BED HED   10 #1 Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) I am looking at buying a new laptop soon but have had previous issues with downgrading a Windows 8 HP laptop to Windows 7 due to BIOS boot settings and finding drivers that work with older software  I have been told that HP are difficult for downgrades as they only offer drivers for current Windows versions but it seems looking at their website that they now offer some Windows 7 drivers for new hardware  I have been looking at laptops around £500 and have been wanting something of premium quality and performance without forking out Apple prices, I require backlit keyboard for night use, comprehensive connections / optical drive / card reader / 15" screen preferably and well stocked with RAM and dedicated graphics, here's what I've narrowed down...  http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=ECC_BUNDLE_4900511&opt=&sel=PCNB  I had looked at all brands from Dell, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, Acer and Asus but this HP looks amazing for the price, I suppose getting Windows 7 on this won't be too hard thanks to utilities like Slim Drivers and so long as I have the network / wireless drivers first then it should be a breeze! Edited March 2, 2015 by BED HED Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
allysum   10 #2 Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Post removed Edited March 25, 2015 by allysum Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Mikes10   10 #3 Posted March 3, 2015 As far as I am aware only machines with windows-8/8.1 Pro are have downgrade rights to windows-7 Pro (see MS link below)  Some HP business laptops can be downgraded to Windows-7 (see HP link below)  Most (if not all) laptops supplied with Windows 8/8.1 have UEFI firmware whereby the MS Product key is encoded into UEFI. To install and boot from Windows 7 UEFI-secure boot has to be turned off and legacy boot turned on. However I am reliably informed not all laptops will allow a Windows-7 installation. (sorry do not know makes or models).  Personally I would stick with Windows-8 and then get the free upgrade to Windows-10 (probably September/October).  http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en-gb/licensing/sblicensing/pages/downgrade_rights.aspx#fbid=Tf_Qg_XauUn  http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/List.aspx?sel=PBNB&ctrl=f Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Jomie   30 #4 Posted March 3, 2015 eBuyer has some HP laptops already set up with Windows 7. Here is an example. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Xboxfanuk   10 #5 Posted March 4, 2015 If you can deal with Windows 8 a bit longer Windows 10 is around the corner and will be free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
