Windows 7

[pixie373]

Excuse stupid question please...

I am buying my son a laptop for 18th birthday, but he dislikes Windows 8 and wants Windows 7. However, they all seem to come with 8 at the moment. Can i just get a Windows 7 disc and install it myself?
He would laugh if he knew i was asking...
thank you xx

[Mattk]

This may help...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417359,00.asp

[pixie373]

Thank you very much, mattk- so not that straightforward really. I did email Knowhow at PC World, who said if i buy it, they will put it on for £50, which is quite a lot of extras for a £550 laptop, i think.
Is it still possible to buy laptops with Windows 7?

[ll_billym]

In all honesty it's not worth the hassle to downgrade as it's a lot of work and you'll need disks/drivers, etc. especially if it's a new laptop as some features may not work with an older operating system than it was designed for.

Either buy an older laptop that comes with Win7 or if it's just specific things he doesn't like go through something like this to make it more like Win7..

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/software-and-web-apps/how-to-make-windows-8-look-like-windows-7-50009546/

[pixie373]

Thanks, billym. I have just shown him that link, but he doesn't seem impressed. I think we might need to go for an older laptop then, that still has Windows 7 on it.
thank you both for your help x

[Old_Geezer]

Would they not consider flogging a PC without the OS; and slinging a Win 7 installation for your son to put on, into the deal ?

[pixie373]

It might be worth asking, og. Thanks. It seems to be something they are trying to discourage, for some reason.

[StripeTheGremlin]

Though I am no expert one thing I do know is that downgrading in regards to anything is not only tedious but at times doesn't come without risk.
Here is what the official Microsoft website had to say about it:
http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/downgrade_rights.aspx#fbid=_sfqlnqivoh
You need to have downgrade rights which only some versions are eligible for and then there are like two activation processes as also explained by PCWorld:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2015107/downgrading-from-windows-8-to-7-what-you-need-to-know.html?page=2

It might be easier to just find a used Windows 7 laptop or for your son to live with Windows 8. You could even just go with a Macbook but it's up to you both. Upon single witness Windows 8 does appear to be difficult and tedious to use and the setup process alone seemed to annoy my best friend who recently got a new Windows 8 laptop also by force of availability. So honestly I don't blame your son for not wanting to use it.

[VHG]

You can still buy laptops with Windows 7 on them.

Most businesses still use W7 (or earlier) so just go to a web site that sells business laptops.

For example the Dell Business web site still have laptops with W7 on them.

All these Dell business laptops below still have W7 on them

http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/laptop-deals.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukbsdt1&l=en&;s=bsd&~ck=mn

[VHG]

All these laptops on ebuyer (not ebay) come with Windows 7 on them

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/cat/Laptops?a05471=Windows+7+Pro+64bit

[StripeTheGremlin]

Sounds like a good deal, go with VHG's information and just buy a Windows 7 laptop. Too bad my best friend didn't know about that. Nor did I.

[pixie373]

Wow. Thank you. i think you're probably right, from a convenience point of view. It looks like even if you downgrade, it means everything might not work properly. I've asked him to have a look. Lost copy- will paste in a mo:-\

[pixie373]

Acer TravelMate P453 Core i5 4GB 500GB Win 7 Pro & Win 8 Pro Laptop

for £399. Any good?

[ShadowPuppet]

This is it right?
http://www.acerdirect.co.uk/Acer_TravelMate_P453_Core_i5_4GB_500GB_Win_7_Pro_-_Win_8_Pro_Laptop_NX.V6ZEK.020/version.asp

That looks exactly like what I've got though mine is an aspire and after 5 years it still runs perfectly. Good deal.

(Recovered account of StripeTheGremlin)

[pixie373]

Yes, i think that's it, shadow (stripe) with 20% off. Brilliant! I will go for that, then.
Thank you for all your help, everyone xx

[galeck1947]

You can still order Win 7 laptops and desk tops until 14TH October 2014 from brand name manufacturers .HP still advertise them on their website and are available from their store.

[pixie373]

Thank you, galeck. That's useful to know x