Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7 (32 Bit) ?

poodles

Does anyone know if it's possible to downgrade Win 8 to Win 7 (32bit)

I want to buy a new laptop but I need Windows 7 (32bit) for an older program that requires it.

I've searched online and people have said that it's quite tricky to do.
Wondering if anyone has any experience with it?

The other option is to buy a laptop that comes with Windows 7 Professional.
Most of the laptops I see are Windows 7 (64bit)
Is it easy to revert down to 32 bit in this case?

Cheers

poodles

I haven't purchased a laptop just yet because I'd like to be sure about getting 32 bit on it before I do.

My situation now is that I'm looking at a HP Probook that has:

Windows 7 Professional 64 (available through downgrade rights from Windows 8 Pro)
This system is pre-installed with Windows 7 Professional software and also comes with a license and media for Windows 8 Pro software.
You may only use one version of the Windows software at a time. Switching between versions will require you to uninstall one version and install the other version.
You must back up all data (files, photos, etc.) before uninstalling and installing operating systems to avoid loss of your data.


I also have in my possession through work:
A Windows 7 Ultimate CD which includes Service Pack 1, 32 Bit Software.

Does anyone know if I could maybe format the new hard drive / windows 7 and then re-install Windows 7 Ultimate (32 Bit) off this CD?

PropJoe10

A 32 bit operating system will only utilise 4GB RAM so generally its not advisable to downgrade from 64 to 32. If you have a 32 bit DVD, I'd advise you to create an ISO file of the operating system using a free tool like BurnAware, and create a virtual machine using the ISO. Then install your program in the virtual machine.

http://lifehacker.com/5204434/the-beginners-guide-to-creating-virtual-machines-with-virtualbox

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Windows 8.1 includes a virtual machine. You can run Windows 7 from within windows 8.1

More details Windows 8.1 hyper-v-run-virtual-machines

You can run a 32 bit version of Win7 in Hyper V, even if you have 64-bit Windows 8.1 as your Operating System.

Capt'n Midnight

poodles wrote: »

Does anyone know if it's possible to downgrade Win 8 to Win 7 (32bit)

No it's not.
Only some windows 8 licenses allow you to downgrade to 7 , and means a clean install of 7 instead of 8.

What's the app ?

There may be alternatives, upgrades, patches or workarounds.

VM's are one option , you could try the windows 10 preview to see if it magically fixes the problem ( straw clutching but at least it's free to try )

Will it work on XP 32 bit ? Because that's what Windows 7 uses in a VM to get backward compatibility.


Also windows 7 went end of life last month.

28064212

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Also windows 7 went end of life last month.

No it didn't, it just moved from "Mainstream" to "Extended" support. It just won't receive any new features, it will still receive security updates