Want to downgrade to windows 7

[Redmental1]

I recently purchased a custom built PC from a seller on ebay. When I received it, windows 8.1 is loaded but has not been activated.
I contacted the seller and was emailed the product key. When I manually entered the product key, the message I received was "This is a default product key and cannot not be used to activate windows".

The seller has no other product key to give me.

That being said, I really want to downgrade to windows 7.

Is it possible to just purchase windows 7 home premium from BestBuy and do a clean install on this pc.

Thank You Very Much,

Redmental1

 

[Mark Phelps]

Is it possible to just purchase windows 7 home premium from BestBuy and do a clean install on this pc.

Yes ... but ... a newer machine, particularly one that comes with UEFI and GPT, may not work with Win7 -- the hardware might simply be too new to have any Win7 drivers available for it.

Sounds like the seller is not reputable and used one of the generic "installation" keys for Win8.1 (or, at least, mailed you such a key) instead of properly using a Retail or OEM key.

 

[Ztruker]

You may have problems finding device drivers for Windows 7 but if you persever you should be okay.

If this were me, I'd report him to ebay, get your money back and buy from a reputable dealer. Otherwise he will continue to do this and mess with other people as well.

Instead of buying a copy of Win 7 at BestBuy, buy a new computer there or directly from one of the manufacturers. Get Windows 10 and you're all set (I love to spend other peoples money)

 

[James903]

If you just need the software, you can still buy Windows 7 software in shrink-wrapped retail and OEM packages, sometimes at prices that are literally too good to be true.

 

[Mark Phelps]

To the OP: I stand corrected -- Win7 can be installed to a GPT disk on a machine using UEFI -- but it takes some prep to do this. See the linked article for details: Clean install of Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on a UEFI laptop with GPT partition? - Super User