downgrading windows 8 question

i have no interest in windows 8 so dont know anything about it.
i was asked by a neighbor last night about buying a new cheap laptop but everything on the shelves shes found has windows 8 loaded and she wanted a windows 7 loaded computer.

her lappy at the moment is about 8 years old running xp.

now im sure ive read on here that there has been problems downgrading to 7. is this the case.

i suggested she bought a cheap £300 laptop with 8 loaded and also bought a 7 disc.
totally wipe the hard drive and load 7 from fresh. i guess drivers could be a problem depending on make of laptop.

is this the best option and will she have problems.

thanks in advance

 

There are some notebook vendors that issue no downgrade support from a machine that is preloaded with Windows 8 (i.e. HP Consumer Range) so I would advise to check if there are Windows 7 drivers available on the system first before taking the plunge. Occasionally there are workarounds but you probably spend a good hour or so trialling different drivers from different vendors to see if they work on the machine (it's not a fun experience I can tell you that).

Also typically on Windows 8 systems is that they come BIOS locked with a Secure Boot mechanism to prevent Legacy OS' (including Windows 7) from loading. This is usually rectified by disabling Secure Boot and altering the UEFI settings, I can't specifically say which option to go to as it varies between different manufacturers.

 

thanks for the reply.
ive never touched bios and avoid it like the plague.
she just about knows how to turn the lappy on and get into her emails so its gt to be a simple solution as i dont want phonecalls every night with her panicking what to do.
i guessed HP would be one of the culprits and ive already told her not to buy one of them.
im guessing a samsung or acer. me dont know much about high street brands as always bought high end gaming lappys built to spec.
thanks for the advice PatchySan

 

For simplicity go to Lenovo's site and there are quite a few systems that are still Win7.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptop...EC@:20131117144421:s#/?facet-4=1&page-index=1

 

brill, thanks for the link TANWare

 

If she's coming from XP, there's going to be a a bit of a learning curve regardless. As a less expensive option, I'd suggest selecting a computer that she likes first, and then configuring it so that it's a bit more XP-like (ie, W8.1 Start Screen tweaks, turn off hot corners, make each program in the task bar display in full rather than in an icon, etc). If she finds that it's okay, there's no reason to do anything more extreme.

 

she said defo no windows 8
shes a 60 year old greek women and you know what they can be like and im certainly not going to be the one to tell her to get 8

 

Just to be sure what kinda laptop did she get with Windows 8 that she wanted you to put Windows 7 on as well that will tell the rest if that can be done as well. Well considering W8 will be a high learning curve Windows7 for all it's expense will be more worth to her in the long run especially if that laptop isn't a touchscreen version that would be why I would advise someone getting windows 8 laptop if the screen isn't touch you can forget about getting the future of Windows 8. If she wants W7 on the laptop look at the laptop site to find if they have drivers for Windows 7 first. If that is the case then to go W7 but make sure you disable the UEFI that will enable you to install Windows 7 on the machine. If you can get the drivers for the laptop and from the manufacture site that would be a good thing to go Windows 7 then.

 

Would a refurbished laptop that came with 7 originally be a possible solution? That way any early on driver/BIOS issues should be sorted out.

 

Problem is if it came without a O/S that will still mean they need Windows 7 full installation to get it going. But if it has Windows 7 O/S installed and legit to go then that should work out pretty good.

 

Most return machines should still have an OS. The problem with a refurb I'd there could still be an issue with the machine. Being as she is older and not tech savvy this could be an issue for both her and you.......

 

she hasnt bought one yet as she said everywhere shes looked on the high street has 8 loaded.

i was thinking along the same lines but the tech savy in her is non existent and if any probs she will be on the phone to me all the time

exactly

thanks for the replies guys.
think i will check out some places like ebuyer.