Windows 10 : How to revert?

[kr236rk]

Hi,

Am running a Dell XPS laptop - came with Windows 7, never had any trouble with it. Started receiving the Windows 10 upgrade prompts and with some reserve went for it. Computer has been crashing ever since. Dell now tells me XPS is incompatible with Windows 10 [this is despite Microsoft-bot telling me my system was 'Windows 10 ready'] and the OS has removed my ability to automatically revert to 7.

How do I proceed please? If I do a clean re-install of Win 7 I lose five years of data, can I back this up and how - can I clone the old C drive before I re-install Windows 7?

Thanks

 

[Saltgrass]

If you can keep your system running there may be a place to choose the roll back from the Recovery options.

You may be able to boot into the Win 10 recovery options and have the same option available.

Both of these should be available for 30 days after you do the update.

In many cases where a system is not upgradeable to Win 10 there may be some specific device which causes problems. If you want to try to stop the crashes, unplug everything you can from the system and post back with more info about your system if you want to try.

 

[Tim Locke]

First, what is the CPU and the chipset? Does device manager show any devices not working?
Most likely to be network card. Second likely the touchpad or video drivers.

Is the machine completely uptodate with MS updates...including the May update the other week. I would do that one...not very exciting but claims to fix a lot of niggling problems.

This is what I would do....another try at W10 regardless of Dell.

Back up all the data in the simplest possible way. Copy and paste directories to thumb drives OR to a external disk drive. I personally prefer to use thumb drives even tho' they are slower.
I would be prepared to reload any apps, even get new copies.

Then get all the latest drivers for the machine, probably Windows 8/8.1 drivers from Dell and from the device manufacturers and reset the machine using the built in reset saving nothing first and load any new drivers you got. Play a bit and see if it still hangs. If it does I'd then follow Trouble's plan and download an ISO and try once more with that.

Still fails... get your W7 media and use that with your original product key which should be on the machine somewhere.

Either way, you have your data safely away from the PC until you know it is working.

 

[Vince Massi]

Kr, type "revert to previous system" into Cortana; It's the second from the left in the bottom of your monitor.

Will you lose anything? When 10 started, it should have told you that all your files are right where you left them, or it will tell you that it deleted files and programs that are incompatible with 10. If the files you want are still on 10, then you shouldn't lose them when you revert.

 

[kr236rk]

Thanks guys,

Bit tired - long day. Upgrade was over a month ago so Windows 10 fries everything that was Windows 7, there are now no restore points earlier than Windows 10. Dell now suggest & I agree I should manually extract all my important data onto another hard drive then clean install Windows 7. There is a Microsoft sticker on the base of the laptop that should have my pc reference on it, so I can download Win7 from Microsoft.

The error message may be completely unrelated to the upgrade - it only came to light when I wanted to plug the laptop into a separate monitor and nothing happened.

The pc is

here, it's a 2 core: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-l502x/pd

Here's the error message uploaded as a file.

 

[Vince Massi]

kr, I'm sorry that Win 10 didn't work out for you. Years ago I noted that upgrading a Win 7 laptop o Win 8 produced more problems than it was worth. It appears to work better with 10.

I missed the part where you stated that the thirty days was up, and I apologize.

 

[kr236rk]

No worries, I didn't mention the 30 days but neither did Microsoft that I remember - nor did they tell me they would covertly remove the Windows 7 files I'd need to revert. That is naughty. Meanwhile, I have re-discovered the usb key I was advised to use to create the back-up for the original 2011 Windows 7 OS on my laptop five years ago. This should mean I can wipe my C drive (after copying all the data and saving it elsewhere) and go back to when the XPS was squeaky clean new . Meanwhile, Dell are still trying to resolve the error message which is now definitely related to the use of monitors [monitor detection driver] ... I have a feeling this issue will not be resolved until I revert though.

Can I also add I use a DAW also now upgraded to 10, the Groove media player is useless, crash after crash, I never had any issues with the Windows Media Player on XP and Windows 7. So that computer stands next in line for reversion - not easy, it was second hand, I'll probably have to purchase a new 7 disc. Thank you Microsoft! >:-(

 

[Tony Fitzpatrick]

Feel your pain Kr236rk.....I had a rush of blood to the head end of last year and moved from Windows 8.1 to Win10
on my Sony VAIO laptop. Lost all connections to the internet, no way to upgrade any drivers so after some panicky e-mails to forums and friends found out I could roll-back the installation....lucky me.!!
My point is that after this debacle I invested in a program called Advanced Driver Updater from Systweak.com. It has been my lifesaver for all issues related to drivers being out-of-date, incompatible, or not supported.
I found out that both my Realtek Internet Controller and something called a PCI Card Reader were way out of date, actually the Card reader was obsolete and I deleted it.....also Windows 10 didn't recognize either device !! I run a scan every day to look for updates but I won't be updating to WIN10 anytime in the near future.
Good luck with your rescue operation...!!!

 

[WalterR]

If you get it back going before 7/29, MS is likely to try to force an update on you again. Windows update KB3035583 installs gwx.exe, which is no longer offering "no update" as an option - just now or later.

We're just doing the OOBE today on my wife's computer, which had to go back to Toshiba to replace the SSD after the Win 10 update hurt it. We rolled back to 7, but the drive continued to throw error messages predicting failure. I'm going to immediately take steps to hopefully prevent it from upgrading.

See my thread in the updates section for the things I'm doing to fight the automatic update.

 

[Comp Cmndo]

Your original Dell HDD should have a hidden Recovery partition accessible by F8 upon power up.

1. Boot your computer.
2. Press the F8 key when the Dell logo appears on your screen.
3. When the Advanced Boot Options screen appears, select Repair Your Computer. ...
4. Click Next.
5. Login as “Administrator“. ...
6. Click on Dell Factory Image Recovery and DataSafe options.

 

[URX111]

There's a video on youtube, it's about rolling back after 30 days. It says something like, do a hard drive clean up and before you delete the files, look for a file that says "OLD OS" and that's your Win 7 OS still on your HHD.
You might want to look on youtube .
If you do a clean install of Win 10 to try to fix a problem, this file disapeires .

 

[kr236rk]

Thanks everyone,

Purchased a Win7 rescue disc from Dell which has overwritten W10. I now have a working laptop again, as long as W10 hasn't destabilised it in any other way? I also had to buy a new external HDD to backup everything before re-installing Windows 7.

Opinion seems to fall into two camps 1) It's all the operator's/computer's fault, 2) It's Windows 10.

There is little chance an operator - who is not a professional - can carry out successful diagnostics in just 30 days on Windows 10 OS, then their computer, then the program/s that are going haywire & so forth, to meet the month deadline with any surety. Plus I was unaware of the 30 day deadline (my fault) but wouldn't have been if I'd known Microsoft removes restore capability after 1 month (their fault for not printing that loud & clear from the roof tops), that was a big surprise and shock.

Plus why the flip should we have to evaluate W10 anyway, since Microsoft is telling us our computers are "Windows 10 Ready". They're obviously not. Dell said pre-W10 computers will never run 100% faultlessly on the new OS, even if they do now expect trouble ahead. If you want (cue music) the effortless, seamless Windows 10 experience you need to buy a new computer already running the new operating system.

I call that a licence to print money.

 

[Vince Massi]

Kr, that's a good post, but I need to explain something. As of today, June 8, 2016, there are NO computers on the market designed for Windows 10. Brand-new computers with Win 10 installed are designed for Windows 8.1. Win 10 was designed specifically to be backwards compatible with older hardware, and most of the time it is.

 

[URX111]

I wanted to edit my old post and couldn't find a edit feature, so here it is. There's a video on youtube, it's about rolling back after 30 days. It says something like, do a hard drive clean up and before you delete the files, look for a file that says "OLD OS" or "OLD WIN" (something along those lines) and that's your Win 7 OS still on your storage drive. It's been so long seance I read it, I don't remember exactly. It's still on your drive after 30 days it's just hidden ! It took awhile to get Win 10 to work right, now It's the best. Opinions will very.
You might (you should) want to look on youtube .
If you do a clean install of Win 10 to try to fix a problem, this file disappears .

 

[kr236rk]

Kr, that's a good post, but I need to explain something. As of today, June 8, 2016, there are NO computers on the market designed for Windows 10. Brand-new computers with Win 10 installed are designed for Windows 8.1. Win 10 was designed specifically to be backwards compatible with older hardware, and most of the time it is.

Thanks. Well, someone better explain that to Dell Technical, they told me that pre-10 computers will have trouble with this new OS now or in the future, that is from the horse's mouth. I have another computer - a desktop - running W10, the 'Groove' audio player crashes as soon as you look at it - how backwards compatible is that? He said new computers running the new Windows 10 will experience "the best operating system ever designed".

Much more of this and I'm out of here to a Mac!

 

[Vince Massi]

Kr, what Dell told you is partly true. Rigs designed for 8.1 generally run 10 better than rigs designed for 7. 8.1 machines have a superior internal architecture.

All three of my Windows 8 laptops run 10 with no problem AT ALL. My Windows 7 desktop has had a few minor issues.

 

[kr236rk]

Thanks,

It's impossible to get to the truth in this post-modern world, everything smoke and mirrors. Some say W10 works some say not. Some say it works on some computers, others say it works on all computers that Microsoft send the pop-up message to - no mention on that about potential issues. No, MS say nothing except "upgrade, upgrade". I had one arrogant ISP technician telling me the fault was mine or that my laptop was defective, the one that has run flawlessly since 2011 with Windows 7.

:-o

 

[Peretz]

If you have not yet accepted Win 10 beware of this. We had one computer that it was done to automatically! Turned it on in the am and it welcomed us to Win 10. We did not want this, but it was foisted upon us without permission.

Be aware of the 30 day limit and use it if needed.