Downgrading a laptop from Windows 8 to 7

[BaconSanwich]

So I bought a laptop for general use and school (Asus X-series) about a fortnight ago, and it came pre-loaded with Windows 8. After two weeks of trying to live with it, I've given up. Is it at all possible, in any way, to change the operating system back to windows 7?

 

[Yevrag35]

So I bought a laptop for general use and school (Asus X-series) about a fortnight ago, and it came pre-loaded with Windows 8. After two weeks of trying to live with it, I've given up. Is it at all possible, in any way, to change the operating system back to windows 7?

Why don't you *up*grade to Win8.1? Your computer should be eligible...

 

[carnageX]

Why don't you *up*grade to Win8.1? Your computer should be eligible...

This. Do that, and if you really want, buy Start8 if you want the Start Menu back. Voila - it's the same as Windows 7...

So I bought a laptop for general use and school (Asus X-series) about a fortnight ago, and it came pre-loaded with Windows 8. After two weeks of trying to live with it, I've given up. Is it at all possible, in any way, to change the operating system back to windows 7?

If you really want to downgrade... then you're going to have to make sure that there are drivers for your components, buy a license of Windows 7, wipe your current install of Win8, and then install Win7 / drivers.

 

[PP Mguire]

It's not the same as 7, I hate this misconception. The shell is different too people.

I find Startisback to be superior to Start8 and Classic Shell myself. As to the OP, that's already been answered.

 

[ykerrera]

Did you already make sure that what's bothering you about it isn't changeable? Also have in mind that the next OS's will only be based of this one. So it might be worth getting used to.

 

[carnageX]

It's not the same as 7, I hate this misconception. The shell is different too people.

I find Startisback to be superior to Start8 and Classic Shell myself. As to the OP, that's already been answered.

You're right, it's not the same as 7. It's improved upon Win7...

I'm not talking about the shell - I'm talking about the kernel / underlying features mechanics. They're Win7 but tweaked to be better.

Shell components can be changed with software to be made to look like Win7. Running Start8 on my Win8 install, is basically no difference from me running Win7 according to looks (besides the ribbon UI in explorer).

 

[PP Mguire]

If we're comparing kernels here then we can say it's all just improved from XP really.

Still though, going by all of my customers reactions (and other enthusiasts internet wide) to WIndows 8 it's not just Metro that they don't like and that is a simple fact. Just look at the market share and reception to Windows 8 compared to 7. If it was as simple as installing a start menu it wouldn't carry such negativity. And actually this will be proven once 8.2 is out and circling around. Simply adding the start menu back won't change that people don't like 8.

 

[carnageX]

If we're comparing kernels here then we can say it's all just improved from XP really.

Then we might as well go back farther say it's improved off of Win2k/NT Hell, NT was an improvement on DOS based systems.

Still though, going by all of my customers reactions (and other enthusiasts internet wide) to WIndows 8 it's not just Metro that they don't like and that is a simple fact. Just look at the market share and reception to Windows 8 compared to 7.

That's because people got ****y that the start menu was removed and that they introduced Metro UI - your customers, enthusiasts, etc. Plus, the people that are posting are the ones complaining - not many people post about something when it's working just right - just like ALL products.

If it was as simple as installing a start menu it wouldn't carry such negativity. And actually this will be proven once 8.2 is out and circling around. Simply adding the start menu back won't change that people don't like 8.

The majority of the negativity is carried by non-power users, because they ARE the majority. They don't know you can just install an extra piece of software to get the Start Menu back. Plus, if you actually look, you'll see just as many people saying Win8 is great and that the Start Menu isn't needed as there are people saying Win8 sucks for not having a start menu.

I have had only a few issues on all the Win8 systems I've worked on - and all of them were driver related. That is NOT a Windows issue, that is a DRIVER manufacturer issue. Windows is not responsible for that.

Win8 is getting a bad rap like Vista did. Vista was unpolished (hell, it was fairly bad - I'll agree to that) when it first released - after SP1 and SP2 though it worked. Then they improved upon that with Win7. And honestly I never had issues with Vista - I thought it was a huge improvement over XP in several areas (specifically networking / file & folder sharing). So, just like Vista, Win8 is getting a bad rap still even after updates that made it run very well. And really there isn't a difference that you'll notice right away between Win7 and Win8 besides the few UI changes. Most of the changes were under the hood, and were beneficial to the system.

But I know you'll just say (like usual when this topic is brought up and I post about it) "no reason to defend an OS if it's really good" so it's a bit like talking to a brick wall with you sometimes .

 

[PP Mguire]

Because it's true and you know it. Numbers speak louder than words. Hell you can sift through all the flame wars on Windows 8 and the majority rule is still people not liking Windows 8 regardless of Metro like I said. I put Startisback on every desktop and laptop that a customer brings to me to remove a virus or whatever. 9 times out of 10 they bring it back still asking for Windows 7. AKA, non power users. And honestly these people couldn't care less about the banter us power users argue over Windows 8. They want an experience that suits them and numbers do not lie there. The average user dislikes Windows 8, period.

Vista got a bad rep because it was a terrible resource hog for no reason. Trying to push an OS like that when the average home PC had 256 or 512MB of RAM and a single core CPU. I didn't start using Vista until I was dual core and had 4GB of DDR2, and only then did I use it because I wanted "DX10" graphics. I still always got better gaming performance and a snappier machine out of XP than I ever did in Vista. 7 was just the golden OS of this era, or as I would say "doing it right".

 

[carnageX]

Because it's true and you know it. Numbers speak louder than words. Hell you can sift through all the flame wars on Windows 8 and the majority rule is still people not liking Windows 8 regardless of Metro like I said. I put Startisback on every desktop and laptop that a customer brings to me to remove a virus or whatever. 9 times out of 10 they bring it back still asking for Windows 7. AKA, non power users. And honestly these people couldn't care less about the banter us power users argue over Windows 8. They want an experience that suits them and numbers do not lie there. The average user dislikes Windows 8, period.

But what exactly are the average users complaining about? The fact that its different and that they don't like it. People don't like change and the fact that Windows 8 made a change that people were used to, made people hate it just to hate it.

My fiance is not a power user at all - she's a general/average user. I asked her if she wanted a start menu on there and she said "no I'll try it without it for now". She adapted to it within a week or so - I helped her very little. People just don't want to learn how to do something, even slightly different. Even then, it's not much different from Win7. I barely notice I'm running Win8 vs Win7 at home besides the ribbon UI in explorer, and task manager. Otherwise, pretty much everything is the same, besides under-the-hood tweaks that made it better.