If you've upgraded your PC to the latest Windows 10 but don't like it, you can easily revert to Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Windows 10 rolled out as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users worldwide on July 29, bringing a slew of neat new changes, features and functionality. Many PC users have already installed the upgrade, but it may not be suitable for everyone's taste.
Microsoft took this possibility into account and baked a special tool into Windows 10, designed to allow users to revert to their previous version of Windows if they so prefer. It's worth pointing out, however, that this option will be available only for one month since installing Windows 10.
If you're among the ones who want to downgrade from Windows 10, here's what you have to do.
Before You Get Started
First of all, before you proceed with the downgrade, make sure you back up whatever information you want to keep, as you could lose some data otherwise. You can make a backup on a thumb drive, an external hard drive or by using a cloud storage service.
Downgrading from Windows 10
When you install Windows 10 as an upgrade on a PC running Windows 7 or Windows 8, the old version of the OS remains stored in a "Windows.old" folder. This folder allows you to restore that previous version directly from Windows 10, without any additional hassle.
To do so, simply click on the Windows Start menu at the bottom left of the screen and access Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. From there on, you'll see an option to "Go back to Windows 8.1" (see image above), if you upgraded from Windows 8.1 If you previously ran Windows 7, you'll see the option to "Go back to Windows 7."
Next up, select "Get started" to kick off the downgrade process. Keep in mind that if you're on a laptop, the option will only work if you connect it to a power source.
Once you've selected to proceed with the process, Microsoft will ask you why you decided to downgrade from Windows 10. Write your impressions of the latest OS, then click "Next" to move on with the downgrade. You'll get several chances to cancel, and you'll also see a reminder that if your old Windows was password-protected, you'll need that old password. If you're determined to go through with the downgrade, all you have to do is click "Next" and have patience.
The whole process should not take longer than 10 minutes or so, and your system will be just as it was before Windows 10.
