If you cannot load the Windows Desktop, you can initiate a Rollback using the following method:Īt the Sign In screen, hold down the shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Power button on the screenĬontinue to hold down the shift key while clicking RestartĬontinue to hold down the shift key until the Advanced Recovery Options menu appearsĬlick Go back to the previous version of Windows When the process is complete, you will be booted into your previous version of Windows environment. This will be your screen throughout the recovery process. The process can take a while depending on the amount data, applications and settings.

Make sure you have your password ready to sign into your old version if you had been using one.

Here you can make multiple selections why are going back to your previous version of Windows along with additional details or you can choose just one and click Next.Īs noted, any configurations made to Windows 10 since upgrading will be lost, so if you installed new programs or hardware drivers or made personal settings, those will be deleted. Start by opening Settings – Click Start > Settings or type Settings in the search bar and click it or press Windows key + iĬlick Recovery then click Get started under Go back to Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 (depending on the previous version you running) This only works if you had done an in place upgrade from Windows 7 or later.

Also keep in mind, if you do a custom install over Windows 7 or later, the Rollback option is not available. Because prior versions of Windows such as Windows Vista and Windows XP can only migrate to Windows 10 through a custom install, the command line operations remain your best choice if you do decide to go back. Please keep in mind, this only works with Windows 7 and later. This option can be handy for diagnostics purposes, trial and error or to simply go back to a previous version of Windows that works better with your PC. With Windows 10, it seems Microsoft has listened and has provided a welcome option to its recovery tools to make it easy to uninstall Windows 10 and go back to your previous version of Windows. The ability to restore a Windows 8.1 installation to Windows 7 required knowing some command line operations that in some instances didn’t guarantee the process would go according to plan. Microsoft has supported this functionality in its NT based versions of Windows too, albeit not in a seamless way. My recollection of this capability goes back to Windows ME which included the option to uninstall the operating system and restore to a previous version of Windows (I was running Windows 98 SE at the time). Throughout the history of Windows revisions, Microsoft has included an option to uninstall the operating system when you upgrade to a newer version.

Turning on previous versions windows 10