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trying to downgrade from 10 back to 8.1 on lenovo s21e
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I upgraded my lenovo s21e last week to windows 10 (using the upgrade from task bar). Since then I have decided to sell the laptop because I don't really like it. I want to restore it back to the original OS, so I did the research and saw that it should have been a relatively simple process (Update/security:Recovery:Gobacktowindows 8.1)
Unfortunately, it turns out that this option is not available on this particular laptop (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/ht077446#).
Instead of the option to go back, I saw only 2 options (Reset this pP or Advanced Startup) I clicked on reset this PC and was given 2 more options to (Keep my file or remove everything) Because I didn't have any personal files on the system, I chose the second option assuming it would overwrite windows 10 with the original 8.1 operating system.
Obviously, it did not. I called Lenovo support and spent an hour arguing with them about the issue. They claim that it IS a possibility, but that I will need to pay $70 for premium support for the tech to "get their hands on my computer" to do the downgrade.
Understandably, I don't want to invest $70 getting advanced tech support in a computer I am trying to sell for $150. So I am trying to figure this out on my own-- although frankly after 2 hours of doing this instead of work that actually pays my bills, I'm wondering if the time invested is really worth the $ at this point . . . . hopefully you can help.
Based on my research I have 2 questions:
1. I do still have the microsoft.old files available in my c drive. Is it still possible with these files to compete the downgrade or do I need the recovery media?
2. If I do need the recovery media, would it be possible to go buy (and later return) another Lenovo s21e laptop with windows 8.1 installed and use that to make a backup recovery disc, could I then use that disc to downgrade my other Lenovo s21e laptop back to windows 8.1?
Thank you for your help.
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