revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7


  1. Posts : 24
    win 10 pro
       #1

    revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7


    This is essentially a FYI post.
    I recently decided to upgrade from my Win7 pro to Win10 pro because I got an announcement that one of my programs (TurboTax) would not install or run on Win7 next year.

    I did this using some links / tutorials in this forum. They were pretty good and easy to follow, most of the time. Only problem was some menu items must have changed and/or I did not read a few things carefully.

    I first worked on "Network Drive not connected" but eventually got that solved, although I never was able to get the network to recognize the other computers on the network, even though I could specify the relevant computer, e.g. \\other_comp.

    Some, but not all of my icons had a jagged appearance -- I did not try to fix this. It was not high on my priorities.

    The real problem I had was attempting to reinstate my virtual windows xp mode. I followed all of the directions given in a tutorial as best I could, but could not make the virtual device recognize my version of XP. Then I read someplace, that such was impossible -- and that is a non-starter for me. I need the virtual XP to run some legacy programs. No other alternative (e.g. vDOS or DOSBOX) work the way I want. If anyone can suggest how to use my virtual win_xp that came with Windows 7, I would greatly appreciate it.

    That is when I decided to go back to Windows 7. I had carefully made a restore point before I started the Win10 upgrade. Was I surprised when restoring that restore point still left me in Win10! BUT, a bit more digging found out how to roll back my upgrade, assuming that 10 days had not elapsed. [This is important to know for anyone else reading this who has the same problem, don't wait too long]. I did that, and now my win7 is back and all is right with the world -- for now.

    The link to the info on what I used for the roll back is:
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-or-windows-81

    A search might give other links -- but this is the only one I tried.

    I am sure glad that forums like this (and win7 companion) exist.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 42,634
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #2

    Was I surprised when restoring that restore point still left me in Win10!
    System Restore points are only (and can only be, if you think what they do) relevant to and applicable to the OS build on which they were created. Example: Would you wish to import Win 7 registry entries and drivers into Win 10?

    Each new build of Win 10 starts with 0 restore points - and in general - System Restore has been turned off.

    For interest:
    Go Back to the Previous Version of Windows in Windows 10
    Set Number of Days can Go Back to Previous Version of Windows

    Another way of achieving a VM:
    Oracle VM VirtualBox
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 31,398
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #3

    dale5351 said:
    The real problem I had was attempting to reinstate my virtual windows xp mode. I followed all of the directions given in a tutorial as best I could, but could not make the virtual device recognize my version of XP. Then I read someplace, that such was impossible -- and that is a non-starter for me. I need the virtual XP to run some legacy programs. No other alternative (e.g. vDOS or DOSBOX) work the way I want. If anyone can suggest how to use my virtual win_xp that came with Windows 7, I would greatly appreciate it.
    Windows XP Mode runs on Virtual PC in Windows 7, and Virtual PC won't run in Windows 10. However, the .VHD from a Windows XP Mode machine can be used as a VM under Hyper-V in W10 Pro...

    In this tutorial, I will show how to use Windows XP Mode virtual hard disk to create a virtual machine in Windows 10 using Hyper-V
    Hyper-V - Add Windows XP Mode Virtual Machine in Windows 10

    and post #2 reports it can also be used in VirtualBox.


    Alternatively you can clean-install XP in a Hyper-V VM on W10 Pro, or any other VM supported in Home/Pro such as VMWare or VirtualBox.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    dale5351 said:
    The real problem I had was attempting to reinstate my virtual windows xp mode. I followed all of the directions given in a tutorial as best I could, but could not make the virtual device recognize my version of XP. Then I read someplace, that such was impossible -- and that is a non-starter for me. I need the virtual XP to run some legacy programs.
    Quite a number of Windows 7 users have the same problem than you. Legacy software installed on free XP Mode virtual machine, which can't be used or accessed after upgrade to Windows 10.

    Moving XP Mode from Windows 7 as a virtual machine to Windows 10 is difficult, because it consists of multiple files:

    revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7-image.png
    (Click to enlarge.)

    Screenshot is from a tutorial on our sister site Seven Forums: Virtual XP Machine - Copy - Windows 7 Help Forums

    Reading your post, I got interested in this issue which in fact makes some users to postpone the upgrade. Thinking it a bit, I thought I'd test something. The test worked perfectly first time, and I got an activated XP Mode virtual machine transferred from Windows 7 PRO to Windows 10 PRO.

    This is what I did, whole process taking less than 10 minutes:

     1.) Capture existing XP Mode to a new VHD

    1.1) Still in Windows 7, start XP Mode. Download and run Disk2VHD.

    1.2) Be sure to select Prepare for use in Virtual PC, and unselect Use VHDX:

    revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7-image.png

    1.3) When Disk2VHD has created the new virtual hard disk (VHD) file, copy it to your Windows 7 host.

     2.) Setup XP Mode in Hyper-V

    2.1) Upgrade to or clean install Windows 10

    2.2) Setup Hyper-V.

    2.3) Setup XP Mode virtual machine in Hyper-V.

    2.4) Run new XP Mode VM once, shut it down.

    2.5) Right click new XP Mode VM in Hyper-V Manager, select Settings.

    2.6) Select the virtual hard disk under IDE Controller 0, browse to and select the VHD you created in Windows 7 with Disk2VHD, click OK to save settings:

    revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7-image.png

    2.7) Run XP Mode VM

    2.8) Boot menu will be presented. Select Disk2VHD Microsoft Windows XP Professional:

    revert from Win10 upgrade to Win7-image.png

    That's it. Your Windows 7 XP Mode is now transferred to Windows 10, its activation status preserved.

    Tutorials:

    Kari
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 24
    win 10 pro
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Thanks to all those who responded to my post. I see a lot of useful information, and as a result I may try to do the upgrade and get my win_xp moved into Win10. I'm going to give it a few days at least to just recover from the frustration of the previous attempt. I'll report back after I try.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
       #6

    I wrote a tutorial based on instructions in my previous post: Import Windows XP Mode from Windows 7 to Windows 10

    Kari
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 24
    win 10 pro
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Here is another question wrt the upgrade, not related to Win_XP. Once in Win10, will internet explorer be available? Or, any other web browser that allows the running of Java? I have one game website I visit that has some puzzles written only in Java.

    Also -- why doesn't my profile picture appear rather than that D sign?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 31,398
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #8

    dale5351 said:
    Here is another question wrt the upgrade, not related to Win_XP. Once in Win10, will internet explorer be available? Or, any other web browser that allows the running of Java? I have one game website I visit that has some puzzles written only in Java.
    Yes, IE is still included in W10. It is however an optional feature which can be turned on or off in Windows Features, you may need to turn it on.

    Turn Windows Features On or Off in Windows 10

    Also -- why doesn't my profile picture appear rather than that D sign?
    Your Profile Picture only appears in your profile, what is displayed in your post is your Avatar picture. Set that here:

    https://www.tenforums.com/profile.php?do=editavatar
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
       #9

    Geeks please, if you want to try this, please, instead of following the steps I posted in post #4, see the tutorial instead: Import Windows XP Mode from Windows 7 to Windows 10

    I have edited the tutorial, removing unnecessary steps and simplifying the process.

    Kari
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 24
    win 10 pro
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Thanks Kari.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Bree said:
    Your Profile Picture only appears in your profile, what is displayed in your post is your Avatar picture. Set that here:

    https://www.tenforums.com/profile.php?do=editavatar
    Thanks Bree -- as you can see that worked (and was easy).
      My Computer


 

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