[–] 9sidestepper2c ago
I upgraded my Lenovo laptop from Windows 8 to 8.1 over a year ago with little to no problems occurring afterwards (at least not straight away). Won't be upgrading to 10 because of all the reports about users privacy being compromised, although the settings can be changed to supposedly disable things like tracking and targeted advertisements. If you plan on buying a computer in the future you could buy a boxed version of Windows 8.1 whilst copies are still available, I know that 8.1 will receive extended support (security updates) from Microsoft up until 2023. As for Windows 7, certain custom PC vendors such as PC Specialist may still give the option of being able to choose Windows 7 as an installation choice when users decide on what components and software they would like with their customised PC.
[–] TopShelfPrivilege 0 points 5 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago
I've downgraded 27 machines at this point, mostly for older people who didn't like the interface. Out of the 27 I have had 1 go horribly wrong, ended up doing a fresh install of the original OS. All the others were just fine, no data lost, no problems, took about 20-30 minutes each.
[–] sparkybear 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Yes. New installations go away. You may need to reinstall or delete some registry keys point applications to the wrong location. you may also need to fix your permissions on your main hard drive. Takes a bit of time but nothing too complicated. Just google whatever stops working. If you can't use a shortcut, look for the .exe itself and then look for the fix.
[–] sorceressofmaths 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Yes. A friend couldn't get the wireless stuff working on his tablet after installing 10, so they downgraded it back to 8.