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Downgrade to Windows 7 from 8?

Isambard BrunelIsambard Brunel Posts: 6,598
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in PC & Mac Hardware and Software #1
I'm thinking about buying a new PC I've seen at a reasonable price, but it comes with Windows 8.

I seem to recall that when people bought a new Vista PC, they could 'downgrade' to XP for free, so is it possible to do the same with a Windows 8 machine and end up with Win7?

Naturally, there's no mention of this anywhere by the manufacturer, but maybe Microsoft still quetly offer this option?

Or do I need to buy my own copy of Win7 on top of the PC?

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    s2ks2k Posts: 7,421
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    #2
    Downgrade rights only come with Windows 8 Pro. Same as with Vista and 7 needing the Business/Pro version to downgrade to XP. Most of the Windows 8 machines out now are consumer stuff so do not come with Pro.

    Put simply, the easiest option (if you really dont want 8) is to find a computer with Windows 7 OR buy your own separate copy of Windows 7 and load it yourself. Note that if you do the latter its not 100% guaranteed to be supported on the computer if its a very recent model. Realistically its unlikely to be the case that its outright impossible, but it certainly could be a faff if your not familiar with downloading drivers etc.
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    GPWGPW Posts: 3,386
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    #3
    deleted
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    John259John259 Posts: 28,483
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    #4
    Tesco Direct still seem to be selling plenty of Windows 7 models - but you'd need to make sure before buying and the situation in their physical shops might be very different. I haven't checked the other online retailers recently.
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    christwochristwo Posts: 534
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    #5
    You could download classic shell that gives you the start button back and also allows you to turn off the metro functions
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    John259John259 Posts: 28,483
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    #6
    christwo wrote: »
    You could download classic shell that gives you the start button back and also allows you to turn off the metro functions
    That's a very good idea if you can't obtain a Windows 7 computer.

    Several other similar utilities are available - here's a list:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Start_Menu_replacements_for_Windows_8
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    LoobsterLoobster Posts: 11,680
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    #7
    s2k wrote: »
    ..... buy your own separate copy of Windows 7 and load it yourself. Note that if you do the latter its not 100% guaranteed to be supported on the computer if its a very recent model. Realistically its unlikely to be the case that its outright impossible, but it certainly could be a faff if your not familiar with downloading drivers etc.

    It's not just a case of drivers, sometimes you have to fart around in the BIOS messing with secure boot and UEFI options just to get Windows 7 to install.
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