How to Restore Windows 7 After Installing Windows 10

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Hi Bob, here is how to revert to Windows 7 . . .

The Windows 7 product key should be o a Sticker on the bottom casing of your PC/Laptop If it is a laptop, or it might be under the battery - you will need it!

Backup all your files

Click this link to download the Windows 7 ISO file
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-downlo...

Click this link to download a small Microsoft utility (Windows USB/DVD Download Tool) to create bootable Installation Media from the ISO
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/detail...

Create the bootable Installation media on a DVD or USB Flash Drive

Insert the bootable media into the PC

Start your PC, on the manufacturers logo screen press the appropriate button to get into BIOS Setup (Usually F2 or Del key)

Move the drive with the bootable media to the to of the Boot order list

Press F10 to save settings and restart

Windows 7 will begin installing

When your system reboots, go into BIOS and set your hard drive as top of the Boot Order

Do not remove the Installation media until you reach the Desktop

That's It!

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MSI GV72 - 17.3", i7-8750H (Hex Core), 32GB DDR4, 4GB GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 256GB NVMe M2, 2TB HDD

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Hello Bob,

My name is Patricia and I am an Independent Advisor. I am here to help you today.

You cannot restore Windows 7 now.
To come back to Windows 7, yo need to peform a clean install.

Download W7 ISO from here
https://www.heidoc.net/php/Windows%20ISO%20Down...
(official link)
And create a W7 install USB media with Rufus
Site de l'éditeur : https://rufus.akeo.ie/?locale=fr_FR

Disclaimer: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have further problems!

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Hey Bob. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 9 year Windows MVP and Independent Advisor, here to help you.

Follow the illustrated steps here for the best possible Clean Install of Windows 7, which includes the media in Step 1: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Remember that you'll need the Product Key off your retail packaging or COA sticker on PC which still needs to be readable to do this.

Make sure during the booted install to follow the illustrated steps to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, then click Next to let it auto-create the needed partitions, format them and begin install - this makes it foolproof.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

______________________________________________
Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

_________________

Windows MVP 2010-20

Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor.

I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative.

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Remember that you'll need the Product Key off your retail packaging or COA sticker on PC which still needs to be readable to do this.

Make sure during the booted install to follow the illustrated steps to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, then click Next to let it auto-create the needed partitions, format them and begin install - this makes it foolproof.

 Thanks for taking the time to reply.

1. When you say COA, what does that mean?. I looked at  some kind of sticker on the PC, and it says it came wit W7 already installed. I guess that is why I can't locate any install discs. There is a "Product No." for the PC. Is that what you mean?

2. Are you saying that I have to delete every one of my files and installations just to restore W7?

When W 10 first came out, I installed it, and some critical software would not work, so I reinstalled W7. I don't think I had to delete everything at that time. I reinstalled W 10 just a short time ago. Didn't think it was 10 days ago, but that's what the recovery thing says. They have fixed the incompatibilities, but the slowness is intolerable. Even a "Clean Boot" takes 1:22 to get to login page. My laptop with W7 takes 0:50.

Is there no way to make W10 load only what I want it to at startup?

Shutdown also takes an very long time. What the heck is it doing?

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Bob, COA sticker is similar to the one below and needs to still have a readable 25 character Product Key.

Since it must be a Clean install to go back there 's no other way than wiping the drive clean to reinstall Windows 7. But your files should always be backed up if you value them at all, since a hard drive can die at any time without notice.

You might want to compare the install of Windows 10 you did with the gold standard install in this link which compiles the best possible Clean Install of Windows which will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given, has zero reported problems, and is better than any amount of money could buy: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

For example did you wipe all partitions off the drive to get it cleanest and avoid interference from the old install or old partitions building up a disk junkyard?

One thing you can do for less disruption on your only PC, is to shrink C in Disk Mgmt by about 50-100 gb to do the Clean Install from booted media, which will configure a Dual Boot so you can test it, set it up, even move your files over if you plan to keep it. Then I can help you remove the old install and recover the space into the new one, or to remove the new one just delete it in Disk mgmt and Extend back over it. This is like having your house under construction next door until you're ready to move into it.

_________________

Windows MVP 2010-20

Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor.

I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative.

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Bob, COA sticker is similar to the one below and needs to still have a readable 25 character Product Key.

Thanks for your informative reply.

At the present time I probably won't clear the drive and re-install W7.

As I say to the wife when she nags me to do something: "I'm kinda busy right now".

I was looking at the other desktop we have which is running W7, and I see a drive D: which

says "Factory Image (D:) 1.48 Gb free of 9.89Gb."

Looking at the computer I currently use, it says "HP Recovery (D:) 1.35 Gb free of 11.1Gb."

If I copied the D: drive from the other computer onto mine, could I then do

the same type of quick and easy restore that I did the first time I installed W10 years ago?

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That's the factory Recovery partition which can be triggered from WIndows or from a hotkey at boot to restore the PC to Factory condition. However it doesn't normally run after an Upgrade to a new OS so can be deleted. But there are ways to try to run it manually like this one here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/2...

_________________

Windows MVP 2010-20

Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor.

I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative.

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Thanks again for the info.

If I mark the D: drive that is currently on my computer as active will it boot into Windows 7 or 10 which I recently installed?

Or do I need to copy the D:drive from my other computer, and make that one active?

This is scary business. I am afraid I will mess it up.

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Did you try to run the Recovery partition using the Fkey or other hotkey which your brand PC uses to do Windows 7 Recovery. For HP that is the F10 key. You never told me what brand PC you have. Every brand has a different method to trigger the Recovery partition from boot, which sometimes will be noted on the BIOS splash screen when it starts.

If it won't still run then I gave you a link with the steps to manually boot the Recovery partition. Sometimes setting it Active will work on a Legacy BIOS (not UEFI). But if you set it Active following this guide then it will not start again until you reset it to the present Active partition which will then need to be done from a bootable Partition Manager or the Command Prompt at boot:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/197157-par...
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71432-part...
http://partitionwizard.com/video-help/setactive...

But first I'd post a screenshot of Disk Management, which I read like a doctor reads X-rays. Follow the steps here so I can see everything needed to advise you: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/foru...

_________________

Windows MVP 2010-20

Millions helped via my tutorials and personally in forums for 12 years. Now an Independent Advisor.

I do not quit for those who are polite and cooperative.

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Did you try to run the Recovery partition using the Fkey or other hotkey which your brand PC uses to do Windows 7 Recovery. For HP that is the F10 key. You never told me what brand PC you have. Every brand has a different method to trigger the Recovery partition from boot, which sometimes will be noted on the BIOS splash screen when it starts.

My first message tells what I did to try restoring W7. Here it is with more detail:

I clicked the flag in lower left.

Then clicked the 3 bars called Start, then "Settings" - "Update & security" - "Recovery"

When I selected "Go back to Windows 7", the button was greyed out and a note

.... no longer available because your pv was upgraded more than 10 days ago.

From what your are telling me, maybe I gave up too soon. There seem to be other options.

I need to find out more about these "Hotkeys" are. My computer is HP CQ2010.

You requested a view of the disk management screen.

What I find curious id=s the shading on Drive F: which I thought indicated the active

drive. But it is empty and unformatted.

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How to Restore Windows 7 After Installing Windows 10

Source: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-can-i-restore-windows-7-after-installing/1f19a17c-69a4-4ea0-aa51-201351609398

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