Looking to buy a new PC? Make sure you get one with the operating system you want, already pre-installed.
HP support mentions that downgrading your new Windows 8 PC may cause hardware issues and you may ultimately have to return to Windows 8 to get things to work again. Besides having major hardware issues, reverting to Windows 7 could be a time consuming task that will require you to modify the BIOS in order to work with previous versions of Windows.
Here is the response from an HP Administrator when asked about downgrading:
“HP does not recommend downgrading on any HP consumer desktop and notebook products. After October 26, 2012, HP consumer desktop and notebook products will ship only with Windows 8. Windows 7 will not be supported on these new platforms, and no drivers, apps, or Windows 7 content will be available through HP. If users choose to downgrade their HP consumer desktop or notebook system, HP will continue to support the hardware but if there is an issue where HP diagnostics are required OR it is determined that the loaded software or upgrade operating system is causing the issue, HP may suggest returning the system to the original Windows 8 OS that shipped with the computer.”
As a Windows 8 user I don’t feel the urge to downgrade. In most cases I have actually spent very little time using the new tile UI, in fact I spend about 90% of my time on the “old desktop”. I don’t purposely avoid the new UI, it’s just that many of the apps I use are either not designed for Windows 8 or have one too many bugs at this point. Only time will tell if users start to drop Windows 8 and go back with Windows 7, but I don’t see why anyone would. Microsoft will obviously be continuing to patch the new OS to ensure things are running smoothly and there are even a few ways to make Windows 8 look and feel more like previous versions.
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