downgrading from Win 10

Hello,

I'm not sure which forum I should be in to ask this question, so I'll start here and hope someone can help me.

I have an HP Envy laptop that's 4-5 years old. It came with Win 8 and disks to downgrade to Win 7. Last July (2015) I upgraded to Win 10, and a few weeks ago I upgraded to Anniversary Ed.

I have had nothing but trouble for over a year with Win 10, and I want to leave it behind and get back full functionality on my computer.

Is it even possible after all this time to roll back? Can I roll back to Win 7 when it was never even installed on the laptop? Do I need to roll back to Win 8 first, and then downgrade to Win 7? Do I go straight to the Win 7 disks and do it that way? What's the best way to proceed? Or am I SOL and stuck with Win 10?

Hi CosmicJest,
You've got the GOLD>> the W7 discs <<, You should also have a product key,
it might be 7 HomePremium HP 4FG99-BC3HD-73CQT-WMF7J-3Q6C9, but i doubt it.
There should be a key on the packaging.
DO NOT POST IT.

You can perform a clean install, remember to back up your personal data first,
No need to rollback to 8.

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
Clean Install Windows 7

Roy

Thanks torchwood! I'll give it a go tonight!

Before you try to install Win 7 it is very important that you download all of the win 7 Drivers to a usb drive or something else that win 7 can read. If you have USB 3 on that computer you may need to burn a CD or dvd with the drivers on that.

Shouldn't be neccessary as he has the original OEM disc, they will all be on there.

Roy

I do agree with Roy.
After all these years and 2 OS's, you have a lot of trash. With a clean install it will run much better.
Remember that your entire disk will be formatted, so backup your data on an external disk.

Gadzooks! I don't have the Windows 7 disk! However, I've ordered one online and should have it next week. I'll post back after the deed is done. Can't wait to get back to Windows 7!

I don't think you need one.
Most all OEM manufactures provide a application to build a installation disk.
Look at the HP software on the laptop for a Factory recover disks.
Some of them can restore to factory by BIOS.
Remember that your entire disk will be formatted, so backup your data on an external disk.

Look at this link HP Support document - HP Support Center

That's a handy link, thanks Megahertz07.

CORRECTION:
What I posted originally wasn't quite right. What came with the laptop was OEM Win 8 disks, not a Win 7 disk. I'm still pretty sure it was downgradeable, but since I can't find the disk I thought I had, perhaps I'm mistaken. I no longer have ANY disks nor system image for this computer - only my current backups of documents/media/installation files.

I'll start with trying a factory reset to see if I can at least get back to Win 8 - at this point, with as much damage as Win 10 has done, most anything is preferable to the state the laptop is in right now.

sml156 suggested downloading Win 7 drivers to a flash drive - how would I go about finding all the drivers for my particular laptop?

Hi Cosmic,
In that case UNLESS you can get the discs directly from HP AND a W7 product key, your stuck with 8/10.

Roy