Despite the fact that Microsoft, by hook or by crook, is increasingly trying to promote its latest development in the form of Windows 10 in the operating system market and even announces a complete cessation of support for the seventh modification, the Seven remains one of the most popular and sought-after systems in all the world. In addition, many users, one way or another, faced with the top ten, were so disappointed in it that they want to reinstall Windows 7 after Windows 10. Everything would be fine, but here a lot of trouble and even some difficulties await them. Let’s try to find out how much it’s possible to return the “seven” or how to install it again, completely replacing the “ten”.
Can I install Windows 7 after Windows 10?
First of all, let's decide how possible it is to carry out such actions. Installing with downgrading the operating system can be quite simple. Although some users claim that formatting the system partition is indispensable. This opinion is erroneous, because under certain conditions, which will be discussed separately, the implementation of such a procedure can be avoided. In addition, it is completely optional to install the "seven" on top of the tenth modification. Why not put it in a logical partition and use two modifications at the same time, choosing one of them if necessary? However, since we are talking about a complete replacement of the operating system, we will proceed from this thesis when considering the main solutions.
Action options
So how to install Windows 7 after Windows 10? By and large, you can offer these actions:
- rollback to the "seven" after its upgrade to the "ten";
- clean installation while maintaining user programs and / or licenses;
- full installation with formatting of the system partition and destruction of all user information.
Rollback to previous build
Now let’s dwell on each technique in more detail. It is believed that the tenth modification is good in that it provides the ability to roll back to the previous system if you did not like the new OS for some reason. It is obvious that in this case it is only about the fact that you performed a standard upgrade of the system from the seventh to the tenth version, and the rollback has not yet expired. Previously, users had 30 days to think about it, but now rollback has become possible only within 10 days. In addition, special attention should be paid to the preservation of important components of the old system (usually they are in the Windows.old directory). If you deleted this folder or did a disk cleanup with the removal of system files, nothing will work.
Installing Windows 7 after Windows 10 subject to the above conditions is done from the options menu where the security partition is selected, after which the recovery process starts returning to Windows 7. In the rollback, you can specify any reason why you refuse the new OS. You will also need to refuse to check for updates, after which it remains only to follow the instructions of the "Wizard", constantly pressing the "Next" buttons. In the end, the computer will reboot, and you will get your "seven" in the state in which it was at the time of the upgrade.
Note: laptops of some manufacturers are an exception to the rule, which provide for the possibility of a complete reset to a pre-installed system (in our case, Windows 7) even if you reinstall the system or format the system partition.
What to do if after the rollback the system does not start?
But do not rush to rejoice. Due to some, still not fully clarified reasons, upon completion of the rollback to the seventh modification, Windows may stop loading. Unfortunately, this is observed very often and, most likely, is associated with some critical changes that the “ten” itself makes (not to mention the fact that it instantly installs new updates and assemblies).
Suppose that reinstalling Windows 7 after Windows 10 in the form of a rollback seems to have ended successfully, but the "seven" does not start. How to reanimate her? To do this, you will need to start from a removable drive containing the “dozens” installation distribution kit (and not from disks like LiveCD), select the region and language settings at the initial stage, and then follow the system recovery link.
Here, through the sections of diagnostics and additional parameters, you should go to the point of returning to the previous assembly, if necessary, enter the password for entering the account and wait for the recovery process to complete.
How to install Windows 7 after Windows 10: what you need to consider before starting the installation
Now let's look at a clean installation, believing that downgrade purely for technical reasons is impossible. How to install Windows 7 after Windows 10 in this case? The solution can be offered quite simple and even in some ways standard, however, before performing any operations, one should pay attention to two main points.
Firstly, despite the fact that the license of the “tens” has no retroactive effect, there is a chance to complete the installation of the “seven” while maintaining its own activated license. But this can be done only on condition that you really had an official licensed modification installed before. Secondly, another condition is that the system partition in which Windows 7 was previously installed was not formatted. If at least one of the conditions is violated, the system will have to be reactivated. If you have a license code, you can do this either directly during the installation process, or in an existing system at the end of the installation.
If there is no activation key, you can use semi-legal activator programs like KMSAuto Net or KMSpico. Among other things, please note that the bit depth of Windows 7 must match the architecture of the installed Windows 10 (this is in case the system partition will not be formatted).
Installation Launch Options
It is also believed that depending on the type of installation distribution, the installer itself can be launched in two ways. If the package used for installation allows you, you can simply expand the image file and run the Setup.exe file directly in the working "top ten".
You can perform such a deployment in the “top ten” either by double-clicking on the image file, after which a virtual drive will appear in the system, or by extracting the contents of the image using any available archiver program like WinRAR or its analogues.
If the system reports that this method is not supported, you will first need to create bootable media and set it as the first device to start in the BIOS settings. It is better to give preference to flash drives, rather than optical disks.
Create bootable media
Now, to install Windows 7 after Windows 10, you need to create a bootable USB flash drive. You can use any program designed for this. However, the best option that most experts recommend is to use the Rurfus utility.
In this portable program you just need to select the desired image file, and the rest of the parameters can not be changed (especially since the application will expose them automatically and without your participation).
Installation process: what to look for?
Finally, speaking about how to install Windows 7 after Windows 10, let us pay attention to some nuances of the installation process itself. First, as usual, select the language and regional settings, and then follow the instructions of the installer. At the stage of choosing the installation method, you can, of course, try to perform an update while saving user files, but this is unlikely to happen, since such actions are usually applied to a working copy of the "seven" already on the computer (although, judging by the reviews, there are isolated cases of installing such preferences meet).
Therefore, it is easiest to activate the full installation point.
Now the most important thing! To save a working license, you only need to select the section in which the “ten” is installed, and you can’t format it in any case.
If the issue of preserving the license is not fundamental, either format the old partition, or create a new one with subsequent formatting. The answer to the proposal to create an additional section for system files is affirmative (a message may not be displayed if such a section already exists), since it will save tens files. If formatting is skipped, the components of the tenth Windows on the hard drive will also remain, however, they will be moved to the Windows.old directory (similar to the situation described above), after which it will be possible to return to Windows 10 if necessary. Then the standard steps will follow, and in at the end of the installation after restart you will get a working Windows 7.
Additional installation option
In principle, if you don’t want to “demolish” Windows 10, but you don’t want to install the “seven” in the logical partition (or it just doesn’t work out for some reason), you can use the WinNTSetup program and install the seventh modification as a portable OS directly on the USB flash drive .
If errors occur at the preparatory stage, use the automated Bootice utility to resolve them.