Frequently Asked Question
Downgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1
Last Updated 8 years ago
Well, Windows 10 is not for everyone, especially if you installed it by mistake and it broke your hardware and software. There is a way back but its not without risk so consider it carefully. Before you do anything you should copy all your files into the network in your /home folder or back them up to a memory stick. Make sure to get all the files that might be in non-standard folders. When your sure you've got them all then proceed at your own risk.
You'll find this in Settings / Update & Security / Recovery:
If you don't have a "Go back to Windows x" then your out of luck and there is no way back without a full re-install from original media.
If you DO have "Go back to Windows x" then click it.
You will next be given the option to "Keep my files" or "Remove Everything" - You need to select "Keep my Files"
Next windows 10 is going to ask you why your rolling back, and offers to check for updates, feel free to tell Microsoft why, and dismiss the check for updates. You will be warned that after rolling back you will have to re-install some programs which is sort of true but you don't get to know what until you've done it so confirm this.
After several hours in most cases you'll be back to Windows 7 or 8 and your familiar desktop. You should run Windows Update immediately at this point as the rollback will also have rolled back some security updates.
IF you get an error, or it never completes the rollback then this is the 'risk' I spoke about at the start, and rebooting may or may not bring you up to a login. You may wind up with a non-functional windows and in this case your going to have to re-install from source media (or if a HP workstation/laptop) from the recovery partition. You will loose everything and will need to re-install all your programs and then restore your data.
After a successfull rollback, you should now check each and every software package you use for functionality and re-install any that fail to operate as expected. Check all your files are still there and restore any missing ones from the media you used at the start.
You'll find this in Settings / Update & Security / Recovery:
If you don't have a "Go back to Windows x" then your out of luck and there is no way back without a full re-install from original media.
If you DO have "Go back to Windows x" then click it.
You will next be given the option to "Keep my files" or "Remove Everything" - You need to select "Keep my Files"
Next windows 10 is going to ask you why your rolling back, and offers to check for updates, feel free to tell Microsoft why, and dismiss the check for updates. You will be warned that after rolling back you will have to re-install some programs which is sort of true but you don't get to know what until you've done it so confirm this.
After several hours in most cases you'll be back to Windows 7 or 8 and your familiar desktop. You should run Windows Update immediately at this point as the rollback will also have rolled back some security updates.
IF you get an error, or it never completes the rollback then this is the 'risk' I spoke about at the start, and rebooting may or may not bring you up to a login. You may wind up with a non-functional windows and in this case your going to have to re-install from source media (or if a HP workstation/laptop) from the recovery partition. You will loose everything and will need to re-install all your programs and then restore your data.
After a successfull rollback, you should now check each and every software package you use for functionality and re-install any that fail to operate as expected. Check all your files are still there and restore any missing ones from the media you used at the start.