You should be able to install whatever you want on your laptop.. No OS can deny you a preference of other OSs on your hardware.
Microsoft did not sell you the laptop, therefore Microsoft cannot deny your choice of OS.
However finding current drivers for an old OS may be problematic, but not impossible..
Im a 2000 & Win7 diehard, but I actually enjoy Win 8 very much.
It is soooo fast even after so many apps and programs installed and customizations.
As ZTRUKER pointed out, you can get apps/programs that emulate the Windows 7 platform with the benefits of Windows 8
Or do as I did,. I dual boot my system thinking Id give up 8 and go back to my Win 7, but that hasnt been the case at all, ive completely abandoned my beloved Win 7.
I only use it to test issues others have with win 7, and try to resolve them.,
And as a backup in case I have issues with my Win 8, which has not arisen since my install back in March 2013.