Windows 10 is up and running on millions of PCs by now, as claimed by Microsoft. While Windows 10 has given some of the best features, interface elements and powerful functionality as compared to all of its predecessors, it’s not mandatory that everybody loves it. Many users don’t want to make the change, and they just love the way things are. If you installed Windows 10 to give it a try, and now want to uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade Windows 10 to Windows 7 or Windows 8, you can do this without any trouble. Although Microsoft has given one month time period to make the downgrades, you can downgrade Windows 10 to Windows 7 and Windows 8 anytime using some complex ways. But for now, we will use the flexibility and make the downgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 8 or 7 using the in-built options.
Uninstall Windows 10 and Downgrade it to Windows 7 or Windows 8
If you made the upgrade from a laptop in which Windows 8 or 7 was installed, you can uninstall Windows 10 and install Windows 7 and 8 again within a few clicks.
First, you must backup your data, just in case. You can use online data backup services, or transfer all the data to an external hard disk.
After you have taken a backup of your system, now it’s time to start the downgrade process from Windows 10 to Windows 7 or 8.
If you made the upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8 to Windows 10, the OS saved the previous OS in a file called Windows.old. This file is saved in a folder. We will have to access this folder and simply restore it to install the previous version of Windows (Windows 7 or Windows 8) again.
Click on Start Button to open the Start Menu and click on Settings.
Now click on “Update and Security” option.
On the left side of the options pane, you will see an option called “Recovery”. Click on it and you will be given a number of options. One of these options is “Go Back to Windows X”, X being the previous version of Windows which was installed in your PC. Click on “Get Started” button to initiate the downgrade process.
Windows 10 will ask you why you are going back, just select your reason and proceed.
It’s important to note that if you are using a laptop, you will need to connect it to a power source in order to start the process to downgrade Windows 10 to Windows 7 or Windows 10. You will not be able to use the PC for other functions during this process, albeit the process takes only a few minutes.
That’s it. After a few minutes, you will see that the previous version of Windows (Windows 7, 8) is back on your PC. Everything goes flawlessly, trouble-free. Windows might install a few updates and then you are good to go.
This is how you can uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade it back to Windows 7 or Windows 8. In case of any problem or questions, feel free to comment on this post.
Images: PCAdvisor
