Will any Windows 7 CD work in any laptop?

Hi all

I want to downgrade a Win8 and/or Win10 laptop to Win7. The question is, if I buy a Win7 CD from eBay, will it work?

Or does the CD have to be specific for a certain laptop?

Thanks.

It's not the CD, any CD will work in any laptop,.. however, it's the Serial Number/Key that's important...

there are different versions of Windows 7 (8 or 10) There's Home Basic, Home, Pro and Enterprise etc...

The version of windows installed, is determined by the Serial number, not the disk..

It it's a new laptop there might not be drivers for Windows seven either

It's not the CD, any CD will work in any laptop,.. however, it's the Serial Number/Key that's important...

 

there are different versions of Windows 7 (8 or 10) There's Home Basic, Home, Pro and Enterprise etc...

 

The version of windows installed, is determined by the Serial number, not the disk..

The laptop I've got has been upgraded to Win10. I don't know what version of Win7 it had on before.

What would the next step be?

It it's a new laptop there might not be drivers for Windows seven either

The laptop's been upgraded from Win 7/8 to Win10.

Look on the bottom, if it had 7 on before you might have a key, or might be under the battery. See what version it says it was, home, Pro or whatever. Did your do the upgrade? You might be able to roll back to 7 but a clean Install would be better. If you can't roll back and don't have a cd that came with it then you just need to down load or borrow a cd version that Matches the key on the bottom

what make and model laptop is it?

Large OEM manufacturers like Dell supply their own customised Windows 7 installation DVDs that automatically activate Windows offline.

If you can get hold of one of these for your make of laptop, it should work

Thanks guys. And it has a Win10 sticker on it but no mention of a key. It's an Asus X553M laptop btw.

And when I looked into one of the settings options, it said something about reverting back to Win7. To be precise it was control panel > system and security > back up and restore (Windows 7).

Does that mean the laptop originally was a Win7 one even though there's no sticker to suggest it was?

Your main consideration is to establish if it is 32-bit or 64-bit. Windows 7 Notebooks normally had their CoA on the underside of the Notebook. If it was an upgrade to 10 from 7 then I would guess a factory restore should take it back to Windows 7.

What makes you think it will work with W7?

Looking at that the ASUS web site, its supplied with W8, ASUS do not appear to have W7 drivers.

https://www.asus.com/uk/Laptops/X553MA/HelpDesk_Manual/

Options:

A) Abandon the idea of installing W7

B) Treat yourself to A W7 disc with activation key, try and install W7.

If you choose option B, post back here on the success/ failure.

OP - before attempting an install of Windows 7, remember to do a back up of the Windows 10 that you now have. Windows 7 end of life is 14th January 2020 so you will then need to reinstall the current operating system if you want to stay safe online.

Stick with Windows 10 and use Classic Start Menu. That makes it a bit more bearable.

Your main consideration is to establish if it is 32-bit or 64-bit. Windows 7 Notebooks normally had their CoA on the underside of the Notebook. If it was an upgrade to 10 from 7 then I would guess a factory restore should take it back to Windows 7.

I did a factory reset not too long ago and there was no option of going back to Win7. If there was, sadly it didn't happen.

What makes you think it will work with W7?

 

Looking at that the ASUS web site, its supplied with W8, ASUS do not appear to have W7 drivers.

 

 

https://www.asus.com/uk/Laptops/X553MA/HelpDesk_Manual/

 

 

Options:

 

A) Abandon the idea of installing W7

B) Treat yourself to A W7 disc with activation key, try and install W7.

 

If you choose option B, post back here on the success/ failure.

Will any Win7 disc with any activation key work? - Whether an original or copy?

OP - before attempting an install of Windows 7, remember to do a back up of the Windows 10 that you now have. Windows 7 end of life is 14th January 2020 so you will then need to reinstall the current operating system if you want to stay safe online.

Thanks.

Stick with Windows 10 and use Classic Start Menu. That makes it a bit more bearable.

I'll have a try with that.