can I go back to windows 7 after upgrading to windows 10?

[fsync28]

I just recently upgraded to windows 10 and got the free activation, but I really need to go back to windows 7 as some driver issues are still there.
So my question is if I install windows 7 for now and decide to install windows 10 in feature will it be still a legit copy for me? Because I have already activated windows 10.

 

[R_1]

don't think so. the 7 key was used to calculate the 10 key, the 7 key is only good for 30 days after upgrading to 10. if you go back to 7 the 10 key is invalidated and cannot be used again. if you do not go back to 7 within the 30 days, the 7 key is invalidated in favour of the 10 key (made from the 7 key)

this is my simple understanding of the mess that is Ms licensing

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi there,
When you "upgrade" from Win-7 to Win-10, you get a digital entitlement. The MS activation and verification servers keep a record of that. Also there is a certificate placed on your computer, that is tied to the entitlement.
So if you want to DownGrade back to Win-7, you can within 30 days. You can use Win-7 as long as you want, and if you "Upgrade" again on the same computer, the certificate and entitlement match - no problem. It doesn't make any difference if your initial Win-7 OS license is a retail or OEM version. One is tied to that hash certificate, the other tied to the original hardware. If you reinstall Win-7 with a product key on the same computer, there should be no problem.
The problem occurs if you installed your Win-7 retail license on a Different computer (after 7/29/16), it would calculate a different Hash code for this new system, which would not match.