Windows 10: I Need Assistance Reverting to Windows 7 from Windows 10 "Upgrade"

I have a Lenovo B560 laptop on loan to me from my job. It was lent to me as a Windows 7 (pre-installed) machine and has the product key on the bottom. A well-meaning member of my household “upgraded” the computer to Windows 10 via the “Get Windows 10” upgrade offer that appeared in the lower right notification area, without my knowledge. I now need to roll back to Windows 7, but am faced with a couple of problems:

1. When Windows 7 was running on the computer, I would log in as “administrator”, no password, no problem . Now when the Windows 10 version boots, it shows me a user called “Volunteer” (no one knows anything about this user) and requires a password (also unknown), but nothing about “Administrator”. So I can’t get past the login screen.

2. I attempted to download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO files) from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...nload/windows7, in order to reinstall Windows 7, but the site would not validate the product key that is on the bottom of the computer, so I was unable to download Windows 7 from Microsoft. No reason given; it just wouldn’t validate.

How can I get this computer back to running on Windows 7? Thanks.

:)

 

Can I reinstall Windows 10 once I upgrade?

Untouched by the upgrade

Yes

In theory it will revert back to an unactivated windows 7. Why? when you upgraded, your windows 7 license was "consumed" by your new windows 10 license; this cannot be automatically downgraded. If you want to be downgraded you will have to ask Microsoft.

Moral of the story. Have a play with Windows 10 before you upgrade. Either install the preview on a spare computer; try it out at a friends; try it out at a MS store...

 

Can I keep my Windows 7 copy when upgrading to windows 10?

Are you literally trying to "Revert" using the revert function in Windows 10 (which deactivates after 30 days) or are you trying to "revert" by clean installing? Try clean installing Vista, then re-upgrade to Windows 7 using your upgrade media. Does your
upgrade of Windows 7 activate? Windows 7 is still a supported operating system. I can't test this myself because all my copies of Windows 7 are retail, so I have product keys and installation media.

 

I've used more than one "loaner machine" from work, and in my own experience, the single BEST thing you can do is take it back to work, explain what happened (that someone in your household messed with it) and have THEM restore the machine. This is because, most likely, they used an Enterprise VL version for that machine, and you don't have that to do a restore. Also, in the case of work machines, they are often configured for Domain access and generally come with a set of preinstalled apps.

Hope this goes well for you -- saying that because the last place I worked, tampering with a "loaner machine" was sufficient grounds for being FIRED!

 

Thanks, yes, having work do it is certainly a viable option, I just thought I would try to avoid having to inconvenience IT dep't, but you are correct, it makes the most sense, and no, there will be no repercussions for "tampering."

 

Can't you use the rollback feature of Windows 10 to return to Windows 7?

Windows 10 - Go Back to Previous Windows - Windows 10 Forums

 

Glad to hear about the latter -- that's not always the case.

As to IT grumbling, having spent a few decades in IT, I can assure you that grumbling is what we were expected to do! Besides, if it's a lot of work to reimage the machine, they'll most likely just take it back and issue you a replacement machine.

 

The problem with that is that he doesn't know what the password to the computer is.

 

Need to enable the hidden Administrator account then login as it and do the rollback. This was written for 8.1 but should work for 10 as well:

Solved Deleted admin account in Win 8.1 update. How to restore?

or this:

User Account Password - Change from WinRE System Repair Disc.