Help with Downgrading to Win 7

Hi all,
First time poster here hoping you can help me. Our 3 year-old Tosh Satellite (Win 8) recently died on us and requires a complete rebuild (wipe and install). As I really don't get on with Win8 I was hoping to downgrade to Win 7. With that in mind I purchased a Win 7 Home Premium disc from Amazon but am unable to complete the install. After getting the laptop to boot from the CD (after first diasbling Secure Boot) the disc loads the files then goes to the Windows loading screen (the 4 or so pretty little Windows dots that rotate, you know) and crashes every time.

The disc says the following (which I failed to notice when purchasing):
"Important Information About This Product OEM software is intended for system builders and small OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) who manufacture computer systems and pre-install OEM system builder software onto those systems. It is not intended for purchase or installation by consumers."

Can you guys answer the following?

- Does this mean that I definitely can't use this disc to rebuild my machine?C
- Can I actually downgrade to Win 7
- Do I need to look for a specific type of disc to do it (if the current one does indeed turn out to be the wrong one)
- If I have the right disc what do I need to do to make the install work
- If I don't, what do I need to buy and how much will it roughly cost (I'm in the UK)

Regards,
Steve

You will find out that power controls will be the only part that you may not find a driver for.

Everything else you can get online a the chipset mfg website.

Besides disabling Secure boot. You need to change UEFI in the bios to CSM.

broe23 said:

Besides disabling Secure boot. You need to change UEFI in the bios to CSM.

Click to expand...

Here is more info.

UEFI Boot Mode (installing using the GPT partition style) and Legacy BIOS Boot Mode (installing using the MBR partition style): link

If you have an OEM PC that came with Windows 8 64-bit preinstalled and you want to install Windows 7 64-bit, then you must disable Secure Boot, because Secure Boot is not compatible with Windows 7. But if Windows 7 64-bit installation does not succeed in UEFI boot mode, try installing Windows 7 in Legacy BIOS (aka CSM) boot mode.

Click to expand...

Downgrade from Windows 8 and Secure Boot - TOSHIBA FORUMS

- Go to the Security tab and set the "Secure Boot" setting to "Disabled".
- Go to the Advanced tab, enter "System Configuration" and set the Boot Mode to "CSM Boot."
- Press F10 to save and exit.

In order to successfully install Windows 7, you need to remove the existing GPT partitions during Setup and create new ones.

Click to expand...

-or-

How to download and clean install Windows 8.1 if you have an OEM computer with UEFI firmware (BIOS) embedded Windows 8/8.1 product key. -> link

edit:

Teabar said:

- Does this mean that I definitely can't use this disc to rebuild my machine?

Click to expand...

No.

Teabar said:

- Can I actually downgrade to Win 7

Click to expand...

"Notice that only Windows 8 Pro comes with downgrade rights (to Windows 7 Professional). So those without the Pro version would need to upgrade to it or pay for Windows 7."

You can use that disk. The OEM System Builders Edition is meant for your mom and pop computer store that builds custom PC's and then sells them. Your just selling that PC to yourself. OEM means you call the builder for Tech Support not Microsoft. So you are your own tech support. I've used OEM versions of Windows 7 here at home on my PC's with no issues. There are other restrictions that OEM versions have that the full retail version doesn't but I won't go into it here. They don't affect your issue. Your Issue is likely due to your PC having UEFI and being configured for Windows 8. Have a look at this.
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Help Forums
Windows 7 Installation Failure - Overcome - Windows 7 Help Forums
USB Windows 7 Installation Key Drive - Create - Windows 7 Help Forums

One more link: How to Downgrade Windows 8 Preinstalled to Windows 7

Edit: You could have saved yourself some money by staying with Windows 8.1 and install Classic Shell. Then you would have had a computer that looked and felt a lot like Windows 7 yet still give you the opportunity to try out Windows 8 features.

Look at your PC on your manufacturers website and see if it's compatible with Windows 7. You also need to see the drivers you require for windows 7.

Thanks everybody for taking the time to post and advise. This is all a bit too technical for me so I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Win 8.1 laptop recovery disc from Toshiba. I'll just have to learn some tricks on how to make 8 easier to use.
Steve

Teabar said:

Thanks everybody for taking the time to post and advise. This is all a bit too technical for me so I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Win 8.1 laptop recovery disc from Toshiba. I'll just have to learn some tricks on how to make 8 easier to use.
Steve

Click to expand...

It's good to have disks.
I have factory recovery disks for 8 oem on my Gateway computer.

My brain is a little slow so I will ask if you have tried-

Create installation media for Windows 8.1 - Windows Help

If this doesn't apply to your situation please forgive my ignorance.

In fact, if you have a system image backup, it's easy to downgrade to win 7, a lot of software have launched downgrade to previous OS like these, These tools are easy to use.
http://www.acronis.com/en-us/promotion/win10/
System GoBack - Best Windows RollBack Alternative to Downgrade Windows 10 to Windows 7/8