Can I buy a Win 10 system and replace it with either Win 7 or Win 8.1?

[scubadiver99]

Hi, I need a new laptop but DON'T ever want Windows 10 infesting it. My problem is that there were plenty of machines with decent specs and 5th gen core i5 CPU's with Win 8.1 for sale in the weeks before Win 10 released but when I tried contacting Dell & Lenovo they all seem to have vanished. All that they say are left are refurbished laptops that have 3rd or 4th gen CPU at best, weigh a ton & have mediocre battery life.

Between Windows update trying to add telemetry multiple times to my Win 7/64 and Microsoft admitting that users are unable to stop tracking or the forced updates with the excuse that they need it for the "health of the OS" (but Enterprise users of Win 10 CAN skip both) I have zero trust in the OS. Besides NOT wanting my purchase of an OS giving them license to ALL of my stored data and tracking me besides, letting ANY company have access to my stored contacts or files would leave me in violation of HIPAA health regulations!

Could I buy a nice new system and totally remove Win 10 from it and either install a fresh copy of Win 7 and use the license from my current physically damaged but otherwise functional laptop? If not, I could buy a copy of Win 8.1 instead. I need the better battery life and smaller size I can only get with a 5th gen system. Will this work?

 

[Someone Somewhere]

MS has back-ported most of the tracking stuff into 7 & 8.

You might have driver issues if you try to use 7 or 8 on a newer system.

I've decided to just dump MS and go Linux.

 

[SBMfromLA]

If you want control of your updates you need Windows 10 Pro. If you want a Laptop with Windows 7-8.1, why not go to Newegg and do a search with the filter for the o/s you want. I just checked and saw tons of laptops that might fit within your parameters.

 

[Ra_V_en]

I've decided to just dump MS and go Linux.

I envy you... still untill gaming industry won't go for Vulcan then there is not much any real choices for average user, even besides gaming there is still plenty of software that won't run on Linux which for me are even more important than games. Linux only system is no go.. and if you need MS then why would i bother dual-booting, I've tried that for half a year and ended up with booting into windows 90% of the time

 

[W Fallon]

Windows 10 Pro does not give you control over updates. It just delays them.

Bill

 

[scubadiver99]

MS has back-ported most of the tracking stuff into 7 & 8.

You might have driver issues if you try to use 7 or 8 on a newer system.

I've decided to just dump MS and go Linux.

I didn't see this originally. Many of us are NOT in a position to migrate the learning curve to linux, even if we sometimes think about it. When you said "MS has back-ported most of the tracking stuff into 7 & 8." you are 100% correct about this sleazy behavior on the part of M$, but it CAN be avoided if you're willing to laboriously go through every update one by one to see what they contain... It's a MAJOR pain in the butt! I AM getting more and more disgusted by the workload I get with every legitimate security update being mixed with spyware! Some will criticize my giving it that lable. I respond that first it is deliberately obfucation to sneak in various telemetry programs designed to give M$ data that I have zero interest in sharing with them! And yes, I'm deliberately using the insulting labels of M$ and Microshaft, because I have NO respect for a company that tried as many times as they have been PROVEN to have done to use multiple methods to sneak Win 10 onto my various systems. Files that I hide for that exact reason being either un-hidden or renamed and sent right back to me are examples of deceptive behavior thus demonstrating their total contempt for users that understand basic facts.

Ownership is supposed to equal control. If I have a PRODUCT (NOT a service) like a windows 7 or Windows 8.1 machine that you sneak in various slimy attempts to control, you have committed theft. In the case of Windows 10, the fact that you can FORCE my hardware to install anything you like, even if it destroys my ability to use legacy hardware required for my livelihood means I no longer own ANYTHING.

 

[Colif]

Have you done it yet? I only ask as the longer you wait, the less likely win 7 will install on the hardware as Support for win 7 is being taken off new motherboards if not this year, then probably next.

I don't know about win 8.1 support, I expect it should be okay for a few more years as it supports UEFI features and is more modern (and closer to way Win 10 works).

 

[wpgwpg]

Not a good idea, likely to encounter driver incompatibilities. You can easily control updates by disabling Windows Update in Services, and you can disable most of the feedback telemetry in Settings -> Privacy. I have no problems with Windows 10.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

If you have the time and the knowledge to go through each update individually, you can use Linux.

Running any internet-connected OS without updates is not really a good idea.