UKC

Anyone know of any good sites (other than the usual PC World, Dabs etc) where you can still get a laptop with Windows 7 installed as the operating system.

Alternatively how easy is it to remove Windows 8 and install Windows 7.

Thanks, Jon

In reply to jonfun21: Got an Acer this weekend from Ebuyer.com £280-ish. Next day delivery (ordered Friday) £11.50, arrived Saturday morning.

There should be £50 cash back from Acer on this too.

In reply to jonfun21:


easy so long as you have the windows 7 disk and dont care about preserving files etc (which if its a new laptop i doubt you will be).

In reply to jonfun21:

There are currently 42 laptops on Dabs which come with Windows 7 installed; won't any of those do?

As to the latter, if you have an optical drive, installing a different OS is usually as simple as putting the first disc in, setting the computer to boot from the disc, following the prompts and letting it do its thing. It can be a bit more complex if you don't have an optical drive and need to boot from a USB stick or if you want to install two operating systems side by side...it really depends how comfortable you are with this sort of thing.

In reply to kathrync:

Thanks I did look on Dabs, issue is I can buy a higher spec machine with Windows 8 for less elsewhere, so was wondering if there are alternatives.

Sounds like I buy one with Windows 8 and then factor in buying Windows 7 to the purchase price.

In reply to woolsack: Thanks, which model did you get?

Dell business outlet has some.

In reply to jonfun21:

This http://www.ebuyer.com/398053-acer-aspire-v5-thin-and-light-nx-m2cek-003

It seems OK, bit plasticky but for the price I can't grumble. I didn't spend ages checking the specs etc, it was for my mum to look on the net and send email

In reply to woolsack:



I've had my Acer for three years now which I bought from Tesco. The only problem I've had with it in all that time was 'Vista'. Once Vista went bye-bye I've never had a problem, which isn't bad for £350. A lot has changed in three years since then though.

In reply to jonfun21: May I ask what issue you have with Windows 8? Here's how to configure Windows 8 to look like Windows 7.
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/software-and-web-apps/how-to-make-windows-8-look-...

In reply to PeterJuggler:

Few reasons really....

Some programs I use are not compatible with it

Every review I have read about Windows 8 indicates it does really work when not on a tablet / touchscreen

The fact you have to implement a load of work-arounds to make it operate in a useful manner is quite telling (e.g. they got it wrong / forgot to include the right functionality)

I went into PC World and had a play and found it very faffy. To be honest I would rather keep XP but I need a new machine with more power and storage space and seems sensible given updates for XP cease next year.

In reply to woolsack: Thanks, I am currently looking at an ASUS as I want a DVD drive.

Anyone had/own one?

In reply to jonfun21:

my laptop is an Asus

had it just over a year, and once i wiped out all the carp on it, it's been brilliant.

In reply to rallymania:

Thanks that is good to know, new laptops always seem to come with bloatware.

Did it come with the carp as standard or did you have to pay extra

In reply to woolsack: So my nice new Windows 7 laptop arrived from Ebuyer today....except it had Windows 8 on it.

Mis-described on their website (i.e. Windows 7) so now being returned which is a hassle, seems like I am running out of options for a high power laptop, other than buying Windows 7 separately

In reply to jonfun21:

i was shocked at how poor the software build was, when i got it.

but i wiped it out and installed win7 from scratch with all the drivers from ASUS's website and it totally transformed it.

i think this is one way vendors can sell PC's so cheap, someone must be paying them to install all that rubbish to make it worth doing.

In reply to rallymania: looking at getting a refurbed ASUS now, sounds like I need a few hours to wipe all the rubbish