Formatting and installing Windows on a UEFI laptop

[Phanixis]

I have been procrastinating for the longest time, but I really need to get around to formatting the hard drive of my Asus laptop and installing a copy of Windows 7 on it, as Windows 8 has done nothing but irritate me since I acquired this laptop. Now I am not stranger to formatting drive c and installing Windows, but this will be the first UEFI computer I have to do it on. UEFI is a really screwy way of handling BIOS and I am not certain if this is going to cause me any problems when I attempt to replace the OS, so I would like a heads up on potential problems that might crop up before I attempt to format the hard drive.

Does anybody here have experiencing formatting and installing a new OS on the UEFI computer? Is there any advice you can provide or hazards you can point out before I get started?

Thanks for the help.

 

[DelJo63]

The issue will be to control the BIOS - - that's where the UEFI boot is enforced.
My reading suggests, that there is no option to disable UEFI if it is active (otherwise, there's no point to UEFI at all).

*IF* your bios can disable the UEFI option, then you will be

• 'home free' to reformat (even at the lower level rewrite of every sector to wipe the BOOT sector)
• install per your own background/experience

 

[Phanixis]

Ok, I can't even get Windows 8 to boot of a Windows 7 CD or USB drive to even get started. I have entered the BIOS (which I cannot enter except through Windows 8 settings advanced restart menu). After which I have to manually enter the directories to the devices I want to boot off of. I have of course manually added both the directories for the USB and CD-ROM drive and made them higher priority than the default boot but to no avail. The system still boots straight to windows 8 as if the removable media and BIOS changes were not present. Running the windows 7 installer off either the CD or the USB during a Windows 8 session doesn't work either as the installer is prevented from generating the temporary files it needs to run and fails to start.

This whole thing is maddening. I have been formatting and installing Windows on PC machines sense Windows 95, and on any machine running Windows 95 to Windows 7 I could format the boot drive and reinstall any of the OS's in less than an hour. But on this Windows 8 laptop, I can't even get to a point where I could format the boot drive.

Does anybody know how to get around these problems, as I could really use the help.

Thanks.

 

[DelJo63]

Did you google "install windows 7 over windows 8"?
seems to be lots of info there

 

[Phanixis]

Of course I goggled it. Then again, Google doesn't cover the case were your installation fails because the guy you purchased Windows 7 from on eBay is an ******* scam artist who mailed you a fake copy. I discovered this problem after contacting Microsoft for assistance. eBay is a useful place to purchase stuff, but it seems like every third person in that place is out to rob you blind.

 

[bazz2004]

I've bought two copies of Windows 7 on eBay for an attractive price and have had no issues. What you are attempting is not a good idea. Customising Windows 8.1 is simple compared with battling UEFI and a free upgrade to Windows 10 has been promised for later this year.