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    RetroGrading an HP Envy dv7 to Windows 7

    Discussion in 'HP' started by AstroMonkey, Mar 6, 2013.

  1. AstroMonkey

    AstroMonkey Newbie

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    Has anyone successfully downgraded an ENVY dv7 to Windows 7? I tried to get my wife to use it as is, and she hissed at me like a scalded cat. I also slept on the couch last night. I used what I thought were the proper steps to get it to boot on the dvd drive, and loaded a commercially obtained (read this as "legitimate" disk), and it keeps booting on Windows 8.
    What am I doing wrong, if anything?

    P.S. I'm a retired computer professional, so you can use big words without confusing me.
     
    AstroMonkey, Mar 6, 2013
    #1
  2. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    It should be possible to downgrade to Windows 7 on your HP Envy DV7. I recently done it on an HP Envy M6 that had no official Windows 7 driver support from HP (I had to find them the hard way) but there should be Windows 7 drivers for your particular model which makes things a bit easier.

    - Before doing anything make sure you made a set of Recovery Disks of your factory installation, this is just a precaution just in case things goes wrong and you can go back.

    - Open up Device Manager in Windows 8 and see what you need. Get a pen and paper and jot down the names of your Display Adapter (Graphics Card) and Network Devices (Wireless/Ethernet), these are the bare minimum you need for now to get things at a workable environment from the beginning.

    - Once you got the names, go the the HP Support site and download the relevant drivers. Store these on to a USB Flash Drive.

    - Insert your Windows 7 media and restart the computer. If its anything like the HP Envy I had, to enter BIOS settings keep tapping the F10 button.

    - Go to the System Configuration Tab, configure the USB 3.0 Configuration in Pre-OS to Auto. Then go to Boot Options and Disable Secure Boot and Enable Legacy Support. It may prompt some warnings about not booting to the original OS but this is OK so proceed. You may be asked to verify the change by pressing a combination of keys. Proceed with the step and you should be back on the Startup screen.

    - This time on the HP startup screen keep pressing the ESC button to see a list of options and press F9 to select the Boot Device Options. You should be presented with a list of bootable devices but select the device containing your Windows 7 Media (in my case it was the Internal DVD/CD Drive).

    - The Windows 7 Installer should launch, just follow the instructions (ensure you select the “Custom (advanced)” option) to perform a new clean installation of Windows 7 on your HP system. Since you have the recovery discs made it should be safe to remove the existing disk partitions to free up space and start new. If you need visual reference you can use my Windows guide starting from Step 2 (yes it's for a different brand but the principles the same).

    - Once Windows 7 had finished installing just enter your details, settings and product key. On the desktop start installing the basic drivers that you got on your USB Flash Drive. With the display and internet access working you can resume finding the rest of the drivers via the HP Support Site. Windows Update can help find some missing ones too.

    - That's it! Just enjoy your Windows 7 PC.
     
    PatchySan, Mar 6, 2013
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