How to restore a previous version of Windows. Restore the previous computer settings. Revert the old computer settings. Video: How to Recover Unsaved or Damaged Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint Document

If again from installed / reinstalled Windows 7 The computer comes (friend or foe: P), and then you realize that you are either lazy to reinstall all the programs that you used before and manually transfer your personal files back C: \(If you store them there) or the miss system we used before, you will probably be glad to know that you can return to old operating system(previously installed) using the Windows.ols folder ( programs, settings and documents that will be restored in system folders Where are they from age before reinstalling).

Attention! Before implementing the ones written in this tutorial, make sure there is a folder named Windows.old on the system partition and there is enough free space... It is also advisable to back up the Windows.old folder before making any changes to it.

What is needed to reintegrate Windows.old on a newly installed system:

• DVD installation Windows 7
• 10 free minutes
• Courage: D

What steps should be followed:

1. After you've reinstalled the operating system and concluded that you prefer the previously installed version, enter again DVD installation into the DVD and restart the computer. When the parameter appears on the monitor, press any key boot from DVD

2. In the installation menu, click on Computer repair.Choose a version Windows OS you wanted to fix / restore ( System recovery options), Press Next Then open Command line.

3. Enter the following commands in command line(one at a time) and give enter after each (these commands will rename system folders to restore folders in Windows.old)

Ren Windows Windows.new

ren "Program Files" "Program files.New"

Ren "Users" "Users.New"

Ren "My Documents" "Documents and Settings.New"

* If after running one or more of these commands you see the message "The system cannot find the file specified", just go to the next command (ren "Users" is valid for Windows Sight yes Windows 7, Ren "Documents and Settings" is valid for Windows 2000 and Windows XP)

4. To move a folder Windows.old in the system folders, you must enter the following set of commands on the command line (everything is fine and everything at that time):

/yc:\windows.old\windows move C: \

move / y "C: \ Windows.old \ Program Files" C: \

move / y "C: \ Windows.old \ documents and settings" C: \(this command is valid if the Windows thing you want to restore is folded XP or 2000 )

/yc:\windows.old\users move C: \(indeed, if Windows is what you want to restore, that's all Windows 7 or Windows perspective)

5. After you have moved content Windows.old in system folders, you need to restore and boot sector Windows version is previously installed.

a). Windows XP or Windows 2000, Enter the following command at the command prompt

D: \ Boot \ Bootsect / nt52 with:(where D: \ this is a DVD, DVD If the device has a different letter, replace that with the letter D)

and then restore files boot.ini using the following command (all in CMD):

Attrib -r -s -h boot.ini.saved

Ren "boot.ini.saved" "boot.ini"

Attrib boot.ini + s + H + R

b). If the Windows version is previously installed Windows 7 or Windows perspective, Enter the following command ( for these operating systems it is not required to restore the boot.ini file)

D: \ Boot \ Bootsect / nt60 with:(where D: this is a DVD)

6). Then close Command Prompt and restart your computer. Windows the one that boots will be earlier installed version Windows 7.

Good day!. Not so long ago, we parsed with you, a clean installation of Windows 10 1803 and upgrading to it from previous versions. Unfortunately, innovations and updates may not always please the end user and do not always work without failures and complaints. In such situations, an ordinary user may want to return the previous version of Windows 10 and stay on it until future times. Today we will look at the procedure and methods of return, so that nothing breaks for you.

What is downgrade?

We see another window with a taunt from Microsoft:

Thanks for testing this build. We will install the following trial version run the build when it is available. It sounds like a threat.

Let's start rolling back Windows 10. Your system will go to reboot to return the previous version.

You will get a black screen on which you will see that the previous one is being restored Windows versions... After a few reboots, you will get the old system. In my case, this is Windows 10 Pro 1709. Now I think you understand the fastest method of how to return the previous version after the upgrade, but as I wrote above, it is not the only one, move on to the second.

2 Method to downgrade Windows 10

In this method, Microsoft suggests using the system recovery tools that you can find either on the installation media or use the built-in ones. To get into them, do the following.

Pinch and not release the Shift key , right-click on the start button, from context menu select "Shutdown or Logout - Reboot". But here the trick is that the reboot will be performed, followed by loading the recovery and diagnostic utilities, which will help you easily return the previous one. Windows version 10.

You will see the "Select Actions" window, in which you need to select the "Troubleshooting" item. We get into the "Diagnostics" window, it consists of two items:

• Return the computer to its original state. You will be able to keep or delete your files and then reinstall Windows.
• Extra options

We are interested in the item "Additional parameters"

Well, we are trying to return the previous version through the appropriate item.

The "Return to the previous version of Windows 10" window will open, select account username, if you forgot your password, it is regrettable.

We specify the password and click continue.

You will be reminded again that all your files will be saved, let's say let's go and start returning to the previous version of windows 10.

Preparations for the rollback procedure will begin, after which the wizard will need to be restarted. As you can see, returning the system to the previous version of Windows 10 is a very simple matter, unless you just missed a moment in 10 days. Once

As you can see, the procedure itself is very simple, the main thing is never to rush to install new versions, it is better to always wait at least a couple of weeks, thanks to this you can avoid getting into a bad situation and avoid losing your data or the system itself ..

In some cases, you may need to restore your Windows 7 computer to a previous Windows installation. This article will guide you through the steps to manually return your computer to a previous version of Windows.

Note. To do this, you must use the Command Prompt to enter specific commands to rename and move folders between different versions of Windows.

To resolve this issue, follow the steps listed below to restore a previous version of Windows using the Windows.OLD folder on your computer.

Advice: it may be easier, follow the steps if you pre-print the article.

Step 1: Determine if the Windows.old folder exists and if there is enough free space on the Windows hard drive

Determine if the Windows.old folder is less than the free space available for local disk (C :) in step 1.2.

Note If the Windows.old folder is twice the size of the free space available for local disk (C :), you may not be able to restore a previous version of Windows.

Step 2. Launch Windows Recovery Environment

1. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into the drive and restart your computer.
2. Press the key when prompted to restart the system from disk.
3. In the window " Installing Windows»Select a language, time, currency, keyboard or other input method and press Further.
4. In the window " Installing Windows»Press the button Repair your computer.
5. In the window, select the version of the Windows 7 operating system that you want to restore and click the button Further.
6. In the window System recovery options choose Command line.

A command prompt window will open and output to the command prompt. The command line is for entering the commands described in the following steps.

Step 3. Move Windows 7 folders to new Win7 folder

Note

When you receive this message, go to the next step in this section and enter the command in the next step.

Move Windows Win7 \ Windows

Move "Program Files" "Win7 \ Program Files"

Move Users Win7 \ Users

Attrib –h –s –r ProgramData

Move ProgramData Win7 \ ProgramData

Rd "Documents and Settings"

Step 4. Copy or move the contents of the Windows.old folder

Note If you follow the instructions below and type one or more commands at the command prompt and press Enter, you may receive the following message:

The system cannot find the file specified.

If this message appears, go to the next step in this section and enter the next step command.

Enter the following commands by pressing Enter after each command:

move / y c: \ Windows.old \ Windows c: \

move / y "c: \ Windows.old \ Program Files" c: \

move / y c: \ Windows.old \ ProgramData c: \

move / y c: \ Windows.old \ Users c: \

move / y "c: \ Windows.old \ Documents and Settings" c: \

Step 5: Repair the boot sector for a previous Windows installation

Enter one of the following commands at the command prompt, as appropriate for your situation.

Note In the following commands D: Represents DVDs. If the DVD drive on your computer is represented by a different letter, such as E :, use that letter in the command.

• If previous installation Windows - Windows Server 2003, Windows XP or Microsoft Windows 2000

  D: \ boot \ bootsect / nt52 c:

• If the previous installation of Windows is Windows Vista

  Type the following command and press Enter:

  D: \ boot \ bootsect / nt60 c:

Step 6: Restoring the Boot.ini File for a Previous Installation of Windows, Windows XP, or Windows 2000

Note Only if the previous installation was Windows XP or Windows 2000, follow these steps.

Enter the following commands by pressing Enter after each command.

Users who upgraded to Windows 10 have the option to revert to their previous operating system.

The so-called process. rollback is simple and can be done with just a few mouse clicks.

Windows 10 rollback conditions

Just as with the update, there is no need to perform a classic reinstallation - just take a few steps to roll back Windows 10.

During the system update, the Windows.old directory is created, into which the data of the current system is copied and which serves as a backup copy.

Thirty days after the installation, this directory will be automatically deleted by the system. ...

Deleting the Windows.old directory implies the impossibility of rolling back.

Note! The ability to roll back to Windows 7 or 8 is valid only for 30 calendar days after the update and provided that the user has not uninstalled Windows.old.

Before proceeding with the return process, we recommend that you back up any important data to any available external drive or storage service.

How to rollback Windows 10 to Windows 8.1 / 7

The sequence of actions when rolling back to Windows 7 is no different from the sequence of actions for the eighth version. The current system will automatically install the OS version that was installed earlier.

So let's get started:

Step 1. We go to the "Start" menu, the "Settings" submenu.

Step 2. In the "Settings" menu, go to the "Update and Security" submenu.

Step 3. In the "Recovery" submenu, select the item "Return to Windows X", where X is the version of the operating system that was before the update. In our case, this is Windows 7. Click "Start".

Step 4. We select the reason due to which the rollback is performed, describe the essence of the situation in the "Tell me more" field and click "Next".

If you have upgraded to Windows 10 and found that it does not work for you or encountered other problems, the most common of which are on this moment time associated with video card drivers and the operation of other equipment, you can return to the previous version of the OS and roll back from Windows 10. There are several ways to do this.

After the update, all the files of your old operating system are stored in the Windows.old folder, which previously sometimes had to be deleted manually, but this time it will be automatically deleted after a month (that is, if you updated more than a month ago, you will not be able to uninstall Windows 10) ... Also, the system has a function for rollback after the update, easy to use for any novice user.

Please note that if you manually deleted the above folder, then the method described below to return to Windows 8.1 or 7 will not work. A possible option in this case, if you have a manufacturer's recovery image, is to start returning the computer to its original state (other options are described in the last section of the instructions).

Rollback from Windows 10 to the previous OS

To use the feature, click on the notification icon at the far right of the taskbar and click All Settings.

In the settings window that opens, select "Update and Security", and then - "Recovery".

The final step is to click the Get Started button under the "Return to Windows 8.1" or "Return to Windows 7" section. In this case, you will be asked to indicate the reason for the rollback (choose any), after which, Windows 10 will be removed, and you will return to your previous version of the OS, with all programs and user files (that is, this is not a reset to the manufacturer's recovery image).

Some users who decided to uninstall Windows 10 and return Windows 7 or 8 were faced with a situation that, despite the presence of the Windows.old folder, the rollback still does not occur - sometimes there is simply no desired item in the Settings, sometimes for some reason errors occur during rollback.

In this case, you can try the Neosmart Windows 10 Rollback Utility, built on top of their own Easy Recovery product. The utility is a bootable ISO image (200 MB), when booting from which (after writing it to a disk or USB flash drive) you will see a recovery menu, in which:

You can write an image to a disc with any disc burning program, and to create a bootable USB flash drive, the developer offers his own Easy utility USB Creator Lite available on their website neosmart.net/UsbCreator/ however, in the VirusTotal utility, it issues two warnings (which, in general, is not scary, usually in such quantities there are false positives). Nevertheless, if you are afraid, then you can write the image to a USB flash drive or (in the latter case, select the field for Grub4DOS images).

Also, when using the utility, it creates a backup copy current system Windows 10. So, if something goes wrong, you can use it to return "everything as it was".

You can download Windows 10 Rollback Utility from the official page https://neosmart.net/Win10Rollback/ (when downloading, you are asked to enter your e-mail and name, but there is no verification).

Manual reinstallation of Windows 10 on Windows 7 and 8 (or 8.1)

If none of the methods helped you, and after the upgrade to Windows 10 less than 30 days have passed, then you can proceed in the following ways:

1. Perform a factory reset with automatic reinstallation of Windows 7 and Windows 8 if you have a hidden recovery image on your computer or laptop. More details: (also suitable for branded PCs and monoblocks with a pre-installed OS).
2. Perform a clean installation of the system yourself if you know its key or it is in UEFI (for devices with 8 and higher). You can view the key "wired" in UEFI (BIOS) using the ShowKeyPlus program in the OEM-key section (I wrote more in the article). At the same time, if for reinstallation you need to download the original Windows image in the required edition (Home, Professional, For one language, etc.), then you can do it like this:.

In general, I would recommend staying on Windows 10 - of course, the system is not perfect, but clearly better than 8 on the day it was released. And to solve certain problems that may arise at this stage, it is worth looking for options on the Internet, and at the same time go to the official websites of computer and hardware manufacturers to find drivers for Windows 10.

The release of a new operating system is always accompanied by a lot of problems. This could be a lack of compatibility with drivers for computer components or certain applications. Some users simply did not like the Windows 10 operating system due to its new design and the presence of a lot of changes in terms of functionality, compared to previous versions of the software. If the new operating system from Microsoft does not suit the computer user in terms of functionality, there are several ways to return from Windows 10 to Windows 7 or Windows 8. This can be done using standard system tools and using third-party applications.

How to restore Windows 7 or Windows 8 after installing Windows 10 using the system tools

When you install a new version of the operating system, it prudently remains on the computer, which you can use if you want to return the previous version of Windows. At the same time, it is saved only in the situation when the operating system was updated without formatting the hard disk.

To use the Windows.Old folder to restore Windows 7 or 8 after upgrading to Windows 10, you need to do the following:

Attention: If during the upgrade the Windows.Old folder was damaged and did not save backup information for restoring the operating system, this menu item may be missing.

With the above method of rolling back from Windows 10 to earlier versions of the operating system, the user gets the opportunity to save all his programs, as well as existing files, when restoring.

In a situation where it did not work to recover in this way (due to the absence of an item in the menu or for another reason), we recommend trying system recovery using third-party software, which is described in the instructions below.

Roll back a system from Windows 10 to Windows 7 or Windows 8 using third-party software

When the restore point to the previous version of Windows is missing in the operating system settings, but the Windows.Old folder is preserved, you can use specialized utilities that in some cases can solve the problem. The most famous program that allows you to restore Windows 7 or Windows 8 after Windows installations 10, is the Neosmart Windows 10 Rollback Utility. It weighs in at just over 200 megabytes and is an image that must be burned to a CD / DVD or USB flash drive in order to create recovery media.

The easiest way is to record the Neosmart Windows 10 Rollback Utility using a special utility also developed by Neosmart called USB Creator. All the programs mentioned above are available on the official website of the developers in free trial versions which will be enough to return from Windows 10 to the version of the operating system saved in Windows. Old. Please note that other applications can also be used for recording or a flash drive, for example, the well-known UltraISO program.

When the utility is written, you can begin the recovery procedure. To do this, go into the BIOS and set the boot process from the media on which the utility is written. After that, restart your computer and select Automated Repair on the first screen that opens. Next, you will see all the systems to which you can return. To start the recovery procedure, click on Roll Back.

Attention: The Neosmart Windows 10 Rollback Utility app automatically saves the current version of Windows 10 when the system rolls back in case a problem occurs with the installation.

How to return Windows 7 or Windows 8 after installing Windows 10 with full formatting

If you completely removed the previous version of the operating system from your computer and installed Windows 10 on a blank hard drive, you can try to restore Windows 7 or Windows 8 using the remaining system tools or license keys.

On laptops, there is almost always a separate partition on the hard drive, which is the system one, and it stores the system recovery image. Depending on the model of laptop or computer, this tool may work differently, but it allows you to install the version of the operating system that was originally on the hard disk.

The second way to restore Windows 7 or Windows 8 is to download a system image from the Internet. On the Microsoft website, you can download an image of any version of Windows. Next, you need to burn it to a USB flash drive or DVD and install it. The problem during the installation process will arise with the lack of a license key, but if you are using a laptop or computer on which Windows was originally installed, then you can get the necessary ones in advance.

Please note that Microsoft gives users 30 days to downgrade from Windows 10 to an earlier version of the operating system using an OEM key. After 30 days, it ceases to be valid and "sticks" to Windows 10.

Previous Versions Are either copies of files and folders created by Windows Backup or copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore point.

Previous versions can be used to recover files and folders that have been accidentally changed, deleted, or damaged. Depending on the type of file or folder, you can open, save to a different location, or restore a previous version.

How previous versions are created

Previous versions are automatically saved as part of a restore point. When system protection is turned on, Windows automatically creates previous versions of files and folders that have changed since the last restore point was created. Restore points are usually created once a day.

If the disk is partitioned or the computer has multiple hard disks, you should enable system protection for the other partitions or disks. Previous versions are also created by Windows Archiving when backing up files.

Note: If the file has changed several times during one day, only latest version at the time the restore point or backup is created, it is retained as the previous version.

How to restore previous versions of a file and folder

Click a file or folder right click mouse and select the command .

A list of available previous versions of the file or folder appears. The list will contain the files saved during the backup (if for Reserve copy files used by Windows backup) and restore points.

Note: To restore a previous version of a file or folder added to the library, right-click the file or folder in the location where you saved it, not in the library. For example, to restore a previous version of an image, added to the image library, but in the folder My drawings, right click the folder My drawings and select Restore previous versions.

How a recovery point differs from a backup

If you restore a previous version from a restore point, the file is downloaded on the computer, so nothing else needs to be done.

To restore a previous version of a file or folder from a backup, after selecting the previous version and clicking the Restore button, Windows opens the File Restore Wizard, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

The disk or media on which the backup is stored must be accessible in order to restore items from the backup.

Why are there no previous versions of some files

Possible reasons:

• The file has not been modified. Previous versions are only available for files that have changed.
• Recovery point or backup copy nor was it created after the file was modified.
• The drive containing these files may not have system protection enabled. If system protection is not enabled, Windows cannot create previous versions.

Can recover deleted file or folder

If you accidentally deleted or renamed a file or folder, you can restore a previous version of a file or folder but you need to know the location where they are stored.

To recover a deleted or renamed file or folder, follow these steps:

prompt: If you do not remember the file or folder name or location, enter part of the name in the search box in the Computer folder.

Previous versions of filesand folders are a very useful tool and are created using shadow copies, provided that System Protection is enabled for the Local disk on which the files are located and restore points are created accordingly. There are also many conditions that dictate the creation and storage of Previous versions of files on your computer, unfortunately many do not know about them. In order not to lose your data on your computer at one point, check out our article.

Note: The tool previous versions of files exist and in the new operating room Windows system 8, but called differently - " "

If you enable System Protection for a Local Disk, then Previous versions of files are automatically created as soon as you disable System Protection for this disk, then the creation of previous versions of files on it will stop immediately. That is, we can say that Previous versions of files are directly related to restore points, we can say more, are part of them. How to enable System Protection to create restore points for any Local Disk Start-> Control Panel-> System and Security-> System-> System Protection or you can read from us. You will also be interested in articles on this topic and

Previous versions of files

System protection is automatically enabled for the disk on which Windows 7 is installed, if you want to use the Previous versions of files on other disks tool, then for them, you also need to enable System Protection.

• Note: This tool is best used to recover your files accidentally deleted or unsuccessfully edited. For a fairly serious backup of computer data, the Previous File Versions tool is most likely not suitable, here it is better to use Computer Data Archiving or.

As I already noticed Previous versions of files are closely related to recovery points. If after creating a restore point you changed any files, for example, deleted a document from any folder, then it will naturally be available in previous versions of this folder, let's for example delete the DVD Maker folder from the Program Files folder.

To return our deleted folder to us using the tool Previous versions of files click on the folder Program Files right-click and select Restore Previous Version from the drop-down menu.

The Program Files Properties window appears, the Previous File Versions tab, which contains yesterday's version of the Program Files folder,

go into it by double-clicking the left mouse and see the Previous version of the remote DVD Maker folder, copy it and paste it into place in the Program Files folder, that's all, as if we didn't delete anything.

Previous versions of files can be opened and therefore viewed, copied, and also restored. Be careful with the button Restore it can be used to overwrite the file.

Why are no previous versions of files being created?

1. Previous versions of files will not be created for files of any Local Disk if you have disabled System Protection for it
2. If your file has not been modified, then Previous versions of the files will not be available for it.
3. Previous versions of files are not created on disks formatted with file systems FAT and FAT32. These file systems do not support the function of creating shadow copies containing information about system and user files.
4. When using two operating systems, for example Windows XP and Windows 7, when starting an older Windows XP, all restore points created by Windows 7 will be deleted and therefore the Previous versions of the files at the next booting Windows 7 you will not find either.
5. Many cleaning programs hard drives and the registry delete restore points, you need to configure these utilities manually by entering the System Volume Information folder (containing restore points) in the exclusions.
6. If you are using a laptop, then the creation of restore points will not be performed with you when the power is off.

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