Windows 7: After update, laptop reverted FROM Windows 7 TO Vista?????

Hi there

I recently purchased an Acer Aspire for the business & I was very specific at time of purchase that it must NOT run Vista as the accounting software I run is not compatible with Vista.

All went well for about a month & then the accounting software started to play up. I contacted their tech support people & they talked me through a few fixes however during these fixes we discovered latent COMPATIBILITY FOLDERS on the computer that simply should not be on a machine unless it is running Vista. I contacted the store I bought it from & they admitted that it had originally come with Vista but had been upgraded to run Windows 7 Home Premium prior to purchase. He told me to come in & they would remove the components that had not been removed properly during upgrade.

I was unable to go in that day but told them to expect me within a day or two at the most however before I could get back (the following night in fact) the computer ran some scheduled updates from Microsoft & when I went to use it the next day it was all sorts of wrong! It didn't even look the same (desktop) & files were missing or moved. When I went to online help I kept getting diverted to Vista help rather than Windows 7 help. I contacted the computer store again & they said that the update may have found these compatibility folders & freaked out & reverted the machine back to Vista...???

Anyway, I have lost loads of files that I had not yet backed up as I was planning to do this immediately prior to taking the laptop back to the shop so I had everything backed up & my accounting software won't work. The shop said they can restore Windows 7 but probably can't restore any lost data as they are only retail...

So here are my questions...

1. Is what they saying happened even possible?
2. Is my data lost forever or can it be restored by a computer repair technician?
3. Any suggestions?

Cheers, Skye

Hello Skye,

Sorry, but a Windows Update WILL NOT revert a upgraded Windows 7 back to Vista like that.

It sounds a lot more likely that the computer store messed up and did a factory restore from the recovery partition on your computer, and that is what restored Vista since that was on your computer from the factory.

If this is what they did, then that most likely may have also wiped out all data that was previously on your computer for good.

I wouldn't let them get away with trying to cover up their mistake with a BS line about it being caused by a Windows Update.

Well how old was the computer you bought. Win 7 has been out for over 2 years. For that computer to have originally come with Vista it must of been a leftover that was well over 2 years old.

But then you probably got a good price on it.

A windows update cannot revert your OS to a previous version. If you press the Windows key and the pause/break key what does it list as the OS version installed? Running winver will also show you what version of Windows is installed. If it's just your libraries that are messed up it should be easy enough to find your files provided you know the folder location. If something else has happened it could be difficult. The more you use that PC the worse it could get also, as files and folders could get overwritten.

Does your Acer have a Windows 7 COA sticker on the tower with readable Product Key? This is required to prove that Genuine Windows was installed. If not contact the store to ask for the Product Key.

Then look over these steps to get a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which will likely take less time than troubleshooting the mess that's been made there.