Acer Switch Alpha 12 - Downgrade OS HELP

Craige
Craige Member Posts: 5 New User

I am having Latest Acer Switch Alpha 12 and it came with Windows 10.

 

I want to install Win 7 on it, but before proceeding further i want to ask:

 

If i delete all partitons on my SSD and install clean copy of WIn 7 SP1 on my laptop now and after a few months when i would like to again install Win 10... Would i be able to activate it ?

 

I fear key will be overwritten in hardware by Win 7 and i will loose my copy of Win 10.

 

Please advise.

 

Answers

  • sharky25k
    sharky25k Member Posts: 473 Skilled Practitioner WiFi Icon

    Hi,

     

    I am not sure if the key will be overwritten in the BIOS. I don't think so.

     

    But you can try to retrive the key from BIOS and save it somewhere and when you will reinstall windows 10 you can use this key.

     

    There is a tool here: http://www.intowindows.com/recover-windows-product-key-bios-efi/ but I never tried it so I don't know if it works.

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer

    key will not overwritten.

     

    the main issue will be windows 7 installation, since you will miss some drivers, most important will be thermal control and power control.

     

    i also quite sure that Legacy setting is missing too on BIOS.

    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • Craige
    Craige Member Posts: 5 New User

    IronFly - Yup, i am simply not able to install Win 7 no matter what i do. There is an option in Bios to put it into Legacy mode.

     

    I have burned Win 7 usb with usb3.0 driver injected but it gets stuck at windows logo during installation. I tried using external DVD drive, but have error that corresponds to missing usb 3 drivers.

     

    Can u link me to any utility where i can usb 3.0 drivers tht is compatible with acer ?

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer
    I don't have a link for that, by the way, i insist that you stay on win10, since (as i already posted), the main issue will be thermal and power control drivers.

    It's the same issue on Switch10 and not having these 2 drivers can cause overheat and high battery consumption.
    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Yeah, the Switch Alpha 12 runs hot enough when the proper drivers are running. Downgrading to 7 would break that and I'm sure shut it down within a few minutes at best. The nifty cooling works quite well under Windows 10 though.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.