Question Simply downgrading from Win11

[Airlane1979]

I find I need to downgrade from Win11 Pro to Win10. Looking at various YouTube videos which show detailed processes, I'm confused. Some show a very simple method of downloading Win10 from Microsoft and installing it, after which all my files and apps will be in a Windows.old folder. Others show it to be much more complicated, involving buying a hard drive (I have about 1TB of files on my SSD) to back up before removing Win11.

I'd like an expert opinion before I make a stupid mistake. Can anyone advise me - preferably someone who has done this?

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs.

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Going to go back a step:

What is the reason for needing to downgrade? Any particular problem or problems?

That problem may prove resolveable without any need to downgrade. TBD.

And in the meantime, if you have already not done so, be sure to backup all important files to locations away from the current host PC in question.

Back up at least 2 x and verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

 

[Airlane1979]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs.

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Going to go back a step:

What is the reason for needing to downgrade? Any particular problem or problems?

That problem may prove resolveable without any need to downgrade. TBD.

And in the meantime, if you have already not done so, be sure to backup all important files to locations away from the current host PC in question.

Back up at least 2 x and verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

I upgraded my Dell Optiplex 3020 to Win11 a year ago using a workaround, as its specs aren't eligible. I had no problems until today, when the external display became low resolution. The Intel 4600 graphics driver shows an error in Device Manager and there isn't an update available. General advice seems to be to downgrade as I shouldn't have upgraded in the first place.

Backing up 1TB of files is what I thought I'd need to do, and it would require buying an external hard drive. Doing it twice would be even more trouble, of course.

Specs:

Operating System
Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 4570 @ 3.20GHz 40 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 789MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
Dell Inc. 04YP6J (SOCKET 0)
Graphics
Generic Non-PnP Monitor (1024x768@64Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Dell)
Storage
953GB Hitachi HX1TSSDSATA3 (SATA (SSD)) 40 °C
29GB Generic Mass-Storage USB Device (USB )
Optical Drives
hp CDDVDW SN-208DB
Audio
Yamaha Steinberg USB Audio

 

[BFG-9000]

If you like Windows 11, your desktop does have a PCIe x16 slot that you could install a discrete graphics card into (one with Windows 11 drivers). Then the fact that there isn't a compatible driver for the HD 4600 would be irrelevant because it would be disabled.

 

[Ralston18]

" The Intel 4600 graphics driver shows an error in Device Manager"

What specific error?

Any other similar error codes in Reliability History/Monitor or Event Viewer?

If I understand correctly you have one set of backups on the 29GB USB mass storage device. That is good because you simply disconnect that USB drive before making any OS changes.

A second set of copies could be made to another computer or perhaps online storage. A location that likewise can be disconnected from the current host computer.

Will second @BFG-9000 with respect to installing discrete GPU.

Going backwards from Windows 11 to Windows 10 should be last resort.

 

[Airlane1979]

That sounds interesting. Can you give me a little more information as to how I do that? How much does a graphics card cost (as little as possible, I do nothing that's graphics-intensive)? How do I identify one for my machine?

 

[Airlane1979]

" The Intel 4600 graphics driver shows an error in Device Manager"

What specific error?

Any other similar error codes in Reliability History/Monitor or Event Viewer?

If I understand correctly you have one set of backups on the 29GB USB mass storage device. That is good because you simply disconnect that USB drive before making any OS changes.

A second set of copies could be made to another computer or perhaps online storage. A location that likewise can be disconnected from the current host computer.

Will second @BFG-9000 with respect to installing discrete GPU.

Going backwards from Windows 11 to Windows 10 should be last resort.

The error report is
The driver for this device has been blocked from starting because it is known to have problems with Windows. Contact the hardware vendor for a new driver. (Code 48)

I have no backups on anything - the USB flash drive just happened to be plugged in when I ran the scan. I'd need a 1TB drive as backup. I'm looking for the lowest-cost solution to this problem, and as you see, @BFG-9000 suggests adding a graphics card instead of downgrading. I've no idea what that costs for my Dell.

 

[Ralston18]

At what point does "lowest-cost" = "losing 1 TB of data"?

With some potentially unknown glitch in the system a backup is the first priority!

Before doing anything else.

And there are things that can be done once the backups are in place.

= = = =

I will defer to @BFG-9000 regarding a suitable GPU for your system. He made the effort to look at the motherboard etc. so is well ahead of me regarding possible GPU candidates.

What would be your budget? For GPU and/or a 1 TB+ drive?

 

[BFG-9000]

Is your Optiplex a SFF or MT system? If the former, you would need a low-profile card but the latter can accept either kind. You pretty much just plug it into the slot + connect the monitor to it instead of the motherboard, and usually WindowsUpdate will automatically install the drivers.

It's also a good idea to choose a low-power card which doesn't require auxiliary power connections so you won't need to upgrade the power supply. New examples could be either AMD RX6400 or nVidia GT1030 for under $150.

Or if you are comfortable buying used, there are many good options around $50--it is after all for a 10-year old system. Fortunately, that happens to be just new enough to accept any modern graphics card without issue.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I upgraded my Dell Optiplex 3020 to Win11 a year ago using a workaround, as its specs aren't eligible. I had no problems until today, when the external display became low resolution. The Intel 4600 graphics driver shows an error in Device Manager and there isn't an update available. General advice seems to be to downgrade as I shouldn't have upgraded in the first place.

Roll back driver to previous driver version and
disable device driver updates.

 

[Airlane1979]

Is your Optiplex a SFF or MT system? If the former, you would need a low-profile card but the latter can accept either kind. You pretty much just plug it into the slot + connect the monitor to it instead of the motherboard, and usually WindowsUpdate will automatically install the drivers.

It's also a good idea to choose a low-power card which doesn't require auxiliary power connections so you won't need to upgrade the power supply. New examples could be either AMD RX6400 or nVidia GT1030 for under $150.

Or if you are comfortable buying used, there are many good options around $50--it is after all for a 10-year old system. Fortunately, that happens to be just new enough to accept any modern graphics card without issue.

This is a SFF machine. I can replace the entire unit for about £100 (I'm in the UK) so I'm not wanting to spend near that price for a card. I've never bought a graphics card before and I have no idea how to choose one. I just want to fix the display resolution.

 

[Airlane1979]

Roll back driver to previous driver version and
disable device driver updates.

I've not tried that. Can you tell me how I roll back the driver version?

 

[Airlane1979]

At what point does "lowest-cost" = "losing 1 TB of data"?

With some potentially unknown glitch in the system a backup is the first priority!

Before doing anything else.

And there are things that can be done once the backups are in place.

= = = =

I will defer to @BFG-9000 regarding a suitable GPU for your system. He made the effort to look at the motherboard etc. so is well ahead of me regarding possible GPU candidates.

What would be your budget? For GPU and/or a 1 TB+ drive?

My budget is "as little as possible" because I see exact replacement computers for about £100. I bought this one online a couple of years ago for £285 inc. monitor and now they are of course much less.

 

[geofelt]

What might have happened since yesterday when all was well?
I might guess that windows pushed out an update that caused the issue.
A possible fix might be to use system restore to back the system up to a previous date when all was well.

If for some reason system restore has not been configured, the would be the first thing I would do. Then, you can take a user checkpoint before doing anything to your system that is risky.

How important are the data files on your HDD?
Sounds like perhaps you would not mind too much if you lost them.
That can happen with malware, virus, ransomware, device failure, fire, or even stupid operator error.
Really, if you care, buy a usb connected HDD($70 for 2tb) and back up your data before doing anything.
An example:

Amazon.com

Where did you try to download intel integrated graphics drivers?
Probably best to go to the source and download from Intel.

A cheap graphics card might be a GT710:

GIGABYTE GeForce GT 710 Video Card GV-N710D3-2GL REV2.0 - Newegg.com

Buy GIGABYTE GeForce GT 710 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Low Profile Video Card GV-N710D3-2GL REV2.0 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[Eximo]

Used market is a fine place to pick up low end GPUs. GT730 for $20, even a Dell model just for fun.

Dell CNRTY✅NVIDIA GT 730 2 GB GDDR5 MS-V338 Graphics Card Low Profile✅ 2x DP | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell CNRTY✅NVIDIA GT 730 2 GB GDDR5 MS-V338 Graphics Card Low Profile✅ 2x DP at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Airlane1979]

What might have happened since yesterday when all was well?
I might guess that windows pushed out an update that caused the issue.
A possible fix might be to use system restore to back the system up to a previous date when all was well.

If for some reason system restore has not been configured, the would be the first thing I would do. Then, you can take a user checkpoint before doing anything to your system that is risky.

How important are the data files on your HDD?
Sounds like perhaps you would not mind too much if you lost them.
That can happen with malware, virus, ransomware, device failure, fire, or even stupid operator error.
Really, if you care, buy a usb connected HDD($70 for 2tb) and back up your data before doing anything.
An example:

Amazon.com

Where did you try to download intel integrated graphics drivers?
Probably best to go to the source and download from Intel.

A cheap graphics card might be a GT710:

GIGABYTE GeForce GT 710 Video Card GV-N710D3-2GL REV2.0 - Newegg.com

Buy GIGABYTE GeForce GT 710 2GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Low Profile Video Card GV-N710D3-2GL REV2.0 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

Some very useful advice there, thank you. System Restore was already set up - it currently goes back to 5 August. Should I go ahead and run that, or are there risks to running it?

 

[Airlane1979]

Used market is a fine place to pick up low end GPUs. GT730 for $20, even a Dell model just for fun.

Dell CNRTY✅NVIDIA GT 730 2 GB GDDR5 MS-V338 Graphics Card Low Profile✅ 2x DP | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell CNRTY✅NVIDIA GT 730 2 GB GDDR5 MS-V338 Graphics Card Low Profile✅ 2x DP at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

That would be within my budget. I wanted to attach a photo of the rear of my machine to show its size and ports etc. but there doesn't appear to be an option on this board.

 

[BFG-9000]

If you have a cloud backup such as OneDrive then that should be sufficient as backup.

If your monitor is VGA and has no other inputs then the selection of cards gets rather limited and does include the $50 GT710, which is usually around $20 used (just make sure it comes with the low-profile backplate). I hesitate to suggest it because it is just as old as your PC and while there are Windows 11 drivers for it now, they will never be updated as it no longer receives driver updates.

The latest drivers for your HD 4600 are actually for Windows 8.1. There are Windows 10 drivers but your processor isn't listed specifically . I think I would try installing those manually before System Restore, but either way a WindowsUpdate may stop the driver from loading again.

 

[palladin9479]

I find I need to downgrade from Win11 Pro to Win10. Looking at various YouTube videos which show detailed processes, I'm confused. Some show a very simple method of downloading Win10 from Microsoft and installing it, after which all my files and apps will be in a Windows.old folder. Others show it to be much more complicated, involving buying a hard drive (I have about 1TB of files on my SSD) to back up before removing Win11.

I'd like an expert opinion before I make a stupid mistake. Can anyone advise me - preferably someone who has done this?

If you really want to go back, the safest way with least possibility of headaches is to backup everything to an external USB disk, then wipe and reinstall Windows 10 fresh. Trying to rollback a system upgrade from a year ago ... is dubious under the best of conditions.

 

[Airlane1979]

If you really want to go back, the safest way with least possibility of headaches is to backup everything to an external USB disk, then wipe and reinstall Windows 10 fresh. Trying to rollback a system upgrade from a year ago ... is dubious under the best of conditions.

Thank you. I'm going to do that.

 

[USAFRet]

Operating with no backup of your data is like walking a tightrope with no net.
Doing a major upgrade (the OS) with no backup is like walking that tightrope with a 50mph crosswind.

Do not rely on Windows.old to preserve your data.

An Upgrade from 10 to 11 usually results in a Windows.old folder. Usually.
And all it takes is one misclick for that to go bad, and your data to go away forever.

A reverse upgrade from 11 to 10 is a full wipe and reinstall. No Windows.old.

Backup all your personal data, to some device that will be offline during this process.
Just your data, not applications.

 

[Airlane1979]

Operating with no backup of your data is like walking a tightrope with no net.
Doing a major upgrade (the OS) with no backup is like walking that tightrope with a 50mph crosswind.

Do not rely on Windows.old to preserve your data.

An Upgrade from 10 to 11 usually results in a Windows.old folder. Usually.
And all it takes is one misclick for that to go bad, and your data to go away forever.

A reverse upgrade from 11 to 10 is a full wipe and reinstall. No Windows.old.

Backup all your personal data, to some device that will be offline during this process.
Just your data, not applications.

That is good advice. I've ordered an external HDD.