UEFI worries when downgrading to Windows 7

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

maelstrom3530

Reputable
Oct 11, 2014
2
0
4,510
Hello all,

I have a few (noobish) questions. Later today I'll be helping a friend of mine with her laptop. It's a TOshiba C55 and it shipped with Windows 8. She hates Windows 8 and wants to downgrade to Windows 7, and doesn't mind buying a retail version to do that. I'm loaning her a hard drive to test Windows 7 to make sure everything works before she purchases a retail copy so she doesn't have to wipe out her original hard drive and lose the retail Windows 8. So, I'll be:

1. Replacing the hard drive (temporarily)
2. Insalling Windows 7 (to test)

Usually this is pretty straightforward but, I understand that things are different now with UEFI and secure boot. To install Windows 7, I think I'll have to disable secure boot and I guess enable legacy boot. My concern is that somehow, I may inadvertenly lose the ability to boot back into Windows 8 by somehow losing the security keys associated with the boot process. Is this even something I should worry about?

Thanks
 
Solution
Emerald
one thing that Secure Boot does disable the option to boot from a different device which is the main reason you need to disable it.

when you put the Win8 back in make sure to enable UEFI or the system might not boot.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Emerald

Emerald

Titan
Aug 28, 2005
15,927
10
70,865
I would disable Secure Boot with the Windows8 drive installed and boot Win8. It should ask you to enter a code to confirm you want to disable it.

When you re-enable Secure Boot it should ask you to enter a code again.

Make sure to download the correct drivers for Windows7. If unsure which one you need, check the Device Manager. Usually the wireless drivers are the worst to determine. Toshiba might not provide any drivers for Win7; therefore, you have to find them on the hardware manufacturer website like Intel, AMD, Realtek, etc...

Then change the drive, enable Legacy Mode, and boot Windows7 installer. You might need the chipset drivers during the Win7 install.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

maelstrom3530

Reputable
Oct 11, 2014
2
0
4,510
Thank you for your response Emerald. Would doing this change anything that would cause the original Windows 8 to not boot again? I was reading about UEFI/Secure Boot and security keys, and I was worried that doing the above would re-generate security keys, causing the original Windows 8 to not boot again. Does it over-write the keys, or add them to a list? Or is this something I shouldn't even worry about?

I'm really not too worried about the drivers. The Toshiba site has them listed for Win7.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom