How to uninstall Windows 10 and go back to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1

Windows 10 is having a very good reception so far . This is at least demonstrated by its excellent adoption figures, according to which it has already reached a 10% market share, and also the good comments it has received from most technology blogs.

But since there is nothing written in a matter of taste, it can always happen that someone does not like the changes of this new version of Windows, or that they need to return to Windows 7/8.1 due to a lack of suitable drivers for Windows 10.

Whatever the case, going back to a previous version of Windows by uninstalling Windows 10 is perfectly possible, and not very difficult. Next we will explain step by step how to achieve it.

Easy method: Uninstall Windows 10 from the Settings app

"To the joy of many, Microsoft has decided to make things easy for those who regret installing Windows 10 using the update mode (that is, without performing a clean installation, which erases the contents of the hard drive) ."

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Therefore, if we have installed Windows 10 above>revert this simply by going to the Settings app and pressing a couple of buttons. Just follow these steps:"

• Open System Settings (click Start menu > Settings).
• Go to section Update and Security, and within it to Recovery .
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• If we installed Windows 10 under upgrade mode, we should see an option titled Go back to Windows 7/8.1. Simply press the Start button>"
• Microsoft will ask us why we want to uninstall Windows 10, and will also give us some warnings. For example, it warns that we will have to reinstall some programs, and that we will need to remember our Windows 7/8.1 login password (otherwise the PC will be blocked without us being able to enter).

• It is also recommended to have made a backup of our files in case something goes wrong, although it should not be necessary to use it , since this procedure keeps our personal files intact.

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  Finally you have to click on the button Return to Windows 7/8.1> "

It's important to note that this option will be available for 30 days only after we upgrade to Windows 10. After that date, Files required to return to Windows 7/8.1 will be deleted from the hard drive, in order to save space (these files are about 20 GB in size, and we also have the option to delete them manually).

Hard Way: Reinstall Windows 7/8.1 Clean

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As always, in Windows 10 we also have the option of removing the system from the hard drive using reinstall above>. However, for this it is important to follow these previous steps:"

Make a backup copy of our files

With the easy method, making a backup was recommended but not required, but when doing a clean reinstall making backups becomes mandatoryif we don't want to lose our personal files.

When doing a clean reinstallation, making backup copies becomes mandatory if we do not want to lose our files

For these purposes, Windows 10 includes 2 backup systems: a more modern one, called File History, but which is only compatible with Windows 8.1, and another older and less feature-rich, but offers compatibility with Windows 7.

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• To make a backup with the File history you have to go to Settings > Update and security > Backup copies and there select the Add Unit button.Then you have to connect an external disk with enough space, and wait for the first backup to complete."

• To make a Windows 7 compatible backup you also have to go to Settings > Update and security > Backups, but then select the option Go to backups Backup and Restore (Windows 7). A Control Panel window will appear, in which you have to click on Configure backup Finally, all that remains is to connect an external drive with enough space, and continue the instructions in the wizard until the backup is complete.

Get a DVD or USB drive to install Windows 7/8.1

To be able to do a clean installation we need a physical mediumwith the Windows 7/8 installation files.1, in order to start the PC directly from that drive (without entering Windows 10) and start the process that will overwrite the system files.

The ideal would be to have an installation disk provided by the manufacturer, but if we don't have one, Microsoft allows us to download the files installation directly from the web, in a completely legal way.

You just have to enter this page, choose the version you want to download (7 or 8.1), follow the instructions. Here there are 2 different courses of action depending on whether we want to downgrade to Windows 7 or to Windows 8.1.

In the case of Windows 7 we will first be required to enter a valid product key, for which we can use the same one that came next to our PC, or one corresponding to a Windows 7 retail license.Then we must indicate if we want to download the 64-bit or 32-bit version (to find out which version corresponds to us, go to Configuration > System > About > Type system, within Windows 10), and finally start the download of the ISO file.

Once downloaded, Windows 10 allows us to burn it directly to a DVD, without requiring additional software. Just insert an empty disc, then right click on the ISO file, and select the option Burn.

To convert the ISO file to an installation USB disk, you need to download and install this tool, run it, and then follow the wizard instructions.

In the case of Windows 8.1 the process is a little easier. We are not required to enter an activation key on the website, and what is downloaded is not an ISO file, but a tool called Media Tool Creator, which allows you to directly create Windows 8 installation DVDs and USB drives.1.

You simply have to run the downloaded file, follow the steps of the wizard, and that's it. Of course, we must correctly indicate the edition and architecture of Windows 8.1 that we want to install. This is very important because our activation key will only work for a particular edition of Windows 8.1: the one we had installed before upgrading to Windows 10.

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The system architecture can be reviewed in Windows 10, by going to Settings > System > About > System type . And in the same section About>which edition of Windows 10 we have installed: Home or Pro If our edition is Pro, it is almost certain that the edition of Windows 8.1 installed before was also Pro (if our current edition is Home, you have to install Windows 8.1 to dry)."

And start the installation

When we have created a backup with the corresponding method, and we have the physical installation media in our hands, all that remains is to start the installation itself.

To do this you have to insert/connect the DVD or USB drive to the computer, restart it, and make sure that the system starts (boot ) from the installation drive, and not from Windows 10. This will bring up the Windows 7/8.1 installation wizard.

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Once there you just have to follow the instructions that will be displayed, but paying attention that when asked for the type of installation we want, we select the option Custom installation>"

Then, all existing partitions on the PC will be displayed. We must choose the one where Windows 10 has been installed and delete its content, and choose it as the drive to install Windows 7/8.1.

And ready. The result will be a clean installation of the previous operating system, in which we can restore our files from the backup we made in step 1.However, through this method there is no way to recover previously installed programs and apps: you have to manually reinstall all of them ( although many modern apps can be bulk re-installed from the Windows 8.1 Store).

Another easy method: restore factory settings

Finally, there's a method that's just as easy as uninstalling Windows 10 from Settings, but that also delivers all the performance benefitsthat we enjoy doing a clean install. This is the restore factory settings option, which is also available from the Windows 10 Settings app.

This option restores your PC to the state it was in when you bought it at the store and used it for the first time, which includes your original operating system.To do this, it uses the files from the recovery partition created by the manufacturer.

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To restore the PC with this option, just go to Settings > Update and security > Recovery and press the Start button>"

After that a dialog box will appear with 3 options:

• Keep my files
• Remove all
• Restore Factory Settings

As you may have already guessed, the option to select is the latter. After that you simply have to follow the instructions that the system will display.

All very simple, but still worth mentioning some caveats. First, as you can imagine, this method completely erases our files and applications, so here we also need to make backups Second, there will be some cases where this option is not available, either because the manufacturer did not enable it, or because we have deleted the recovery files.And third, it seems this mechanism only works to get back to Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, not back to Windows 7.

What experience have you had with these methods to uninstall Windows 10? Is there any other way that has given you better results?