Windows 10 problem

[Renewed Investor]

Hi everyone, I know we have some smart members here who are much better with IT problems than I am. I'll give you a run down of my situation.

I bought a new laptop for work as my current one is on it's last legs. The new one arrived yesterday and I've had nothing but bother with it. Firstly, none of my work software will work with Windows 10 and so I want to install Windows 7 instead. The problem is that I no longer have the product key and so can't do the "downgrade" method of installing it through Windows 10.

My approach to this problem was to then try and get into the BIOS and tell the machine to boot from the Windows 7 disc I have but that is not an option anymore it would seem. This leaves me with only two options as far as I can gather (well, 3 actually but the third option is to factory reset and return the laptop).

1.) Get a program that will allow me to run Windows 7 inside of Windows 10 as a simulator of sorts. My concern with this though is that it will be slow and Windows 10 will still be sending and receiving data, altering programs etc in the background ( I strongly oppose the privacy policies of Windows 10, I do not like the idea of  being monitored ). If there are ways around this please let me know.

2.) Nuke the HDD and do a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate. This could affect my warranty though and in the event that I have to return the laptop getting all the correct programs and Windows 10 back on it like it was out of the box xould be tricky or even impossible.

I thought I was quite tech savvy given that my degree is in Computer Science, but Windows 10 is just a total abortion of an Operating System that I am struggling to navigate. It seems as though it was built with Microsofts interests in mind at the expense of the consumer. it just slows everything all the way down. I've been timing its performance alongside my slowly dying 8 year old current work laptop and the load times are almost double on the new laptop! It's not as if the new laptop is a cheap entry level model either, it's an MSi Gaming Laptop ( I do a lot of Graphic Design so the dedicated graphics is ideal ).

Here is the laptop I bought > http://www.ebuyer.com/770451-msi-gl62-7qf-gaming-laptop-backpack-9s7-16j562-1672

Another thing that worries me is Driver issues if I manage to get Windows 7 on. I can see a scenario where I manage to get Windows 7 on but end up with technical issues and no way to restore the machine to factory settings to return it.

In summary, ideally I would like to install Windows 7 Ultimate as my main OS with Windows 10 just as a backup on its own partition in case I ever need it for whatever reason. Can I do this without purchasing another Windows 7 key without buggering my Warranty? It is imperative that I get Windows 7 otherwise this laptop is as useful to me as a chocolate fire poker.

[Option5]

11 minutes ago, Renewed Investor said:

Hi everyone, I know we have some smart members here who are much better with IT problems than I am. I'll give you a run down of my situation.

I bought a new laptop for work as my current one is on it's last legs. The new one arrived yesterday and I've had nothing but bother with it. Firstly, none of my work software will work with Windows 10 and so I want to install Windows 7 instead. The problem is that I no longer have the product key and so can't do the "downgrade" method of installing it through Windows 10.

My approach to this problem was to then try and get into the BIOS and tell the machine to boot from the Windows 7 disc I have but that is not an option anymore it would seem. This leaves me with only two options as far as I can gather (well, 3 actually but the third option is to factory reset and return the laptop).

1.) Get a program that will allow me to run Windows 7 inside of Windows 10 as a simulator of sorts. My concern with this though is that it will be slow and Windows 10 will still be sending and receiving data, altering programs etc in the background ( I strongly oppose the privacy policies of Windows 10, I do not like the idea of  being monitored ). If there are ways around this please let me know.

2.) Nuke the HDD and do a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate. This could affect my warranty though and in the event that I have to return the laptop getting all the correct programs and Windows 10 back on it like it was out of the box xould be tricky or even impossible.

I thought I was quite tech savvy given that my degree is in Computer Science, but Windows 10 is just a total abortion of an Operating System that I am struggling to navigate. It seems as though it was built with Microsofts interests in mind at the expense of the consumer. it just slows everything all the way down. I've been timing its performance alongside my slowly dying 8 year old current work laptop and the load times are almost double on the new laptop! It's not as if the new laptop is a cheap entry level model either, it's an MSi Gaming Laptop ( I do a lot of Graphic Design so the dedicated graphics is ideal ).

Here is the laptop I bought > http://www.ebuyer.com/770451-msi-gl62-7qf-gaming-laptop-backpack-9s7-16j562-1672

Another thing that worries me is Driver issues if I manage to get Windows 7 on. I can see a scenario where I manage to get Windows 7 on but end up with technical issues and no way to restore the machine to factory settings to return it.

In summary, ideally I would like to install Windows 7 Ultimate as my main OS with Windows 10 just as a backup on its own partition in case I ever need it for whatever reason. Can I do this without purchasing another Windows 7 key without buggering my Warranty? It is imperative that I get Windows 7 otherwise this laptop is as useful to me as a chocolate fire poker.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3050502/windows/you-can-dual-boot-windows-7-with-windows-10-but-theres-a-catch.html

I use easyus to resize the partion and creat a new one.

[Renewed Investor]

4 minutes ago, Option5 said:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3050502/windows/you-can-dual-boot-windows-7-with-windows-10-but-theres-a-catch.html

I use easyus to resize the partion and creat a new one.

Thanks, I'll give this a try.

[Renewed Investor]

37 minutes ago, Option5 said:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3050502/windows/you-can-dual-boot-windows-7-with-windows-10-but-theres-a-catch.html

I use easyus to resize the partion and creat a new one.

That didn't work unfortunately. It starts the installation on the new partition but then I get a message stating "windows setup experienced an unexpected error. to install windows, restart the installation" and it ends there. Any ideas?

[mspL4]

Take an image of windows 10 installation using something like 1 of these tools: https://opensource.com/life/16/8/4-alternatives-ghost-disk-imaging

Repartition drive to 2 partitions using something like G-Parted

Restore image back to Partition 1

Boot from Windows 7 DVD etc & it'll detect the other installation so instalk it to second partition, thus dual booting the system

[Option5]

2 minutes ago, Renewed Investor said:

That didn't work unfortunately. It starts the installation on the new partition but then I get a message stating "windows setup experienced an unexpected error. to install windows, restart the installation" and it ends there. Any ideas?

You could try changing the bios option for secure boot to disabled. Otherwise check the key is for the right product 32/64 home/pro.

[Renewed Investor]

14 minutes ago, Option5 said:

You could try changing the bios option for secure boot to disabled. Otherwise check the key is for the right product 32/64 home/pro.

Disabled the secure boot and still nothing. As for the disc it is the 64bit Windows 7 Ultimate. It manages to save temporary files on to the new partition but then I get the message mentioned above and the process comes to an end.

[Option5]

more  bios      Adanced : Boot Speed > Normal

then Advanced   System Config.> Boot Mode > CSM Boot

Other than that i'm stumped for tonight.....

[Option5]

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows_10-windows_install/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-and-windows-7-after/7e43130f-11a9-4167-832e-97ed168ae369

seems pretty comprehensive

[Renewed Investor]

Cheers for all the help, I'll give that a go and if that fails I'll be factory resetting it and sending the laptop back.

[Kyouken]

how about trying to get you work programs going?

I have found that a lot that don't work rely on older .net versions which Windows 10 doesn't come with. Installing it isn't straight forward but isn't that hard.

 

There is a dism command you run in cmd, as admin. Google brings up lots where you use an install DVD but there is a command to download it instead but I can't find it.

[Longtermrenter]

Try and right click programs you want to install and use troubleshoot install, probably says something different. Often you can tell windows a program worked on an earlier version and it will adapt the installation to work. The other option is to install a virtual machine on windows 10 and install windows 7 on that. 

 

 

[Senny Pijama]

Windows 10 comes with its own virtual machine software, which means you should be able to run Windows 7 from within Windows 10.

It is not enabled by default.

To enable it, click on the start menu and type turn windows features on or off (the option should appear in the menu before you've finished typing all that!) and hit return

Click the checkbox by Hyper-V and click ok.

Once it's installed launch the Hyper-V Manager from the start menu

You'll need an ISO file (which is an image of a CD) to install Windows 7. If you don't have this (because you just have the CD), download it from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7

When you've done that, click on Action in Hyper-V manager, choose Quick Create, and hopefully the rest will be self-explanatory.

Windows 10 is incredibly stable, and incredibly fast, which makes me wonder if there's something wrong with your new PC. Make sure you install all Windows updates before you do the above.

 

 

 

[Ash4781]

Out of the blue today:-

huh?

Your version of Windows 10 is out of date

Your device is running an older version of Windows 10. To continue to receive security updates and enjoy the latest features Windows 10 has to offer, you need to update your device to a newer version of Windows 10.^*

 

 

[ChumpusRex]

3 hours ago, Ash4781 said:

Out of the blue today:-

huh?

Your version of Windows 10 is out of date

Microsoft changed the way updates are supplied for windows 10.

Previously, updates were supplied piecemeal, as incremental updates. Over several years of managing a windows 7 or windows 8 installation, you could accumulate thousands of individual updates. 

The problem for MS was that not every computer would download or install every update - sometimes they wouldn't install due to a conflict, or because you didn't have an option activated which needed the update. The result was that almost every computer running windows had a different configuration and different collection of updates/patches, which made dealing with potential interactions and security problems between multiple individual updates and other software completely impossible. 

With windows 10, every 6 months you get a major update to windows 10 which includes all the interim updates in one giant update, typically including some new functionality or more fundamental (e.g. usability) fixes. This way, MS only has to deal with computers in the field only having up to 6 months worth of updates.

If you don't install the major updates (pushed out in March and September) then MS will cut you off from further update and support. 

If for some reason, your computer hasn't installed this automatically, then you can manually install it from the following link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 

[Ash4781]

2 hours ago, ChumpusRex said:

Microsoft changed the way updates are supplied for windows 10.

Previously, updates were supplied piecemeal, as incremental updates. Over several years of managing a windows 7 or windows 8 installation, you could accumulate thousands of individual updates. 

The problem for MS was that not every computer would download or install every update - sometimes they wouldn't install due to a conflict, or because you didn't have an option activated which needed the update. The result was that almost every computer running windows had a different configuration and different collection of updates/patches, which made dealing with potential interactions and security problems between multiple individual updates and other software completely impossible. 

With windows 10, every 6 months you get a major update to windows 10 which includes all the interim updates in one giant update, typically including some new functionality or more fundamental (e.g. usability) fixes. This way, MS only has to deal with computers in the field only having up to 6 months worth of updates.

If you don't install the major updates (pushed out in March and September) then MS will cut you off from further update and support. 

If for some reason, your computer hasn't installed this automatically, then you can manually install it from the following link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 

Thanks I did it earlier today. It took 2 hours to run!

[longgone]

20 hours ago, Ash4781 said:

Out of the blue today:-

huh?

Your version of Windows 10 is out of date

Your device is running an older version of Windows 10. To continue to receive security updates and enjoy the latest features Windows 10 has to offer, you need to update your device to a newer version of Windows 10.^*

 

 

creators fall is the latest version. 

[GinAndPlatonic]

14 hours ago, Ash4781 said:

Thanks I did it earlier today. It took 2 hours to run!

My wifes net book does not have enough memory it seems so cannot install....where to go from here....buy yet another net book.?

[Option5]

30 minutes ago, GinAndPlatonic said:

My wifes net book does not have enough memory it seems so cannot install....where to go from here....buy yet another net book.?

Memory or disk space? If disk space check for a directory called "Windows old" and delete it if present to free up disk space.

[longgone]

1 hour ago, GinAndPlatonic said:

My wifes net book does not have enough memory it seems so cannot install....where to go from here....buy yet another net book.?

i would take off any data and start from scratch . it`s easy to make a usb build disk from the link above 

[longgone]

1 hour ago, GinAndPlatonic said:

My wifes net book does not have enough memory it seems so cannot install....where to go from here....buy yet another net book.?

or do a disk cleanup and pick the system files option and tick everything if it is one of those emmc netbooks. 

[Tiger Woods?]

On 9/1/2017 at 4:36 AM, Renewed Investor said:

Here is the laptop I bought > http://www.ebuyer.com/770451-msi-gl62-7qf-gaming-laptop-backpack-9s7-16j562-1672

Another thing that worries me is Driver issues if I manage to get Windows 7 on. I can see a scenario where I manage to get Windows 7 on but end up with technical issues and no way to restore the machine to factory settings to return it.

 

The bad news is that, if the link you provide is correct, you have a 7 series chip which does not support Windows 7 nor 8 nor 8.1), but I figure given the timing of this post you've already found that out.

I built my own machine around the time of the original post and I made damn sure I got a 6 series chip so I didn't have to touch the abortions that are Windows 7+x for x>0. Don't know what I am going to do when this PC eventually fails.