Windows 10: back to seven

Sons computer, dell desktop, has been left really unstable because of windows 10 updates
It has been over 30 days
Is there any way to put it back to seven other than taking to a shop
his laptop also objected to windows 10, it is also a dell, that went into a reboot loop and is totally useless
does dell and windows 10 have issues with each other
he will have to take the laptop to the shop I think but the desktop is still working, (not well), can it be restored to
seven, also restore files to seven are gone

:)

 

Turn back to Seven

NOTE: Please be aware the Windows.old folder located at the root of the local disk where Windows 10 is installed will be deleted after 30 days automatically. The Windows.old folder is used to facilitate the
rollback. So please perform any rollback within 30 days or this option will no longer be available. Otherwise, create a backup before upgrading to Windows 10.
See links to resources about backing up by clicking the link for the respective version of Windows you are running:

Windows XP,
Windows Vista,
Windows 7,
Windows 8/8.1

Summary

Throughout the history of Windows revisions, Microsoft has included an option to uninstall the operating system when you upgrade to a newer version. My recollection of this capability goes back to Windows ME which included the option to uninstall the operating
system and restore to a previous version of Windows (I was running Windows 98 SE at the time). Microsoft has supported this functionality in its NT based versions of Windows too, albeit not in a seamless way. The ability to restore a Windows 8.1 installation
to Windows 7 required knowing some command line operations that in some instances didn’t guarantee the process would go according to plan. With Windows 10, it seems Microsoft has listened and has provided a welcome option to its recovery tools to make it easy
to uninstall Windows 10 and go back to your previous version of Windows. This option can be handy for diagnostics purposes, trial and error or to simply go back to a previous version of Windows that works better with your PC.

Please keep in mind, this only works with Windows 7 and later. Because prior versions of Windows such as Windows Vista and Windows XP can only migrate to Windows 10 through a custom install, the command line operations remain your best choice if you do decide
to go back. Also keep in mind, if you do a custom install over Windows 7 or later, the Rollback option is not available. This only works if you had done an in place upgrade from Windows 7 or later.





Start by opening Settings – Click Start > Settings or type Settings in the search bar and click it or press Windows key + i





Click Update and Security





Click Recovery then click Get started under
Go back to Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 (depending on the previous version you running)





Here you can make multiple selections why are going back to your previous version of Windows along with additional details or you can choose just one and click Next.





As noted, any configurations made to Windows 10 since upgrading will be lost, so if you installed new programs or hardware drivers or made personal settings, those will be deleted.





Click Next





Make sure you have your password ready to sign into your old version if you had been using one. Click Next





The process can take a while depending on the amount data, applications and settings. Click Next





Click Go Back to begin the process.





Windows 10 will Restart





This will be your screen throughout the recovery process.





When the process is complete, you will be booted into your previous version of Windows environment.

If you cannot load the Windows Desktop, you can initiate a Rollback using the following method:





Log out and go to the sign in screen.

Hold down the shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Power button on the screen

Continue to hold down the shift key while clicking Restart

Continue to hold down the shift key until the Advanced Recovery Options menu appears





Click Troubleshoot





Click Advanced options





Click Go back to the previous version of Windows

 

Turn back to Seven

If I am not satisfied with Windows 10, can I turn back to Windows 7?

 

If the OEM stuff as well as the Windows.old folder are gone on the desktop slim chance of that happening! All original files and folders have to remain intact in order to be able to revert back to 7 or the previous version(7, 8, 8.1) from 10. And the reason the upgrades are buggy has to do with upgrade type installs often turning out buggy regardless of which version is being upgraded into!

For an effective working 10 install you wouldn't even need an upgrade but can see a clean install take place. Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First - Windows 10 Forums

This had been a topic on the burner when 10 was first launched and too many were running into problematic upgrades! I know only too well from first hand 10mares as far as upgrades go while at the same time have a working 10/7 dual boot on two separate desktops! Too bad you didn't have a system image backup made for both the laptop and desktop there you could simply see restored. If the DiskCleanup tool ran during the time of the upgrades and now however the Windows.old and some other necessary files would have been cleaned off of the C drive on each! Someone did make an image and saw a fortunate end result when going to restore a full system image backup. Solved Revert back to Win 7 - Windows 10 Forums

 

What might work, if Dell has it, is using their Restore Media to reset it to it's original condition. HP sells such stuff for around $40 USD -- which is a lot cheaper than the $100 (or so) that you'd spend purchasing Win7, and I would imaging a shop might charge even more than that!

I've run into similar problems with HP laptops running Win7 and the problem stems from a combination of the specialized hardware that OEMs put into laptops and the Win10 Upgrader tool's inability to spot that hardware in advance, thus preventing the upgrade.

Oddly enough, I had an old HP Win7 laptop that crashed on two attempts to do Win10 Upgrades, but when I did a clean-install, it went off without hardly any problems at all. I had to get one odd driver from the HP forums, but apart from that, ALL the hardware is working without any problems.

So, you might try a clean-install from Win10 media to see if that makes any difference -- it might!

Good Luck

 

Check whether there is a recovery partition. That would hold the original OS with which the PC came. You could reinstall from there.

 

At this time if you can find 7 media online you won't be spending $100 or more! Back in 2013 I caught a 64bit Pro OEM dvd for $70- which is now found for $49.95 while the Home Premium edition gets $39.95 at one software outlet. Search Results

The support site would be the place to look for the recovery media creation tool. That would put everything back to factory fresh status however which would mean the total loss of everything on the drive! The recovery media will reformat everything to see the fresh copy of 7 go on with all the factory bloat wares many often complain about. Without being able to revert back to 7 directly with an OS roll back the only other option would be seeing the C primary wiped since 10 is the newer version.

Your first move however should be backing everything up from the drives on both that you need to keep and then nuke'em both for seeing 7 back on again. One thing to know however is that 10 doesn't go on completely without some help being seen as far as choosing the instant or delayed upgrade when the 10 app is present! There are a few options for not seeing this happen again you should look over in the guide section here at 10 F! Upgrade to Windows 10 Update - Enable or Disable in Windows 7 or 8.1 - Windows 10 Forums

 

You can download the Windows 7 ISOs:

See here: Download Windows 7 ISOs, Legally and for Free

Also available here: Microsoft DigitalRiver Mirror (Technet)

 

^^^^That's what I would suggest as well. Assuming both computers have COA stickers with Windows 7 product keys on them, or you know the product keys for the Windows 7 they came with.

 

If you have a pre SP1 key it won't work with an SP1 included iso! You have to match the correct key to the download! And Digital Rivers was shut down from Windows iso downloads last year! You will want to see the reply on MS MVP came out with in that regard. Cannot find Digital River download site - Microsoft Community

 

Both of the links I posted provided good, legal (so far) ISO for Windows 7. Neither are Digital River thoug one advertises itself as a Digital River Mirror.

 

There's some kind of new MS marketing venture being run on the DR site to replace the DR online store. MS decided to start up a separate MS Store as well as open retail locations in various cities. Ecommerce Solutions | Payment Gateways | Digital Marketing

The second link you posted has the Hash Key verification tool which is always good to have to match up things up with! The product key for 7 however will need to have been for 7 with SP1 originally and not simply the first from the 2009 launch like the one I have here for the Fall 2009 retail purchase. If both the laptop and desktop saw SP1 then the only problem would be the OEM key not working on the download for some reason where a call to MS would then be needed.

 

Download the pre-SP1 version of Windows 7 Professional from the website. Extract the ISO files. Delete the ei.cfg file from the sources directory and the installer will ask you which version of Windows 7 you want to install.

 

win7 found that out with the Alpha stages of 7 way back when before the first public beta release was out. Unlock ALL Versions in your Windows 7 Build 7000 ISO - Windows 7 Help Forums

First you have to locate the non SP1 download link however since a look at both sites only sees the 7 with SP1 links for each edition. in both 32/64bit flavors. But with any non SP1 iso you can turn around and slipstream SP1 into the new one made up and be able to use the early keys. Slipstream Windows 7 SP1 into a Installation DVD or ISO File - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

Hope you speak as well as read and write in one of the 26 languages! The download page you arrive at sees just that Home Premium, Pro, Ultimate editions all with SP1 and in both 32bit/64bit flavors but none in English! I went to download a 64bit Pro with SP1 iso after entering the 7 Ultimate key and found none in English! Will try the 7 Pro key as well but not expecting any change since MS dumped 7 in 2015 from all sales in order to promote 10.