How to uninstall win8 and install win7

stuartam · 31 Mar 2013 at 19:36

Help, I have a hp laptop which came pre-installed with win 8 but I can't get on with it so I want to install win 7. I have an older hp desktop which came with win7 and I upgraded that to win 7 ultimate so I was thinking about using that licence?

Any help / ideas welcome

Ben Cole · 31 Mar 2013 at 19:49

Given that there's not really much difference under the skin between the two why not just look into bypassing the metro interface and installing a start button?

You can then stick with the newer os.

KIA · 31 Mar 2013 at 20:04

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/03/how-to-make-windows-8-look-and-feel-like-windows-7/

chaparral · 31 Mar 2013 at 20:21

stuartam said:
Help, I have a hp laptop which came pre-installed with win 8 but I can't get on with it so I want to install win 7.

There hardly any noticeable differences between w7 & w8 :confused:

The missing start menu button is just about the only thing I really notice,
which is really easy to replace if you do want the start button back..

Hyburnate · 31 Mar 2013 at 20:36

chaparral said:
There hardly any noticeable differences between w7 & w8

The missing start menu button is just about the only thing I really notice,
which is really easy to replace if you do want the start button back..

There's quite a difference between the two.

If you want to definitely change from W8 to W7, then you will need to put your W7 Disk into your CD/DVD Drive and restart the Laptop, when it gets to the boot screen, you will see it will say something like "Press F11 for BIOS" or maybe "Press DEL for BIOS", you will then want to change your Boot Listing and make your primary boot drive to the CD/DVD Drive and then save and exit, the laptop will restart and then boot into the W7 Setup, you'll want to Format the hard drive (make sure to backup anything you have on it you want to save).

This should work, not installed an OS in a long time

theheyes · 31 Mar 2013 at 20:37

What type of license was your Win7 Ultimate?

stuartam · 31 Mar 2013 at 20:53

Thanks guys, I really can't get on with win 8 everything annoys me (maybe its my age)... I tried to watch the Eurosport player on it today and it had to open the desktop version of IE.

My win 7 was an upgrade version (got a student discount)

nightmare99 · 31 Mar 2013 at 21:23

Thanks guys, I really can't get on with win 8 everything annoys me (maybe its my age)... I tried to watch the Eurosport player on it today and it had to open the desktop version of IE.

As its a laptop and not a tablet I would set it to always open in the desktop version of IE.

chaparral · 31 Mar 2013 at 21:30

Hyburnate said:
There's quite a difference between the two.

Like what ?? :confused:

I still say if you add a start menu button it be almost the same as using w7

anthony566 · 1 Apr 2013 at 00:34

Can I ask what is it that you don't like ?? I just had a new OC system built with Windows 8 installed and It did frustrate me but once I worked out he tiles and where the program list was I have to say I really like it ....

This is a how to make 8 look like 7 link

http://blog.laptopmag.com/make-windows-8-like-windows-7

stuartam · 1 Apr 2013 at 16:40

just about finished installing win 7, ive noticed it boots up quicker than win 8

the only thing ive yet to manage is to find a driver for USB controller, but managed to install all the other drivers fine

thanks all

peige · 1 Apr 2013 at 18:55

KIA said:
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/03/how-to-make-windows-8-look-and-feel-like-windows-7/

Thank you thank you thank you, this has just stopped me scrubbing windows 8 and going back to 7. I liked all the rest but for some reason the charms menu would spring out when using my laptop trackpad so often it was spoiling the whole experience. I'd already disabled gestures and all manor of other options but this program has sorted it out

Ben Cole · 1 Apr 2013 at 19:24

stuartam said:
just about finished installing win 7, ive noticed it boots up quicker than win 8

the only thing ive yet to manage is to find a driver for USB controller, but managed to install all the other drivers fine

thanks all

That'll be because its a clean install with no bloatware I imagine.

Everything I've seen points to W8 being quicker to boot and use than W7.

Certainly on my Acer W500 tablet and my laptop, a clean install of W8 is a quicker and more fluid experience than W7.