Can I go back to Windows 7 in protest at Microsoft?
Q
Microsoft has gone back on its word by releasing Windows 11, and I’m angry that I was duped into upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 several years ago. I was happy with Windows 7, but I believed Microsoft when it said Windows 10 would be the ‘last’ version. Windows 10 isn’t bad but I’ve never felt totally comfortable with it – and now Microsoft is writing it off! I feel I want to protest by wiping Windows 10 and going back to Windows 7. Is this possible? I have my original Windows 7 disc, and my desktop PC has a DVD drive. Ian Carpenter
A
It’s possible but it would be a very bad idea. For starters, Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 – and hasn’t done for a couple of years. The company has issued a couple of security fixes since the official January 2020 cut-off date for support, but that’s no surprise: Microsoft has a track record of supporting products for longer than it says, if only to fix the most serious flaws. However, now that Windows 10 is mainstream, and Windows 11 very much in the ascendant, consumer editions of Windows 7 are unlikely to receive many more fixes – if any.
So we certainly wouldn’t recommend going back to Windows 7 just for the sake of it. It’s an old operating system and will only become increasingly unsafe to use and incompatible with modern stuff. While it’s true that Windows 10 faces the same long-term fate as 7, it is at least guaranteed proper support until October 2025. And, as we’ve already said, it’s not unknown for Microsoft to release security updates for systems beyond their official end-of-support date – so we think Windows 10 will be safe until well into 2026.
Still, if you’re absolutely determined to proceed, there’s very little to it. You’ll be performing a clean install that wipes the old system from your PC, so back up anything important. Then restart your PC with your Windows 7 DVD in the DVD drive and work through the installation instructions. At the ‘Which type of installation do you want?’ screen, choose a ‘Custom (advanced)’ installation (see screenshot), then select the hard drive or partition that contains Windows 10 and click Next. Click OK to confirm that you wish to overwrite the existing installation.