I'm trying to figure out how to downgrade back to Windows 7 after Windows 10 installation.
I have the windows.old folder still in check. Only thing is, I didnt upgrade, I installed a fresh Windows 10 with an ISO which puts older installations into a Windows.old folder.
I see now that I need to copy over files that are encrypted with EFS and would like to revert back to that Windows 7 so that I can copy over those files.
Hi, do you mean you were running Win 7, and logged in to Win 7, and used the Win 10 iso to upgrade?
If so you should be able to 'Go back to the previous build'
Go Back to the Previous Version of Windows in Windows 10
- it's a built-in Win 10 feature.
Note: a wise PC owner will take precautions. We frequently recommend people use disk imaging routinely- and make sure they have a current disk image before any major change. That gives another way to get back to a previous state. E.g. Macrium Reflect - free + external storage for image files
Hi... I'm curious why you would want to go back to 7? 7 was nice and all but 10 once you tweaked is much better IMO
I don't have the option to 'Go back to the previous build'. That's why I'm making this post. The Windows.old folder is in tact and it was made from my upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 via installation through an image and not via the traditional upgrade utility.
So what I'm saying is, I didn't upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I installed a fresh Windows 10 over the Windows 7 which as a result causes the Windows 10 installation to move Windows 7 to a windows.old folder.
Which I now would like to restore for the aforementioned reasons.
Just asking, do you use Macrium Reflect to make frequent images before and after you make major changes ?
Sounds like you didn`t. In my opinion, It`s the best backup tool made
Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free
If you have windows.old, it's from an upgrade install. Doesn't matter that you did it from an .iso.
What matters is how old windows.old is. I don't recall the period during which you can use it restore the old OS, but it may be 10 days. If it has been longer than that, you may have to do a clean install of 7.
I don't get the EFS thing. I've never used it, but Win10 is supposed to include EFS. Is there some incompatibility over different versions of Windows?
Thank you so much for your reply.
If you didn't follow the rules- the standard way to upgrade- and you don't take precautions like creating a disk image you can restore- or a clone, say- well, the consequences are unfortunate.
Time and again we advise people to use disk imaging to guard against problems- and the consequences of their own actions.
Windows 7 Extended support will end on 14th January, meaning no further updates from Microsoft leaving you vulnerable.
Hi there
W7 like XP before it (we'll leave the question of VISTA) were both pretty decent and popular OS's but their time has been and gone -- not only do modern OS's have much better support for new hardware but also the security systems are light years beyond anything even W7 has with all the latest updates (soon as others have mentioned due to end).
If you want to run old legacy OS's and plenty do for all sorts of reasons then the recommended way is to run those as Virtual Machines -- if most of your applications don't need to be installed on W10 you can still create a small efficient W10 installation and run most of your stuff on W7 -- baring in mind though you will have to provide some extra security if you do networking between the W7 and the W10 host. The best way in that case is to create a proxy server so all internet access from / to the W7 machine goes via your W10 system which will give you much more security.
Cheers
jimbo
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