Windows 10 pre-installed looking to downgrade to windows 7

[Tim93]

Hello community,

I've recently purchased a new laptop that comes with a pre-installed version of windows 10 home. Im looking to downgrade it to windows 7 because it feels more familiar and it had everything i needed. I've already looked at the website of my laptop manufacturer and the only drivers that are downloadable are for windows 10. Is there a different way for me to install windows 7 and get the drivers that are needed for my laptop to fully perform besides the laptop manufacturers site?

 

[USAFRet]

There probably aren't any Win 7 drivers for it.
No reason for the manufacturer to create them. And that's the only real place they might be.

 

[SchizTech]

I've recently purchased a new laptop that comes with a pre-installed version of windows 10 home.

Do you have a Windows 7 key? Professional editions of Windows 10 have downgrade rights associated with the license but not home edition.

Beyond that, I don't want to sound pushy but you'll have to move on from the older OS at some point. Aside from the looming end of support from MS (scheduled in 2020) new software and hardware will start to lose support as well.

 

[Tim93]

Do you have a Windows 7 key? Professional editions of Windows 10 have downgrade rights associated with the license but not home edition.

No i dont have a windows 7 key. So you're saying that if i get windows 10 pro and then downgrade to windows 7 the drivers for my hardware will fully work on windows 7?

Beyond that, I don't want to sound pushy but you'll have to move on from the older OS at some point. Aside from the looming end of support from MS (scheduled in 2020) new software and hardware will start to lose support as well.

And yes i know there will be a time i have to make the switch, but as long as microsoft still supports windows 7 i would like to keep using it.

 

[USAFRet]

No i dont have a windows 7 key. So you're saying that if i get windows 10 pro and then downgrade to windows 7 the drivers for my hardware will fully work on windows 7?

No. That simply means you might not have to buy a whole new license for Win 7.
The higher end version of Win 10 have licensing downgrade rights.

This has nothing to do with the actual functionality of the laptop and its drivers.

 

[Tim93]

This has nothing to do with the actual functionality of the laptop and its drivers.

Okay i see that makes sense.. is there any chance if i install windows 7 it will just find the updates needed through windows update?

 

[USAFRet]

This has nothing to do with the actual functionality of the laptop and its drivers.

Okay i see that makes sense.. is there any chance if i install windows 7 it will just find the updates needed through windows update?

If the drivers were never created by the hardware manufacturer, there is nothing for Windows to find.
It will probably 'work', but maybe with reduced functionality.

All the fancy bits of the touchpad may be unavailable, for instance.

This device was produced after Win 7. The needed drivers may simply not exist.

 

[Tim93]

If the drivers were never created by the hardware manufacturer, there is nothing for Windows to find.
It will probably 'work', but maybe with reduced functionality.

Oh im afraid i might have explained it badly. I have only looked on the website of my laptops brand. Not the individual hardware (intel, realtek etc.). If those have drivers for windows 7 would it work? Im not sure though how to find the exact drivers that fit with my hardware, how do i go about doing that?

 

[USAFRet]

If the drivers were never created by the hardware manufacturer, there is nothing for Windows to find.
It will probably 'work', but maybe with reduced functionality.

Oh im afraid i might have explained it badly. I have only looked on the website of my laptops brand. Not the individual hardware (intel, realtek etc.). If those have drivers for windows 7 would it work? Im not sure though how to find the exact drivers that fit with my hardware, how do i go about doing that?

Generally, for a laptop, the "hardware manufacturer" IS the company that sells the laptop.
But, you might be able to track down the specific WiFi and touchpad device manufacturer.

 

[Tim93]

Generally, for a laptop, the "hardware manufacturer" IS the company that sells the laptop.
But, you might be able to track down the specific WiFi and touchpad device manufacturer.

So if i were to look for drivers for my processor for example. Right now my laptop has an i5-7200U, do i just search for i5-7200u driver windows 7? I've never looked for drivers before, i have no idea how to identify the exact name of the drivers i need for the hardware in my laptop. Where do i get this information?

 

[USAFRet]

Generally, for a laptop, the "hardware manufacturer" IS the company that sells the laptop.
But, you might be able to track down the specific WiFi and touchpad device manufacturer.

So if i were to look for drivers for my processor for example. Right now my laptop has an i5-7200U, do i just search for i5-7200u driver windows 7? I've never looked for drivers before, i have no idea how to identify the exact name of the drivers i need for the hardware in my laptop. Where do i get this information?

no, the CPU does not need anything.
Primarily, it would be the touchpad, the WiFi, maybe the audio, maybe the GPU.

But the motherboard might not support.

Look around for someone else with that exact same laptop and Win 7.
If it can be done, someone else has already done it.

Or maybe you can install it, but with reduced functionality. Like no multitouch. Or the WiFi is borked.

 

[robert600]

with a little fiddling ... win10 can be made to look very much like win7 ... this might be your best option.

 

[Tim93]

with a little fiddling ... win10 can be made to look very much like win7 ... this might be your best option.

After reading all the replies and using windows 10 for a few days i think im just going to stick with windows 10. It seems alot of hassle to downgrade it to windows 7 only to then upgrade to windows 10 again when microsoft ends support for windows 7. Besides i have gotten used to windows 10 for a bit and it doesnt seem that bad to be honoust. I want to thank everyone for their answers especially USAFRet.