Can I do a clean install of Win8.1 after upgrading to Win10?


  1. Elaine98
    Posts : 1
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Can I do a clean install of Win8.1 after upgrading to Win10?


    A year ago I bought a Lenovo Yoga 2 that came with Windows 8.

    Unfortunately, I upgraded to Windows 10 several months ago. It has been such a nightmare I want Windows 8 back.
    Can I just buy a new copy of Windows 8.1 and clean install it on my laptop? Someone told me once its been upgraded to Windows 10 that I can't do that, but that just doesn't seem right.

    I'm not very savvy when it comes to doing a reinstall. I'm not sure what to buy and I want to make sure trying this won't brick my computer. OEM, Full, etc seems like there is so many things to consider when trying to buy just a regular old version of Windows 8.1.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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  3. whs
    Posts : 1,935
    Windows 7
       New #2

    Check whether you have a recovery partition. You could reset to 8.1 from there without any problems with the key, etc. You have a legal 8.1 system. No need to buy an 8.1 key.
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  4. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,432
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #3

    Run showkeyplus from this forum:
    Showkey - Windows 10 Forums

    If it shows an OEM key and OEM version - that is the WIndows 8 product key stored in bios. As long as the edition is not "Core Connected" which means Windows 8 with Bing, then you can download Windows 8 here:
    Windows 8

    When you install it, it will read the product key stored in bios.
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