Windows 7 can't install windows 7 (hard drive drivers ???)

okay, I have a LENOVO Ideapad S415 Touch notebook that came with windows 8 (shudder)
I TRIED windows 10 on it but found that my favourite MMO was INCREDIBLY slow on it.. Eve-Online.. I TRIED installing windows 7 on it.. but ... apperantly I need drivers for the hard drive... (wtf ?).. so.. I tried calling Lenovo.. and all they said that by installing another OS.. I void the warranty.... don't care.. I shelled out 300$ for this..so if I want to paint my red car black.. toyota will just have to deal with it...... is there a way to install windows 7 on this bad boy ? if so.. how ?... do I put the hard drive drivers on a USB stick ?
please helpl
 
Hi Chris,

1. Eve-online works with Windows 8 and 8.1.1... I know that's not what you asked but just so we are clear.

2. Yes you can have Windows 7 and yes that does come with its own problems;

a. The main issue is that laptop/ note books have the back up pre-installed on the hard drive and you would need to wipe this recovery partition back to unallocated space before you could place a legacy system onto it correctly... hence the void warrantee warning.

b. Another potential issue is that these tend to have modern Seagate solid state hybrid drives and the fact is Windows 7 drivers are quite old so the odds are good that this will present a problem during the install.

I recommend;

Purchase a 500g sata laptop drive… something along the lines of a Seagate Momentus (for under $100) … still gives you good performance but shouldn't confuse the Windows 7 install drivers like a terabit/ solid state or hybrid would.

Remove the old drive and place it in a desk draw someplace… if you ever come to your senses/ want to return to Windows 8 then the drive can just be put back in and fired up again... with warrantee.

Edit: opps, you put the "new" sata drive into the laptop and install Windows 7 onto it from a bootable USB, as this is a blank hdd there is far less that can go wong however the network card, sound and webcam still need drivers before they will work and thats something between you, Windows 7 and your Lenovo motherboard... best of luck with it mate!
 
Last edited:
Down grading is a problem, be it with simple drivers or total OS. Most often the solution is to clear the disk, and re-install everything.

If you want to stay alive and go on with games, Windows 7 is getting old, you need to GET a higher standard computer. And Windows 10, eventually. There's nothing anyone can do about it, we don't grow older in IT, we grow newer.

Since you seem to want to take steps upward the ladder, take them. Don't stay here or in yesterday, since it's already gone.
 
Back
Top