I need Windows 7

January 2, 2015 5:55 PM

If I buy a machine running Windows 8 or 8.1, can I make it run just like Windows 7?

-- How hard will that be? (Assume I'm a head of cabbage.)
-- Can I just kill the OS and install Windows 7?
(Yes, I know I can still buy a W7 machine.)

posted by LonnieK to Computers & Internet (22 answers total)

Is windows 7 required for some kind of software, or are you just use to 7's environment and not fond of the metro interface of windows 8? Because if it's the later, windows 8.1's desktop mode is almost identical to windows 7 and took me almost no time to adjust to. Try out windows 8 and if all else fails, yes you can kill the OS and install windows 7 - if you can get a copy of the software.
posted by royalsong at 6:10 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

1. It will be SUPER easy.

2. After you have the machine up and running, install Startisback. This costs 2.99 after the trial. There are some free alternatives but this one works perfectly.

3. Once it's up and running, the unspeakable horror of the Windows Start Screen will be replaced by your good ol' start menu. Rejoice!

4. You may have some minor issues with complex pieces of older software, like Fallout 3 for instance. Googling will lead you to solutions. But I haven't had a single issue.

There are some under the hood differences from Windows 7 to 8.1 but I don't think you'll notice them.

BTW, you should make sure you end up with Windows 8.1 and not an earlier version of 8 as 8.1 is the only one MS is going to support going forward. I think you can upgrade but best to just avoid the hassle.
posted by selfnoise at 6:11 PM on January 2, 2015

Oh, all of that is assuming that you just want something that looks and behaves like 7 from a UI perspective. Like I said, the under the hood differences between 7 and 8.1 don't seem to cause many issues for most people so I wouldn't worry about that.

Also I guess it's worth noting that 8.1's window themes are not "Aero"... they don't have that translucent and shiny effect that Vista/7 had. They still look nice, though, and I prefer the sort of minimal look 8.1 has. You can always install a third party software to emulate that Aero effect if you simply must have it.
posted by selfnoise at 6:16 PM on January 2, 2015

I got Windows 8, I did not like it at all. I installed the free program Classic Shell and problem solved. Love it.
posted by just asking at 6:22 PM on January 2, 2015 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all for helping me focus. What I need most of all are:
- Windows Explorer and its full W7 functionality
- No gymnastics to get to it
- Accommodation for a few softwares (e.g. an old version of Photoshop)
Not so concerned about under-the-hood or the aero effect. I should note that I tried W8 early on and freaked out.
posted by LonnieK at 6:24 PM on January 2, 2015

Yes, I just did this exact thing. I bought a Dell with Windows 8.1 and replaced it with Windows 7. It's for someone who sucks at computers and I wanted our operating systems to match so I could help them. Also, I just really hated Windows 8, even when I made it "look" like Windows 7. The configurations and settings just aren't the same.

I wiped the hard drive and installed Windows 7 on it. The first trick is that manufactured computers shipping with Windows may lock the BIOS from allowing you to boot from the Windows 7 OS disk. You'll want to go into the advanced Windows 8 settings and allow legacy boot mode or whatever. A lot of directions mentioned changing it from UEFI, but that didn't seem to be an issue for me. Then just make sure it boots from the DVD drive so Windows 7 will begin to install.

The second tip is Windows 7 may say you can't install it on the drives. Look up the directions to clean the disk. Basically, I googled the error message it gave me and found directions on how to wipe and format the drives for Windows 7. A YouTube video helped me -- it was very easy but I wouldn't have ever figured out what to do on my own.

Final tip is to get all the Windows 7 drivers for your system once Windows 7 is installed. For me, the system I installed Windows 7 on was a Dell Inspiron xxxx (forget the model) so I googled that and Windows 7 drivers. Without the drivers, stuff like wifi and audio would not work. So you'll need to either download them to a USB/card ahead of time, or get them from another computer onto a USB/card once you're ready because internet may not work yet.

So, I would not call this process "super easy." It took some troubleshooting and a little time, but I wouldn't say it was hard -- it just took a little time and some patience. It turned out great!
posted by AppleTurnover at 6:34 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Classic Shell is what we use on goddamned Windows Server 2012 so we can get the fuck around without murdering someone to death with rage and an old keyboard. (Bonus: recommended to me by InfoSec Taylor Swift, so you know it's good.)
posted by Lyn Never at 6:34 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Do you know about the Windows-D key combination that will take you immediately to the old Windows Desktop? That's what I use.

As for the Windows Explorer, once on the original Desktop I open Windows Explorer once, then right click the start bar entry and choose "Pin this program to taskbar". I also pin all my other favorite programs like VB.Net, PuTTY, Command Prompt, Word, etc.

Do you know about the Windows-X key combination. It pops up a useful context menu listing all the other cool stuff, like Power Options, Device Manager, etc.

The only things that is awful awful is Search. I use Agent Ransack. With all of the above I don't have any problem being on Windows 8.1. The only thing that annoys me is if my thumb accidentally slides over the left side of the laptop mouse pad and brings up the Metro layout. Then it's a quick Windows-D and I'm back.
posted by forthright at 6:38 PM on January 2, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, one thing to add to my post above, if you are talking about a Windows 8 machine where you already have lots of files saved, your browser has bookmarks/passwords saved, etc. then you will have to add one more step, which is backing up your data. There is also a way to "downgrade" to Windows 7 using a Windows 7 disk that should preserve your data, but that is not what I opted to do.

If you want Windows 7, I would say it is worth it. Took me a couple hours to do (that includes letting the computer sit while stuff installed and downloaded). You can still by Windows 7 from NewEgg.com and other online retailers for about $100. I'm not sure you will find it in physical stores as much anymore.

Google can answer all your questions and give you guides to do it. If you have any specific question, feel free to shoot me a MeMail.
posted by AppleTurnover at 6:42 PM on January 2, 2015

By default, Explorer in windows 8 has all the functionality it did in 7 plus more. The action might be under a new menu but it's all there. The new Explorer is tbh my favourite thing about windows 8.

I use start 8 to get a normal menu back and avoid stupid full screen applications.
posted by smoke at 7:25 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

So, I would not call this process "super easy." It took some troubleshooting and a little time, but I wouldn't say it was hard -- it just took a little time and some patience. It turned out great!

Well sure, if you want to downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7. What I meant was it's super easy to make Windows 8.1 feel familiar.

Don't take it personally, but I think installing 7 on an 8.1 machine is a little nuts. The differences in UI experience beyond the Start Screen are incredibly minor and the Start Screen is, dare I say, Super Easy to get rid of.
posted by selfnoise at 8:21 PM on January 2, 2015 [3 favorites]

Any machine that comes with windows 8 pro comes with an authorized downgrade.

Windows 8.1(which you can upgrade 8 from in the Microsoft store app, it's no big deal) with classic shell is perfectly fine. Everything has run with no screwing around.

People catastrophize over windows 8 WAY too much. It's like a dumb meme at this point.
posted by emptythought at 8:22 PM on January 2, 2015 [4 favorites]

^ Computers with Windows 8.1 and Windows Pro, I believe, are authorized to be downgraded with downgrade rights, but you still need a Windows 7 disc to do it. I didn't have a Windows 7 disc so I had to buy one, and the computer I brought was brand new anyway, so it was easier to just wipe it and install Windows 7 fresh. Microsoft no longer sells Windows 7 as a download.

My experiences with Windows 8 have been really negative and personally the trade off was worth an afternoon of wiping a computer to install Windows 7 vs. dealing with little annoyance and stress daily for weeks until I got used to it... but, OP may certainly want to just give Windows 8.1 with the start button/task bar a try and see if he/she can deal with it first. OP may be less rigid than some of us. :)
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:30 PM on January 2, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've wiped Win8 and installed Win7 and it's kind of a pain; I needed to do a loooot of googling and testing and failing and googling and testing and failing to find the right drivers. Absolutely not a task for a novice and not something I'd be anxious to do again.

Under the hood, Windows 8 is better than 7 in a bunch of definite but minor ways, and though I hate the interface I'm pretty sure if I had to I could get over that in a week or so. So I'd vote for win 8 with an interface mod.
posted by Sebmojo at 10:44 PM on January 2, 2015

^ If you buy a pre-made computer, the manufacturer website should have all the drivers. i.e. Dell, HP, etc. I'm sure some websites are better than others, but with Dell everything was right there for me to download in one spot. I guess before buying a PC for this specific purpose, one could make sure Windows 7 drivers are available online for that brand/model of computers to make it simple. The drivers themselves just self install.
posted by AppleTurnover at 10:49 PM on January 2, 2015

I heard that if you contact Microsoft after buying a computer with Windows 8 then they can get you Windows 7 at no charge. Not sure if that is true. Worth a try, seems like the most legit way to do it if it works.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 10:56 PM on January 2, 2015

Yes. It will be fine. I would keep the new operating system, because as others have indicated, downgrading to 7 is not necessarily easy and because there actually are some nice changes under the hood in Windows 8 that you'll still want to take advantage of (not referring to purely cosmetic stuff like Aero, but rather things like a faster, more efficient OS). Also if you plan on keeping this machine around awhile, the support and security updates from Microsoft will be around longer for Windows 8.1 than Windows 7.

Do as others have said and install one of the dozens of programs that make Windows 8/8.1 act more like 7. My personal recommendations are Stardock's Start 8 ($5) for a start button and menu that are exactly like the one in Windows 7. You might also want to add ModernMix (also $5) at some point so that if you do use any of the new Windows Metro/Modern apps (some of them are quite nice, like the Netflix app), it doesn't force you into fullscreen all the time.

As for Explorer, I'm not sure what you think it might be missing in Windows 8. I like the 8 version more than Windows 7, haven't found it to be missing any functionality. In fact it seems to have more functionality. The only thing that might be different is that the Libraries feature found in Windows 7 is disabled by default in Windows 8.1. But you can re-enable it by following these simple directions.
posted by katyggls at 12:53 AM on January 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Every time I say this, it gets ignored (so, no real hard feelings if it does so again) but, Windows 10 will be out soon, and it is more or less Microsoft's mea culpa for 8. (I am an XP zealot/holdout but I actually like 8.1 - it is snappy!)

Also, as a person who has used every version of Photoshop since 4, they all seem
to work fine on succeeding OS's. What version of Photoshop do you have, and
what problems are you actually anticipating? All of my problems have been with 3rd-party plugins and peripheral device drivers, but never the core Photoshop.
posted by Chitownfats at 2:57 AM on January 3, 2015

I did what is outlined in this blog post. I don't know where I originally saw those instructions.

It tells you what box to check and where so that you boot directly to the desktop. Most of the answers lie in Settings--> Display.

Then I got accustomed to life without a start menu. I tried to, at least.

Having read this thread, I'm going to install ClassicShell.

When I want an alternative to a commercial software without ads or fuss, I google "thing I want to do" + source forge. ClassicShell comes up on that open source project's page.

That method generally works for me.
posted by CtrlAltD at 3:50 AM on January 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

The best way to get Classic Shell (and in fact the best way to get any of the software you can get this way) is via Ninite.
posted by flabdablet at 4:35 AM on January 3, 2015

Classic Shell, definitely. Windows 8 rocks once you have that installed.

If your computer is a laptop and you insist on going back to Win7, make sure you can get Win7 drivers for everything beforehand.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:05 AM on January 3, 2015

That's a good point. Most Windows 8 drivers will work for 7 as well, but not all of them.
posted by flabdablet at 7:03 AM on January 4, 2015