Going From Windows 8 Back To Windows 7 - Question 3 of 3


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Hello again.

My third question is about what I would have to do if I decided I didn't like Windows 8 and I wanted to go back to my Windows 7 installation that came originally pre-installed on my computer.

What I know from past experience is once you upgrade to a higher version Windows Operating System even if it's just a Service Pack Upgrade is once you go to a higher version you cannot downgrade - not using the computer's original Restore cds that is. I think back in Windows XP and also again in Windows Vista I tried to do a system restore to clean up my system and start fresh and after I took all the time to back everything up and got started with the restore I got an error message saying something along the lines of "Sorry, you cannot install this version of Windows, the version of Windows that you currently have is higher than the version you are trying to install." It was something along those lines.

I forgot what I had to do to finally get myself downgraded, this was years ago, but I do recall it being such a huge hassle especially because the computer I was doing this on was my one and only computer so I was left on my own to figure this out without being able to seek help online about the matter.

So I am wondering what sort of headache I will be in for if I do this Windows 7 to Windows 8 upgrade and decide I am not happy with it. Do you know if we still get that sort of error message about not being able to overwrite a higher version with a lower version?

Thanks in advance for your answers and opinions. I don't have any more questions at this time.

Thanks again everyone.

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Do it the easy way. Make a mirror image of the system before you do anything. If you like it, great. If not, restore the image and go about your business, nothing lost but time. Alternatively, install it onto a spare partition or even a virtual machine. Play with it first before you commit.

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