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| Thread ID: 136480 | 2014-03-04 00:45:00 | Getting rid of Win 8 and want to replace with Win 7 .. Possible ? | SP8's (9836) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1369344 | 2014-03-12 20:35:00 | If you've never installed a OS from scratch, on a notebook before, dont even attempt it. - should have downgrade rights so licensing isnt a issue. - you will need Win7 install key you can use . Thats where your troubles will start . No one will supply you with one. - you will need a matching install CD - you will need to download ALL the drivers 1st, as you may not be able to after loading Win7 (NIC & WIFI may need drivers) - dont assume all the drivers are on the website. Sometimes they arnt & you may need to spend hours searching for compatible drivers Or try contacting Gateway by phone (good luck with that ? ) . They MIGHT be able to send a Win7 recovery CD out to you (it wont be free) Definitely replace that faulty HD. You should get a replacement under warranty, The CGA will cover it if its out of the usual 1year warranty period. |
1101 (13337) | ||
| 1369345 | 2014-03-12 20:49:00 | If you've never installed a OS from scratch, on a notebook before, dont even attempt it. - should have downgrade rights so licensing isnt a issue. Or try contacting Gateway by phone (good luck with that ? ) . They MIGHT be able to send a Win7 recovery CD out to you (it wont be free) Definitely replace that faulty HD. You should get a replacement under warranty, The CGA will cover it if its out of the usual 1year warranty period. In Bold - Thats ONLY if it comes with Windows 8 Pro microsoft downgrade_rights (www.microsoft.com) Most consumer models come with windows Standard, which Doesn't have downgrade options. Drivers for that model are available for W7 - 8.1 support.gateway.com |
wainuitech (129) | ||
| 1369346 | 2014-03-12 21:27:00 | Drivers for that model are available for W7 - 8.1 support.gateway.com Cant assume that all drivers are on the website. Ive done downgrades where some drivers were missing or wrong(didnt match hardware) , & even done many re-installs where a few correct drivers wernt on the website , requiring a long (hit & miss) search to find drivers. Hardware can & does change for the same model no during production runs (look at the 4 different wifi chips on that one), sometimes drivers on the website are wrong or not all there. Point being, its sometimes not that simple to get ALL the correct drivers , especially for lappies. This could turn into a headache if the guy hasnt done this sort of thing before. |
1101 (13337) | ||
| 1369347 | 2014-03-12 21:51:00 | Generally Gateways aren't to bad, done a few and they all went fine, not to say all do of course. HP & Toshiba are the worst. Still brings the point of the original question - unless its Windows 8 PRO, theres no downgrade rights to W7, so the OS would have to be purchased . Should have brought W7 in the first place if owner didn't want W8. "IF" it were advertised as having W7 and got W8 then thats a different matter. Some places offer both Versions, and they will be listed as to what its got. |
wainuitech (129) | ||
| 1369348 | 2014-03-13 04:06:00 | 1101 ... have done a few clean installs of different O/S's for friends when HD's have failed and had no problems, having said that, this is the first time I've had the great displeasure of working with Win8. Personal opinion only, but they should never have put that mess on anyhing that hasn't got a touch screen. "Should have brought W7 in the first place if owner didn't want W8. "IF" it were advertised as having W7 and got W8 then thats a different matter". Agree whole heartedly Wainui ... but I had nothing to do with the purchase and they were told told Win8 was the best thing since sliced bread. From what I've heard, I think there may be quite a few people wishing they'd never bought a computer with 8 on it. |
SP8's (9836) | ||
| 1369349 | 2014-03-13 04:55:00 | just to follow on from 1101's post: Or try contacting Gateway by phone (good luck with that ? ) . They MIGHT be able to send a Win7 recovery CD out to you (it wont be free) Definitely replace that faulty HD. You should get a replacement under warranty, Assuming the drive is replaced under warranty, then it would normally be replaced by a service agent for Gateway. ( hope this reads right) "if" they sent the owner a replacement drive to install OR the Gateway agents replace the drive it will have to have windows re-installed on it, since these days recovery DVD's are not supplied, only the recovery partition on the drive, SO who ever is doing it can be asked to have W7 instead of W8 installed. "IF" the drive is sent to the owner, then they will have to send recovery DVD's as well, request W7 :2cents: Worth a crack ;) nz.gateway.com |
wainuitech (129) | ||
| 1369350 | 2014-03-13 07:18:00 | If the $5 or so for start8 is too much try Classic Shell. It's free and replicates the look and feel of windows 7 pretty well http://www.classicshell.net/ With one of those replacement menus the differences become pretty small. Still after a few weeks I stopped having any issues with windows 8, just some new things to learn and it's fine. |
dugimodo (138) | ||
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