Downgrading from windows 8.1

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pvdtheking

Member
Hi, i received my cosmos 2 laptop today....and well I have 1 gripe...and that is Windows 8.1 is pants. I really cant get along with using it.

Anyways i had an old copy of windows 7, so decided to install it....but cant access the bios to change the boot sequence, as the start-up doesn't load from the disk straight away.

Anyone know how to access the bios? On start-up it goes straight to the PC Specialist logo and doesn't even state which key to press to access it, i've tried spamming DEL/F2/F6/F8 Shift F8....all the ones i know and nothing.

The only partial success i had was installing windows 7 via the current installation of 8.1 (which resulted on start-up of a dual-boot option), but when i choose windows 7 it hangs on the windows logo.

Is a dual windows 7/8 boot easy to do?

I just cant understand why it has been made so difficult to uninstall/change the installation of windows, or even to access the bios

Laptop details are as follows:

PC Specialist Cosmos II X15 Gaming Laptop, Intel Core i3-4100M 2.50GHz, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" TFT, DVDRW, GTX 740M, Webcam, Bluetooth, 3Yr Warranty, Windows 8 64bit

Thanks all in advance
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
Could check the manual that comes with the PC, will be in that book of tricks somewhere I bet.

have you tried spamming f10 for a boot menu? Sometimes that will bring up a list asking where you want to boot from. Also try spamming f12 for the bios, I cant 100% remember but I think mine is that. Although it does say on mine at start up. I have had computers in the past not display the press x key to enter setup, not sure why it happens.

Anyway try bashing f12 for the bios or failing that f10 for a boot menu. One of those should work if the above has failed.
 
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pvdtheking

Member
Yeah i finally got the bios to come up...i spammed esc and f2 together, cant tell which was the 1 tbh....but did work. I got my laptop to boot from the dvd, just the installation hangs as soon as windows (7) has loaded from the dvd and the windows logo shows up. Downloading another copy of windows as we speak to try.

NOTE.....i do have a legit windows key, im not downloading an illegal copy, before anyone points it out, and wouldnt want to get this site in any sort of trouble.
 
mantadog

mantadog

Superhero Level Poster
You sure its hanging? How long are you letting it process for? its not unusual for any loading bars to fill completely then wait for an age to get to the next step.
 
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pvdtheking

Member
Well the last time i tried was around 20 minutes...i managed to eat my tea, came back and still at the same it :(...will keep trying
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Downgrading is a mistake. Windows 7 will not be supported forever and Windows 8/8.1 will continue to develop, so if you want to stay a Windows user you need to stay fairly current or risk a big learning curve in the future.

If it's the UI that you can't get along with in 8.1 (and frankly, neither can I) then get a copy of Start8 from http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/. It's not free but at $4.99 (US Dollars) it might as well be. Start8 is the best of the many tools that give you a Windows 7 like start menu back whilst still retaining access to the standard Windows 8.1 UI. This allows you to work with the familiar Windows 7 start menu and gradually become more accustomed to the new Windows 8 UI.

Sticking your head in the sand and claiming that Windows 8.1 is pants (which it most certainly isn't by the way :)) will not make it go away. It just puts off the inevitable move that will come when support for Windows 7 is withdrawn. And don't bet on Windows 7 lasting as long as XP either... :)
 
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Spychotic

New member
I have the same problem.

I am trying to install Windows 7 Pro onto my Cosmos 2, and have figured out the method of accessing the BIOS and changing the boot order. But I get hanging in the same place; on the "Starting Windows" screen, as the four coloured balls are coming together to make the logo. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this problem?

Regards,

Spike
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
gazskeltz said:
Oh yeah???

http://www.express.co.uk/news/scien...-8-with-release-of-Threshold-operating-system

Remember Windows Vista?
Remember Windows ME?

Gaz
Click to expand...

You have to separate spin from fact and also understand that all news outlets are looking for a story. The fact is that Windows has moved forward from Windows 7. There are significant changes/improvements in the Windows 8/8.1 OS compared to Windows 7, the only thing Microsoft got wrong with Windows 8 was forcing the Modern UI on everyone, had they offered a choice between the start menu on desktops and the Modern UI on tablets everybody would be hailing Windows 8 as a great success. Threshold, or Windows 9, could even be Windows 8.1 with that choice and no other significant changes and the press would still claim that Threshold was a far better OS than Windows 8.1.

I wish I knew what was coming next in the Windows family, I could make a lot of money :), but one thing I do know is that they won't go back to Windows 7. Like it or not the OS is moving forward and even if (as I fervently hope) Threshold contains the old start menu on the desktop version, the improvements and enhancements it contains will make it a significantly different animal to Windows 7.

The other factor to bear in mind is that Microsoft alone are in control of Windows development. Should they feel that Windows 8/8.1 or even Threshold sales are being negatively impacted by corporate customers sticking with Windows 7 they will announce the end-of-life for Windows 7. No business could base it's systems on an unsupported OS, so by withdrawing support for Windows 7 Microsoft would "encourage" corporate customers on to Windows 8/8.1/Threshold.

Sticking with Windows 7 is not a long-term option.
 
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Spychotic

New member
I have - I think - found the issue... but have not solved it. I have a friend in the IT industry who helped me out. He managed to get the Windows 7 install going through the Windows 8 interface (don't ask me how - I have trouble turning windows 8 off, let alone implementing complex things like dual-booting) and found that once installed it wouldn't load. The symptom was being stuck on the Starting Windows splash screen, but in this case, the animation completed and kept going through the twinkling thing.

He tried it in safe mode and found that the load process was getting stuck on the driver that interfaces with the hard disk. It seems that the BIOS the computer was shipped with does not have legacy support, and so the Windows 7 standard driver cannot interface with it. That's what hangs the splash screen.

We were unfortunately unable to investigate further, as at this point, we restarted Windows 8... and it never came back. The machine won't boot up. I can get into the BIOS still but I'm no longer interested in trying to fix the issue. There are too many obstacles to overcome installing my OS of choice so I'm sending the device back for a refund and getting an alternate product.

Spyder, aside from the OS, and the fact that mine broke, the Cosmos 2 is an excellent piece of kit. My friend says that for the spec, the price of the Cosmos 2 750M is unbelievable. Though admittedly, I didn't actually do anything with mine other than try and fail to install a dual-boot OS, so perhaps I'm not the most qualified person to comment on its usability.

I hope that my comments have been constructive and useful.

Regards,

Spike
 
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Annula

Member
Qumintom said:
Did you ever solve the install issue?
Click to expand...

I ran into the same issue when installing windows 7 onto my 2nd hdd. The solution is to turn off UEFI in the bios settings (F2 on boot) so that you can installing using regular old bios. No real loss as you can't use secure boot with win7 anyway. Only downside was I'd already installed Linux on the main disk via UEFI and that then needed reinstalling.

Also fwiw, the windows 7 drivers listed on the account downloads page for the CosmosII (W650SJ) had incorrect touchpad drivers. I ended up downloading the correct ones from here. The NP6658 is apparently the same as the Clevo W650SJ.
 
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