windows 8 preinstalled but need windows 7 only

Hello to all the gurus here, i have a question i just bought a laptop today and it came with windows 8 pre installed . I do not like the OS but no one had the windows 7 in stock .I need to find out can i uninstall the windows 8 and buy the full windows 7 version and install it and if so will i need to worry about any drivers for the software that the laptop has? I don't want to partition as I am not very savvy at the techno world hence my being here .Thank you in advance for your replies in advance p.s. laptop is a HP pavilion 6 gb ram 750 hdd 2.4 processor

If you bought the machine with Windows 8 Professional on it, you actually can contact HP for a Windows 7 Professional install disc, as you have rights to it. If you bought a machine with Windows 8 (non-pro), you will have to buy Windows 7 if you want to use it. As to drivers, etc, it's hard to say as HP makes quite a lot of pavilion models - it'd be best to check the support page on HP's site for your particular model of Pavilion to see what's available, driver-wise, for Windows 7 on that hardware.

if i delete the windows 8 OS will it also remove the drivers ? or should i install the windows 7 prior to uninstalling the windows 8? I appreciate your input and fast response ...

You would simply install Windows 7 and let it format and partition the disk, wiping out what's already on it. There's no "uninstalling" an OS anymore, but yes, you'll need the drivers (if any) necessary somewhere safe, like a USB key, before doing so. If you saved anything to the hard disk that you'd like to keep to this point, backing that up as well is strongly recommended.

where would i find the drivers that are currently on the windows 8 system so i could copy them to a flash drive or disc? you are the best by the way thanks

Technically I think you will be fine to install windows 7 in your laptop, the hardware in your laptop probably is not that new and designed just to work with Windows 8.

In every new laptop, the hard drive usually has 1 hidden partition where they store the Windows recovery software and also when the first time you boot your laptop, they usually advice you to create the recovery disks, just make sure you do that before installing windows 7 so if for any reason you cannot get your laptop to work with windows 7, you can always reinstall windows 8.
Also, go to HP support website, look for Windows 7 drivers for your laptop model.

In the past, I used to help friends to install or upgrade Windows, I use a third party software called "Driver Genius Pro" and I ran it after re-install/Upgrade and it would find every missing drivers that need to be installed so I don't really need to go to the manufacturer website to dig out for drivers, save me time.
Hope it will work out for you.

Again, to answer the above question, Driver Genius Pro can back up the drivers that are currently installed in your system but you don't really need them because when you install Windows 7 or 8, those drivers will be installed automatically thru Windows Installation and after that, if the drivers need to be updated, Microsoft will update it thru Windows Update.

Before going through the hassle of changing the OS, have you tried using a program such as Classic Shell or Start8? I use Start8 and it lets me run my Windows 8 pre-install always in the desktop mode. It defaults to that mode at boot, too (configurable). I did that instead of "downgrading" to Windows 7 (which actually feels more like an upgrade judging from the UI frankly). But it works and I can still get SW support from the laptop manufacturer if I want it.

Did you make the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disks?


http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03502680.pdf

HP/Compaq said:

Creating HP Recovery media

HP Recovery Manager is a software program that offers a way to create recovery media after you
successfully set up the computer. HP Recovery media can be used to perform system recovery if the
hard drive becomes corrupted. System recovery reinstalls the original operating system and the
software programs installed at the factory, and then configures the settings for the programs. HP
Recovery media can also be used to customize the system or aid in the replacement of a hard drive.

Click to expand...

Make your HP Recovery DVD's first,
than follow this tutorial:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/13326-downgrade-windows-8-windows-7-a.html