Windows 7: Help Uninstalling Windows 7

First of all, sorry if this is the wrong section I didn't know where to post this.


I downloaded the windows 7, 30 day trial version but I don't like it at all. It was the windows 7 ultimate version. I previously had windows vista on my laptop. I was wondering how to remove windows 7 and have vista back? I tried the way of locating the windows.old folder but I couldn`t find it/recognize it.

Thank you for your help.

Use your recovery disks to reinstall Vista. You can try running them from Windows 7 or boot.

If you didn't make recovery disks then you will need to call your manufacturer tech support to order some.

As a last resort you can borrow a Vista disk and reinstall it to activate the license you have on that computer.

What was your problem with Windows 7? We rarely hear that here. Maybe we can help.

The only problem that I have with windows 7 is that it has slowed down the overall performance of my computer (especially the internet).

I had vista before and my laptop always worked insanely fast. I don't think I ever had a problem about speed. However the moment windows 7 had done installing and I tried to do things, it took way too long and consumed too much of my time.

Also, isn't there a way of just removing it because I only have the 30 day trial version of windows 7 without calling my manufacturer etc. I didn't make any recovery disks And I also don't know my vista's serial code because it had come with my laptop when I purchased it.

Your product key is on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop. It will activate your installation of Vista using any Vista disk which has your version.

The only other way is to find the windows.old folder which would have been created if you did a CUstom install of Windows 7 from the desktop, not boot.

I wonder if you had the RC which was still in beta and a bit buggy, plus had a ton of monitoring software on it they took off with the RTM which is out now. If so, you should find a copy of the RTM and try it to see if it speeds up since Windows 7 is way faster than Vista on almost any machine. You might have had a bad install.

There is a way to rearm activation on Windows 7 RTM up to 120 days, just Google it. You can do it with the one you have now, too, but I recommend reinstalling the release version to overcome whatever was slowing it down. Maybe just a fresh install will do it, or a repair install which is an Ungrade run over the current OS from the desktop.

thank you

It would be unusual for Windows 7 to run slower than Vista on the same hardware.

How did you install Windows 7? If you did it as an upgrade-in-place over Vista (which preserves installed applications), you may have found why people recommend a clean install. (Upgrades may lead to installs that aren't what you'd call optimal.)

If you wish to return to Vista, and you did a custom install, you may have had the original installation saved to windows.old. If that's present, you can restore Vista from it:

How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder

I'm curious as to what version of Windows 7 you installed, as there is no "30 day trial version". The Release Candidate has a time bomb that goes into effect on March 1, 2010, and stops working altogether on June 1. There's a 90 day evaluation version of Windows 7 Enterprise. If you have a 30 day limit, that suggests you've acquired the final version through means that Microsoft would not have approved. The 30 days isn't intended for "trial" use, it's simply a grace period for activation.

If you have no windows.old, there's a chance that your laptop came with a hard drive partition that allows restoring the machine to the original factory condition (It would remove all of the changes you've done to the machine - all files, all settings, all installed programs that weren't in place from the factory.) You may be able to invoke the restore function during startup. As you don't mention a make of laptop, no one can tell you what your F-key sequence is for that.

If that approach is unavailable, as you didn't create restore disks, you could contact the manufacturer. Some of them can provide restore disks. (With any luck, the charge won't be excessive.)

Unless you're desperately trying to preserve some pre-installed software, I suggest that you clean install Windows 7, after backing up your data files. (You may need to have some drivers from the laptop's maker on hand. The Windows 7 install disk contains drivers for most, but not all, possible hardware.)

It sounds like you may have made most of the possible mistakes. I hope that you get back to a usable machine soon, without too much trouble and expense.

You can use the RC you have on there now to qualify for a Windows 7 Upgrade, and even clean install from boot. It will recognize the RC as a prior qualifying OS before you format the HDD and allow you to activate as an Upgrade.

But first you will probably want to try the final version (RTM 7600) to see that it is much faster than RC and Vista. In fact you can activate that with your UPgrade key if you decide to buy it after test driving.