Someone generously donated a Windows 8 laptop to the organization I work for, however we just (finally) standardized on a single OS — Windows 7. I would like to downgrade to Windows 7, but the OS that came with the system was Windows 8 Home Premium, not Pro. If I use Windows Anytime Upgrade to move to Pro, will it then let me downgrade to Windows 7 Pro? Is there another cost effective way to dump Windows 8 for Windows 7 Home Premium or Pro?
Windows – Downgrade Windows 8 Home Premium to Windows 7
anytime-upgradedowngradewindows 7windows 8
Best Answer
As per Microsoft Web Site:
So to answer your question, no you cannot downgrade directly from Windows 8 Home Premium. If you were to upgrade from Home Premium to Pro you would downgrade back to Win7 Pro using the following steps (also from the Microsoft website):
Depending on your licensing arrangement, you may be able to obtain a Windows 7 Pro key for much cheaper than buying a Win 8 Pro key. Verify this before attempting to proceed. If you really are standardized, I would assume you would have a volume license agreement with Microsoft.