How to uninstall Windows 10 and return Windows 8

Windows 10 today causes a lot of controversy over the work and feasibility of the installation. And many of those who encountered the installation offer, or users who installed it, are trying to figure out how to get rid of it and restore the computer to its original state. There are several basic options for this.

Windows 10: Prehistory

When Microsoft laid out on its official resource a free release of the new "operating system" Windows 10, users immediately had a temptation to install it and try it out, especially as it constantly reminded the icon hanging in the system tray. Then, no less than now, no one for some reason did not think about how to remove Windows 10 after installation in the event that it does not like or will be uncomfortable in the work. As practice shows, today with this many users have problems.

The first thing that bribed users, exactly what is downloaded and installed Windows 10 (Russian version) for free, in contrast to their predecessors, the official versions of which were very expensive.

There is one more thing: the fact is that even the very first version of the system, called the Technical Preview, was installed as Windows 10, activated by the developers themselves. It only came out a few of its main varieties. And at first the key or license was not required at all. The main condition was the registration on the Microsoft website. After that, the password was answered for Windows 10, which, in fact, was a Microsoft account.

Nevertheless, even the then reminder, and today's already established system, many cause, to put it mildly, irritation and dissatisfaction with some new aspects of the work. Therefore, the first tip: before agreeing to install the "dozens" on your terminal, look at what it is and how Windows 10 behaves on other computers. Perhaps this will be enough to make a decision in one direction or the other (install a new operating system or not).

Windows 10 is ready for installation: how to cancel?

So, we'll start from the very beginning, that is, from the moment when a reminder appears in the tray that the system is ready for installation. We assume that the user does not want to install it, but the ill-fated message appears again and again.

Naturally, the easiest way to hide the icon from the notification area and not pay attention to it. But notice, hiding will be only external, and the system will still continue to monitor its own updates and eventually will still try to install it on the computer as an update on top of the "seven" and "eight" (good on XP and "Vista" such tricks are not pass). That's when you have to think about how to cancel the mandatory installation of Windows 10. It's not always easy to do this, so first let's see how to get rid of the annoying installation offer. This is part of a more general solution to the problem - how to cancel the installation of Windows 10.

Step One: Installing Updates Client Updates

So, we have a situation when the message with the installation suggestion for the new OS was activated, but the user does not want to install it either in the form of updating the existing "operating system" or in any other version, but you need to leave updates for the existing OS. In general, if the question arose that Windows 10 is not needed (activated or not), then it is necessary to perform some actions.

To begin with, you should install a special package for the "Update Center" of the existing system. You can download it on the official Microsoft Update resource. For Windows 7, this is the KB3075851 package, for Windows 8 is KB3065988. In principle, after activating the download link, the package will be installed automatically into the existing system. So there are no problems here.

Step Two: Disable the installation of Windows 10 in the system registry

Now, in solving the problem of how to cancel the installation of Windows 10, it is time for the most important step. For the next operation, you need to enter the system registry using the regedit command in the "Run" menu bar (Win + R).

Here in the HKLM and later in the SOFTWARE section, you need to find the policy settings directory, and then through the Microsoft and Windows subfolders, go to the WindowsUpdate directory (if you do not have one, you'll need to create it). To the right of the window, right-click to create a 32-bit DWORD parameter and give it the name DisableOSUpgrade, then enter it and assign a value of "1". Then we exit the editor and reboot the system.

Step Three: Additional actions with the registry

But that's not all, and it's too early to rejoice. If we are talking about how to cancel the installation of Windows 10 in full, you should do one more similar action.

Again we enter the registry, but in the HKLM branch with the transition to the SOFTWARE menu we use the Microsoft partition, where, going down the folder tree, we need to find the directory OSUpgrade. Again, if there is not one, you need to create it, and in turn, create a DWORD parameter named ReservationsAllowed and assign it a value of "0". Then restart the system again. All reminders are disabled.

What do you need to know if the "ten" is already established?

Now consider the situation where a new operating system has already been installed for some reason. How to remove Windows 10? In principle, it's very simple. But we need to pay attention to two important factors. First, the rollback to the previous system is possible only within 30 days after the installation. Secondly, this can only be done if the files of the old system on top of which Windows 10 was installed were not deleted. Otherwise, nothing happens.

How to return Windows 8 (8.1 or 7) in the simplest way?

In the simplest version, enter the update and security section through the options menu, where you can select the update line.

In the right part of the main window there are two options for recovery: either the computer returns to its original state, or returns to the previous operating system. Choose the second item and activate the process. After this, the rollback will be performed. But here there are their pitfalls. The matter is that all those applications or drivers that were installed after installing the "dozens" will be completely removed from the system, however, the programs of the previous system to which the rollback is performed will not be affected, as will the user files. It goes without saying that the settings will also be restored to those that were applied in the previous system by default.

Alternative method

There is one more technique that allows to solve simply enough the problem of how to cancel the installation of Windows 10. It is somewhat longer, but not less effective.

First, when the Shift key is pressed, we use the restart line from the main "Start" menu, resulting in a window with the choice of the action. In it we are interested in the diagnostic section. After clicking on it, you need to select a section of additional parameters, and then use the row of viewing other parameters at the very bottom of the window.

Finally, when you enter this menu on the screen, you will see the coveted section of the return to the previous assembly. Naturally, we activate this process and wait for its completion. After that we get our old "operating system". Again, as for settings or newly installed programs, they, as in the first case, will be completely removed.

If nothing helps

Naturally, there are cases when after the forced installation of Windows 10, the user does not follow the countdown and the date. Accordingly, the expired 30 days expire, during which you can return to the old system. It happens that either by mistake, or by ignorance, the user begins to deal with, for example, cleaning the disk and deletes the files of the previous "operating system". Maybe this: files or folders of the previous system were deleted with the help of the same "Explorer" or any other file manager. Perhaps the system files themselves of the old system were damaged.

What should I do in this case? Actually, nothing at all. If the user wants to return his "eight" or "seven", it simply will not work. In this case, the output is only one: a complete reinstallation of the system, and with formatting. As already understood, you will first need to transfer your files to either a different logical partition or to a removable media, and only then proceed to format the system partition. Why formatting? Because, for example, the 8th version of the OS over the "dozens" will not be installed, determining that it has a newer system. Therefore, in all the cases described above, be vigilant, otherwise you will have to work with a new OS or be engaged in the procedure of reinstallation.

Conclusion

As for the issues directly related to the cancellation of the installation of Windows 10, I think that everything is very clear. The question is more likely: is it necessary to install a new system, as far as it is practicable, how will it behave on your computer or laptop, especially since there may also be a problem of configuration matching? It should be noted that even with full compliance with the minimum system requirements, there may be a lot of problems, especially if you use the default settings, without disabling all unnecessary elements and background services that will constantly load an already weak machine. After all, after the "relegation" of Windows 10 on weak devices, it is not always possible to restore it, although the developers, as usual, claim the opposite. Of course, in such cases, everyone decides for himself.