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Revert to Win 7


rgh43

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I had reloaded Win 7 just prior to my upgrade to WIN10. Don't normally like to do an upgrade but I was pretty sure it was still clean. So on 2/14/16 id did the upgrade so I'm in the 30 day timeframe if that makes any difference. I just don't really like WIN 10. I did a Acrtonis backup of Win 7 b/4 I did the upgrade &it is on my backup HD. I have the OldWin in my C drive but it looks like the opinion on the Forum is to use a backup like Acronis rather than the old Win file I have in the C drive now. OK, so how do I reformat the C drive or do I need to reformat before I get Acronis to reload my OSP of Win 7 , now do I need to do anything else before reloading. My "C" drive is used for my OSP & programs only.

Edited by Yzöwl
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I have done a few reversals back to Windows 7 for various people and 2 PCs of my own just to see what happened. I would just use the built in option to go back to Windows 7 it works well and I have not had a problem with it, no trick stuff or super skill is involved, there are no bear traps to avoid it just works. It is not ideal but it is the easiest and fastest method to restore Windows 7 / 8 from a Win10 machine.

 

Acronis - No I would not use it in this case except as a last resort Acronis is better for fixing a broken system than doing bare metal re-installs unless you know exactly what you are doing and have prepped properly.

 

If you really want to use Acronis you could try booting the PC from an Acronis start up disk or USB then restoring from there, the odds are it will not work for a multitude of reasons but give it a go. The best way to re-install a win7 system from an Acronis image is to boot from a Win7 install DVD, use the drive options to totally blank the drive then install Windows 7 clean. Once win7 is running you can install Acronis or just use a start up disct to restore your image back to the C Drive and allow Acronis to do its stuff. It might work - it might have issues I have tried this several times and been successful once for various reasons.

 

My main method for re-installations is to copy everything off the original hard drive I need to keep as straight file copies of photos / music etc. Make sure I have all the drivers I need either via manufacturers website or using Driver Genius Pro to copy all the driver on the machine to a backup hard drive. Ensure I have a valid activation key (Magic Jelly Bean sorts this issue if I dont have a sticker on the PC) Then I wipe the machine and re-install Windows from scratch and copy the user files back onto it. It is time consuming but it is clean and you end up with a brand new copy of Windows without junk all over it.

 

hth

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Hi rgh43,

 

Sorry to hear you've decided (as have so many others) that Windows 10 is not worth keeping.

 

But keep in mind:  It's not "resistance to change", you are not a "dinosaur" or a "stick in the mud" for wanting the new OS to actually be as good as (or ideally better than) its predecessors.

 

If *EVERYBODY* took the same action and just avoided using Windows 10, Microsoft would have no choice but to make it better.

 

-Noel

 

 

This was sent from my Dell Precision Workstation running Win 8.1 without drama, without crashing...............  Last time I booted it was in January.   ;) 

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I have heard if you are in the 30 day window of going to WIN10 you can just basically switch back.  Not so?  I did the upgrade to Win 10 on 2/15/16

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I have heard if you are in the 30 day window of going to WIN10 you can just basically switch back.

 

This isn't 100% correct. Your "go-back" option is directly related to what you can go back to.

 

For example, if you have Windows 7, and then used the free upgrade and you went to Windows 10 build 10240. Within 30 days you can revert back to the previous OS. If within the 30 days, Windows 10 updated to 10586, the "go-back" then would not return you to Windows 7, but the previous build. IF the option even shows up anymore. And I believe that in order to return to Win7, the windows.old folder needs to remain. I do not know if the upgrade to 10586 replaces this folder, or even if you can "chain" go-backs.

 

These build numbers are (real) examples, but it more correctly relates to any updates where Windows did the in-place Upgrade to install it.

 

So originally, the 30 day thing was correct. Now it is, 30 days unless you install an update. I have read a few times that people have upgraded and had no button to go back while still within the 30 day window, so it is possible that something else can make it go away, such as a regular Windows update. :unsure:

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But, supposing the user has an installation disk (the user should have it), or an image of the previous system, just before the moving into 10, and puts the previous OS back, does the license for the previous OS remain valid, supposing it's stil within the 30-day window?  :dubbio:

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Has that changed?  At one point it was reported that the "upgraded from" license was never invalidated.  I found that quite surprising to hear at the time.  I have no personal experience with this as I've never allowed an "upgrade".

 

-Noel

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The upgrade doesn't do anything with the previous license that I'm aware of. Yes if they have the install DVD or a backup they can restore, that is a manual step as compared to the built-in uninstall function in Windows 10 that has the 30 day timer.

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Yes, the free upgrade does not invalidate the original license key. I know this because I've helped a few people who wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 (AAHH, don't throw rocks at me :crazy:!!), and used a Windows 7 Professional retail key I had laying around for all of them (just needed to contact Microsoft activation to activate on each PC, due to different hardware configurations).

Yes, they had pirated Windows :sneaky:.

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Yes, the free upgrade does not invalidate the original license key. I know this because I've helped a few people who wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 (AAHH, don't throw rocks at me :crazy:!!), and used a Windows 7 Professional retail key I had laying around for all of them (just needed to contact Microsoft activation to activate on each PC, due to different hardware configurations).

Yes, they had pirated Windows :sneaky:.

:ph34r: pirates of win7

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Yes, the free upgrade does not invalidate the original license key. I know this because I've helped a few people who wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 (AAHH, don't throw rocks at me :crazy:!!), and used a Windows 7 Professional retail key I had laying around for all of them (just needed to contact Microsoft activation to activate on each PC, due to different hardware configurations).

Yes, they had pirated Windows :sneaky:.

 

That's suspicious - is Microsoft unable to notice it or they just want the upgrade to Windows 10 and pretend that they don't notice it? I bet for the second. In general I agree with Microsoft's reaction against piracy but it seems that "telemetry" counts more for them now.

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Maybe they can't legally invalidate your old license, since you PAID for it, while the new license is not a paid product - hence the user hasn't entered into a contract bound by a payment.

 

I'm no legal eagle, but based on their no-holds-barred Windows 10 upgrade strategy otherwise it's got to be something very big over their heads.

 

-Noel

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