How to Revert Windows 7 after installing Windows 8 Developer Preview

[Bozidar]

Previously this system contains windows 7. Then two days before I installed Windows 8 Developer Preview by growing the ISO to a virtual drive and running the setup.exe. It works well but now I want to revert back to the windows 7 onto this system. There is a window 7 setup files present on the C:/Windows.old folder. Hence is it possible to restore windows 7 after installing Windows 8 Developer Preview. Any help to do this task will be appreciating.

[Dayanidhi]

You can't uninstall the Windows Developer Preview. To reinstall your previous operating system, you must have restore or installation media. Hence you need to find such kind of media that support to do this task onto your system. Try to do this discovering task for doing such restoring task on this system.

[Baako]

To uninstall Windows 8 Developer Preview and restore Windows 7 is not a straight forward process, but it is not impossible. To do this, you must use the command prompt, and type D:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c: command onto it for doing this reverts back to windows 7 task. This commands at the command prompt works when you run as administrator.

[Phalguni88]

For doing this task, you need Windows 7 Installation DVD or USB drive. After that follow the below process:

• First Boot your laptop to the Windows 7 DVD and hit on Install now option.
• Choose your language and select next.
• Select "Use recovery tools" button and pick the Windows 7 installation setup files.
• Choose "Command Prompt" and prepare your keyboard and activate the primary partition.
• Type bootrec command and press Enter.
• Then use bcdedit command to restore the system's boot list.

This command will be work to do the uninstall windows 7 onto this system. Try this and locate the result onto it. It also helps to rebuild the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) list on the primary drive.

[Addison]

You know Windows 8 Developer Preview uninstall is not supported by Microsoft at this time. Hence you need to apply some manual process that will be work to fix this issue. Probably you can apply the clean installation process onto it for doing this task. it will surely work to fix such complicated problem onto it.

[ZAHAR]

In my opinion, one mistake that Microsoft did with the release of this preview release of Windows was to not show an alert to users. There is necessary to previously indicates that the windows 8 has not been contains the tools or the process that works to easily do the uninstall task on it. hence this will be beneficial for performing such kind of complicated task onto it.

[Iquau]

You can also use windows 7 recovery disk to do this revert task. This will be work to fix such kind of complicated task onto it. the recovery disk has to be helpful to perform the recovery process onto this type of situations. You need to put the recovery disk onto the disk drive and then reboot the system. If the DVD drive is set as first bootable device then it directly boot the recovery DVD. Hence it will be beneficial for doing the recovery task onto this system. After finishing this recovery task in proper format you can see the result that will be help to access windows 7 onto this system.

[Clarice]

This is my personal opinion that you need to contact the official site expert person. Expert or may be the manufacturer of the windows 8 will guidance you about this uninstall windows 8 task. Then you need to apply this and it will be work to solve your uninstall issue. You can also read several details of such process onto the manual as well as few articles of this topic. Then use such help and fix your problem.

[JayBee-Tek]

Hi, I have read just about all of your postings and it appears that somewhere along the line things have seemed to become a real problem.
OK, So I found myself once again testing yet another O.S for Microsoft having spent a "weary" and frustrating time testing Vista for almost 18 months from its concept to the market place. Then I was one of a team doing the same "eveluation" on Windows 7, giving feedback to Microsoft for around 12 months. Windows 7 to me is one of Microsofts "better" efforts. I have done the same with Windows 8 "trial" version for the last 3 months. Ughhhh! No way can I envisage an office full of Accountants or whatever really being serious about it general use as a replacement for Windows 7! So like the rest of the subscribers here, I decided that I simply didn't like it, didn't want it until it has at least "grown up" that is; if it ever eally catches on! So to the issues: What I did and it was so easy - maybe not quite so for any un-initiated IT people etc but I had a bootable Win 7 System setup disk, (after I had saved anything I wanted elsewhere), started the PC and selected "Start from bootable disk". Then I was presented with an option - START IN "SAFE MODE" and then I had the usual installation window up and selected my drive and also to write a new OS making the Win 8 to Windows.old. No formatting, no messing with this and that but a simple reinstallation of Windows 7 and this did not give a hint of complaint against the O.S Win 8 that it was downgrading to. But I got into "SAFE MODE" By switching "Hard switching" the system on and off a few times until it surrendered. The choice was there and then a fresh re-installation went right to the end and is a success. I started this at 21:30 and completed the entire job including drivers and all the usual items such as antivirus software and even some tools for maintenance then I went off to my pillow at 12:30am, 3 hours! The installation itself was just over 1 hour. Getting rid of Windows.old was quite a long a process but all was erazed etc before I close the PC down for the night after some personal configurations as most do. Maybe someone will have the same luck as myself, I have been associated with Compter Technology and IT for almost 30 years now. Some things do rub off!

[Simond]

I wonder, by deleting the partition of the Windows 8 drive and then creating new partition over it and using the Windows 7 DVD, cant we simply install Windows 7 on our computer? Why do we need to delete the Windows.old files or such, is it really required?

[JayBee-Tek]

Hi, I did not require to delete a complete partition since other needed files and much more was on that partition beside Windows 8. Had there not been, then I most likely would have done and then as you say, re-install Windows 7 from your bootable system disk. Basically, after my re-installation of Windows 7 leaving Windows.old taking up a huge portion of the partition, then as I generally do - get rid of it but only after looking throught .old to be further certain that thereis nothing that I need, touch of "belt & braces".
If you delete the partition that Windows 8 is on then you won't have a Windows.old !!!! or anything other than empty space or a combined space added to another partition on your PC. This can be reclaimed if you go to: Control Panel\ Administrative Tools\Computer Management and then "Storage" where you can (with care) select to partition a larger drive and make a partition suitable or the same size as the one you erased.
Best wishes