Downgrading from Windows 8 OEM

herboren

Distinguished
Apr 18, 2011
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My nephew has a laptop, that which has an OEM version of Windows 8. I was told that OEM versions are just system builder OS' and that it is bound to the cpu/mobo. So there is no possible way to obtain an ISO to re-install his OEM version if the Windows 8. I wanted to make sure that if the Windows 7 downgrade was not possible, we would be able to install Windows 8 back on the machine. We found that there was another laptop with Windows 7 on it, had Identical hardware to his Windows 8 laptop, so we downloaded all the drivers for the 7 machine and also the 8 drivers in case something went wrong..

I don't understand why his purchase in a store for an expensive piece of hardware screwed him out of a deal with the actual operating system.
 
Solution


The Recovery would bring it back to out-of-the-box state

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Here is the license agreement from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/IntellectualProperty/UseTerms/Default.aspx

Click through, read, evaluate.

1. Preinstalled Windows 8 is licensed to that original PC
2. Generally, you can create a Recovery disk set from the Recovery function, or obtain them from the manufacturer (NOT from MS)
3. Windows 7, on the other laptop (if originally install as is likely), is also tied to that original hardware. See #2.

For Windows 8, the license agreement depends upon 'how did you obtain it'. Not the word 'OEM'.
Preinstalled, see above.
If you bought it and you installed it, far less issues.
 

herboren

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Apr 18, 2011
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For the recovery option you mentioned, does Windows 8 have to be present on the machine for the recovery option to work? Does the "Recovery Medium" contain a working iso image to re-image the machine or is it just certain files used to recover parts of the OS if something were to go wrong?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


The Recovery would bring it back to out-of-the-box state
 
Solution