[Morgiee101]

Hi im really not liking Windows 8 but unfortunatly it came pre loaded with my laptop. Is their a way in windows 8 were i can partition the hard drive and install a oem Windows 7 operating system so that i can run windows 7 now until Windows 8 improves?

Thanks

 

[OldGrayGary]

Dual-boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 -- with Windows 8 installed first

Note: Secure Boot must be disabled in the Bios of the computer, in order to have a Windows 7 and windows 8 dual-boot. It is possible to install Windows 7 with UEFI enabled, but not with the Secure Boot feature enabled. At this point, I haven't seen enough systems to know if the UEFI enabled/SecureBoot disabled combination is widely available or not. What I'm fairly sure of is that Windows 7 does not boot when Secure Boot is enabled.

1) Make a system image of your current hard drive, and save it to an external hard drive (or to DVDs). Just to ensure that if anything goes wrong, you can undo your changes. You may wish to also backup personal files separately, in their normal formats (not compressed into a system image) - this provides an easy way to access any needed files in a hurry, without having to bother with searching a system image.

2) Shrink the large main partition of Windows 8 using Disk Management, creating enough unallocated disk space to fit your planned Windows 7 system.

3) Install Windows 7 onto the unallocated space created when you shrunk the Windows 8 partition. On reboot, a text-based menu will allow you to choose either Windows 8 or Windows 7 to boot into.

4) Should you wish to have the Windows 8 bootloader handle the dual boot (and provide the nice-looking blue menu with icons) ... from the Windows 8 Charms bar choose the gear Settings icon, select Change PC Settings, and then choose either the option to "Refresh" the PC, or to "Reinstall". Once the refresh or reinstall is complete, the computer will boot to the Windows 8 version of the dual boot screen.
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Additional Notes:

license:
You have to have a legitimate license for Windows 7 that will pass activation in order to be able to use Windows 7 in the dual-boot.

Do you really want a dual-boot?
Alternatives for those who enjoy the speedy performance of Windows 8 but want to have the Windows 7 Start menu functions =
Third-party menu programs
--- Start8 --- Start8™ for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu
--- Classic Shell --- Classic Shell | Free software downloads at SourceForge.net
Create your own desktop menu
--- PCMech Forums - View Single Post - My advice on Windows 8.

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Best of luck
. . . Gary

 

[Morgiee101]

This is great thanks alot, as for making a system image i beleive thats refering to the recovery media discs? my windows 8 laptop is wired you couldnt make a manufacture recovery media only a windows recovery media which was created on a bootable usb and was about 14gb? Their wasa driver CD provided in the box but not a system recovery so if i mess up i can rely on the usb to reinstall windows 8 back on? Also just for my peice of mind how do i find and retrive the licence key for my windows 8 mechine? as they use to be provided on the bottom of your laptop on a sticker but the windows 8 dont.

Thanks again

 

[sobeit]

Hi im really not liking Windows 8 but unfortunatly it came pre loaded with my laptop. Is their a way in windows 8 were i can partition the hard drive and install a oem Windows 7 operating system so that i can run windows 7 now until Windows 8 improves?

Thanks

one thing, your computer is not eligible for win7 oem. You will need to purchase the full version if you want to dual boot.

 

[Morgiee101]

Thanks for that yeah im going out today to my local computer shop to buy the Windows 7 operating system probebly home premium would that be ok?

Thanks

 

[OldGrayGary]

Yes, any version of Windows 7 (other than Starter) would probably do. If you purchase an upgrade version you might need to install it twice to be able to activate it (I'm not sure if the installed Windows 8 would qualify for a Win7 upgrade) --- How to Clean Install Windows Vista with Upgrade Media | Windows Vista content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows --- A "System Builder" version will work on any system.

The OEM versions that sobeit mentions are those that come pre-installed on a major-brand computer (Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway, Acer, Hp, Lenovo, Asus, Samsung, etc.). Those licenses are tied to the hardware of the computer they come with, and can't be transferred to another PC (within the terms of the license).

If money is tight at all, you can always have a go with Classic Shell or Start8 first, just to see if that makes the new computer fun again. The "guts" of Windows 8 have a fair number of performance and security improvements that are noticeable. It's unfortunate that the 'Metro' interface wasn't offered simply as an option that could be turned on or off. From the desktop, Windows 8 and Windows 7 behave very much alike. It's the functionality of the Start Menu that is the main difference (and which can be overcome by either a menu program, or user "tweaks").

Best of luck
. . . Gary

 

[sobeit]

Yes, any version of Windows 7 (other than Starter) would probably do. If you purchase an upgrade version you might need to install it twice to be able to activate it (I'm not sure if the installed Windows 8 would qualify for a Win7 upgrade) --- How to Clean Install Windows Vista with Upgrade Media | Windows Vista content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows --- A "System Builder" version will work on any system.

The OEM versions that sobeit mentions are those that come pre-installed on a major-brand computer (Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Gateway, Acer, Hp, Lenovo, Asus, Samsung, etc.). Those licenses are tied to the hardware of the computer they come with, and can't be transferred to another PC (within the terms of the license).

money is tight at all, you can always have a go with Classic Shell or Start8 first, just to see if that makes the new computer fun again. The "guts" of Windows 8 have a fair number of performance and security improvements that are noticeable. It's unfortunate that the 'Metro' interface wasn't offered simply as an option that could be turned on or off. From the desktop, Windows 8 and Windows 7 behave very much alike. It's the functionality of the Start Menu that is the main difference (and which can be overcome by either a menu program, or user "tweaks").

Best of luck
. . . Gary

not true, I was talking about any oem including system builder for win7. Upgrade must have a legal previous version installed and activated before win7 can be installed.

 

[OldGrayGary]

? -- System Builder is a full version, and qualifies for dual-boots, because in the scenario here described, no upgrades are necessary (Windows 8 is already installed on its partition, and the full version System Builder goes onto its own partition).

Here is a blurb from the Microsoft site for system builders:

System Builder software marketing kit
Windows 8 System Builder (Full Version) software is used on machines that system builders build and sell. With Windows 8, end users can now buy System Builder software and use it in one of these ways:

1) On a machine they self-build.
2) As an operating system installed on its own partition in a dual-boot configuration.
3) In a virtual machine.

Taken from the website: http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/products/windows/Pages/windows-8-sell.aspx#fbid=v26vzF8LG5k

Just wanted to clarify --- the vocabulary that Microsoft uses can be a little confusing.
. . . Gary

 

[sobeit]

? -- System Builder is a full version, and qualifies for dual-boots, because in the scenario here described, no upgrades are necessary (Windows 8 is already installed on its partition, and the full version System Builder goes onto its own partition).

Here is a blurb from the Microsoft site for system builders:



Taken from the website: Windows 8 Sell

Just wanted to clarify --- the vocabulary that Microsoft uses can be a little confusing.
. . . Gary

who is talking about win8! It has a totally different system bulider oem license than win7. What I am talking about is win7, what the original poster SAID was he was going to add win7 oem to a computer that ALREADY had win8 installed. NOW go back and actually read the original post and my original post.

 

[OldGrayGary]

Morgiee -- It looks like I never answered your question about the backup you made. If the USB you created was a system image backup (that is one of the choices if you used Windows Backup), then you should be able to restore your computer to that system image. I usually create a "recovery disc" DVD (it was called a "repair disk" in Windows 7) to start the recovery process with = they are easy to make, only take about a minute, and let you boot your computer into the Windows Recovery Environment.

Check the instructions for the backup you used, to see if you created a system-image or not, and whether it is bootable or not.

Windows 7/8 licensing changes:
sobeit -- Ah, leave it to Microsoft to change the licensing for the system builder editions, they change everything else. Sorry I missed the change between Windows 7 & 8. That said, Morgiee is covered in this case by the downgrade permissions, as he has a fully licensed and activated version of Windows 8 already installed on his computer, and he can legally use the System Builder edition for his downgrade - Downgrade rights details and FAQ
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Morgiee -- I still think that your most cost-effective solution is to temporarily try out one of the free Start Menu tools for Windows 8. That way you don't need to fuss with any licensing issues at all - and you get to keep the security & performance improvements of Windows 8.

I dual-boot Windows 7 & Windows 8 Pro myself. I mainly do this because I'm in the repair business, and have to be able to test problems that my customers who are using Windows 8 are having. [When necessary, I can boot into any version of Windows back to Windows 98, from a variety of tester computers and virtual environments here in my workstations - and yes, all the licenses are legal (most were full retail)].

Let us know if you have any other questions
. . . Gary