New hard drive - Windows 8 to windows 7 issues?

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feliksisaksen

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Mar 14, 2014
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I just got a new hard drive for my laptop and cloned it from my old hard drive which was preinstalled with windows 8. I would like to downgrade to windows 7.

I have heard that downgrading can be a problem when it comes to windows 8, but is this the case with all hard drives that has it installed, or just the ones where it comes preinstalled?

Will my downgrade be problematic, or should I get perhaps a brand new hard drive for the installation of windows 7?

Thanks.
 
Solution
Phillip Corcoran
Downgrading any OS can be a problem because compatible drivers for the downgrade version may not be available for your PC or laptop model. Whether the existing OS was pre-installed or user-installed makes no difference in that regard, you can still come unstuck if drivers are not available for the version you wish to downgrade to (or have already downgraded to, as is often the case with users who never even thought about drivers).

You also need to remember that in order to downgrade you must completely wipe the existing OS off the hard drive and start over from scratch (unless you decide to go the "dual boot" route). As many PC users have never had to install Windows from scratch, they are often put off the very idea of changing the...
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Downgrading any OS can be a problem because compatible drivers for the downgrade version may not be available for your PC or laptop model. Whether the existing OS was pre-installed or user-installed makes no difference in that regard, you can still come unstuck if drivers are not available for the version you wish to downgrade to (or have already downgraded to, as is often the case with users who never even thought about drivers).

You also need to remember that in order to downgrade you must completely wipe the existing OS off the hard drive and start over from scratch (unless you decide to go the "dual boot" route). As many PC users have never had to install Windows from scratch, they are often put off the very idea of changing the OS version.

The PC or laptop manufacturer supplies drivers on it's support website, so you need to check there first to see what drivers they have.
 
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