button and MS should be had for misleading people over its re-introduction.

    The metro interface is too dynamic with things constantly changing in front of your eyes on live linked tiles and it becomes annoying after a while.

    If MS wanted to go down this route, as discussed before it should have been done separately to the main O/S - much like Windows media centre was a separate O/S to XP, or an additional download to allow functionality.

    Windows 7 is going to become the next XP - an O/S used for many years after it has become "life expired", as people will not be forced to accept major change to the way they do things just because MS decides they want to.
  • MarkjukMarkjuk Posts: 30,391
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    Windows 7 will be the new XP. People will keep on using it for years and years even when support ends. I really hope Apple doesn't go the same way. If every desktop OS became like Windows 8 and its cartoonish Start screen full of coloured tiles I think I'd just give up computers. Microsoft should really have kept selling W7 alongside W8. Not everybody wants a tablet OS.

    Who knows?

    Windows 7 Mainstream support is due to expire on January 13, 2015.

    Extended support on January 14, 2020

    If enough people are still using Windows 7 around 2018/2019 MS may be forced into extending support (much like they did with XP).

    The Modern (Metro) UI should have been an optional download on top of the classic O/S or a completely separate O/S.
  • BrokenArrowBrokenArrow Posts: 21,665
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    Windows 7 will be the new XP. People will keep on using it for years and years even when support ends. I really hope Apple doesn't go the same way. If every desktop OS became like Windows 8 and its cartoonish Start screen full of coloured tiles I think I'd just give up computers. Microsoft should really have kept selling W7 alongside W8. Not everybody wants a tablet OS.

    Even though, they failed on 8, you can't expect computers to remain the same for ever. Sooner or later we will lose the keyboard altogether and talk to it with natural speech and it will react to our retina movements.

    Pointless trying to freeze progress.
  • alan1302alan1302 Posts: 6,336
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    TheBigM wrote: »
    Surely you just press the hardware power button on your laptop to switch it on? :confused:

    A technique that has been used on most electronic devices for years.

    No, not true.

    When I installed Windows 8 my hardware button disappeared and now I have to swipe my mouse three times and wink at my webcam.
  • Stuart_hStuart_h Posts: 5,311
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    Maybe im one of the few but i like Windows 8 (and im certainly no fanboy).

    Its very quick and its much more touch-friendly than Windows 7 ever was. I had a touch screen Windows 7 all in one and it was really clunky. Ive now invested in a touchscreen laptop to get an even fuller experience.

    Even my son has installed it on his low-end netbook and that is noticeably quicker.

    24 years in I.T. and I know that things change, new versions come out, some will be popular, some wont. Windows 8 though is pretty much windows 7 with a different style of start button. The new UI is basically a replacement start button.

    I really cant see why people get quite so wound up and 'hurt' over the whole thing :confused:
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