Backgrading to Win7

[LeftRight92]

Hello once again techno magi of the internet!

I'm about to start the process of backgrading (or as some may prefer, upgrading) my shiny new laptop from Windows 8 to Windows 7. However, the potential issue of DRIVERS has occurred to me and thus I thought I'd check this with some people who may actually know what they're doing.

Laptop:
HP ENVY dv6-7200ea

Problem being on HP's driver website, they only have a driver package for Win8.
A) Would this package work with Win7?
B) If not, would chasing up drivers from the part manufacturers be an option?

Any other words from the wise would be appreciated.

LeftRight

 

[Deceptor]

Well chances are they -will- work, most win7 stuff does on win8 and they're not worlds apart but you're either gonna have to get them to answer (which will likely be "no" officially) or try it out yourself.

If things go wrong, you have a backup/restore disk right?

 

[LeftRight92]

you know laptop retailers these days, not a restore disk in sight
gimmie a second, will check for a restore PARTITION

EDIT:
Partition exists

 

[TheVoice]

The drivers will be the same as the Windows 7 versions (if they were available), I imagine. Shouldn't be a problem.

 

[snips86x]

you know laptop retailers these days, not a restore disk in sight
gimmie a second, will check for a restore PARTITION

EDIT:
Partition exists

In that case, go for it!

 

[LeftRight92]

Thanks guys, will go ahead with this as soon as Win7 finishes downloading from dreamspark.

Housemate reckons it 'should' work as well.
Also thinking about a dual boot with Ubuntu, but from what I've seen with Linux based systems they seem to be very happy to run on virtually anything

 

[Deceptor]

May want to create a recovery disk too, assuming the laptop has a dvd drive? Here's the first link I snagged from google: http://winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-tip-create-recovery-media-144098

I personally would recommend doing so, holding out on a HDD to save you is just asking for trouble as I have learned from past mistakes.

 

[LeftRight92]

While I'm at it, what do you guys use to mount ISOs on USBs (for the Win7 install)?

 

[LeftRight92]

May want to create a recovery disk too, assuming the laptop has a dvd drive? Here's the first link I snagged from google: http://winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-tip-create-recovery-media-144098

I personally would recommend doing so, holding out on a HDD to save you is just asking for trouble as I have learned from past mistakes.

received and understood, just need to find some writeable disks now

 

[Deceptor]

Not done it myself but this is apparently the most commonly used app to do so for mounting ISOs to USBs: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

 

[theheyes]

Also thinking about a dual boot with Ubuntu, but from what I've seen with Linux based systems they seem to be very happy to run on virtually anything

This isn't really true. What you'll find with 'Linux' is that it'll either work nicely out of the box or you've got long session with the command line ahead of you.

 

[darael]

While I'm at it, what do you guys use to mount ISOs on USBs (for the Win7 install)?

Easy - Microsoft's own Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool.

I would use Macrium Reflect to make a complete image of your system before installing Windows 7.

 

[nightmare99]

You may find you have to disable secure boot and possibly enable CSM in the BIOS.

 

[troops]

You can make a complete image with win8 although i think.

 

[Aeropuzzle]

I consider buying HP Envy dv6-7200ea and I would naturally like to be able to install Windows 7 as well (I plan to use the laptop as an audio/music production workstation and Windows 8 got a terrible reputation for that use).
Op doesn't seem to be around these days so I thought I'd just ask here in case there's someone who owns it/was in the same position as me and the OP who could help me out.

1. Is it confirmed that all it takes is simply changing Boot mode in Bios to Legacy? Will it be okay if I install Windows 7 in the same disk that came with the laptop or do I have to use another? I am a bit concerned with all this new “Serial number is written in Bios” thing and I am afraid I won’t be able to use Windows 7 even if I manage to install it.

2. Then there’s the drivers thing… Was anyone able to locate all the right ones, using the laptop without BSOD or other driver related problems? I saw online that using Pavilion dv6-7000/ dv6t-7000 (previous model) could do the job but given the HP "you are alone" policy I am trying to find out for sure.

3. What do you think of the laptop in general? Would you recommend it? What about heat/noise? As I’ve said, I intend to use it for music production so it’s important to be as quiet as possible. Also there's another thing troubling us musicians known as DC Latency. It is possible that even a great laptop suffers from DPC Latency problems making it virtually useless for music production applications. If anyone who has purchased the laptop in question could do a little test for me by downloading and running DPC Latency Checker for a minute or so and post the results I would be more than grateful.

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

The program is completely safe (you can check it out online in case you are worried) and you don't even need to install it, just running it once would do.

I tried to do the test myself by asking the shop owner if it'd be possible to take the tool in a usb drive and run it in the shop before I purchase it (as it is advised to do) but he denied. I know Macbook Pro is usually advised for my intended use but I can't afford this at this point and since I've found the laptop in question in a relatively good price any advice would be useful.

Thanks a lot for your time.