From Windows 10 go back to Windows 8 factory condition

[abcd4B]

Hi community,

i wanted to ask you about my specific use case of HP Desktop PC Reset.

Question: Can i restore the factory condition of Windows 8?

Background:

With Windows 10 there is no HP Recovery (with F11 at boot) available. There only is the Windows 10 rest wizard. I am uncertain of the outcome, when i reset the device with Windows 10 reset wizard.

Will it restore to the Windows 8 factory condition despite the disappearing of HP Recovery Manager?

I bought the Pavilion 500-166eg device back in the days with pre-installed Windows 8. In the life cycle the device was upgraded to Windows 8.1 and until today it runs Windows 10. After the Upgrade to Windows 10 i had to fix the IDT Audio driver. But everything else was fine.

@all Have a nice day

[TheOldMan]

You do not mention how long ago it was upgraded to Windows 10.  If it has been less than 30 days, it is fairly easy to go back to Windows 8.1.  If longer than 30 days you will need the Windows 8 install media.

See this for help on that if you do not have the Windows 8 media.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03684354

If Recovery Manager is not longer installed and the Recovery Partition is no longer there, I do not think any of those options on the above document will work and you will need the Windows 8 install media.

You can possibly download Windows 8 from here

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/70-windows-8-x-and-windows-10-direct-down...

I have not seen any documentation on Windows 8 or 8.1 but do know that Windows 7 downloads from here have been successful.

[abcd4B]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry, i forgot to say, that my Windows 10 installation is older than 30 days.

But despite the missing HP Recovery Manager i still have the "Recovery Image" partition on my hard disk. Therefore - unless Windows 10 changed some files - i know that i have a Windows 8 factory image available. But i don't know wether the Windows 10 reset wizard is going to use it or not. Otherwise i don't know how to access it.

[TheOldMan · Accepted solution]

I do not think the Windows 10 reset will access the Windows 8 recovery, you will need to do it manually.

A little out of my direct knowledge but from what I recall from reading about others - on the Recovery partition - set the partition as active and then reboot into that partition and start the recovery.

If that will start - and that is if - then it should reinstall Windows 8.

Otherwise you will need to get the Windows 8 install media from the link I provided above.

You can try this Microsoft link but I have not used/tried it.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

If all that is beyond you, then perhaps live with whatever you are not happy with on Windows 10.

An alternative is to buy Windows 8.1 and try a fresh install from that media.

[abcd4B]

Ok, that was helpful. Thanks for your patience.

---

"[...] then perhaps live with whatever you are not happy with on Windows 10."

Ouh spicey comment. I get these types very often.

This device won't be a daily driver in the future. But this was never the question of this thread. The question was: Will it be useful for specific use cases in the future? Will it have a long lasting, dignified last phase of life, before it gets a working retro tech piece? With the original software: of course! New operating systems (10 & 11+) won't be usable on this system anyway and hardware upgrades will be more expensive than buying a complete new set of hardware. With new hardware users typically can access all features of the new OS. And with its original OS and software from the time period +/-5 years, my device will be useful for artistic purposes and "retro" gaming a long time and with factory condition performance. If there would be active development for the Windows 8 architecture, there won't be extreme annoying laggs. But Windows 10 and the upcoming 11 are made for completely different hardware. That is how the tech industry works. 🙂

_end of line;

[TheOldMan]

I went back to look at the start of this thread.  Nowhere did it ask or state anything about the "The question was: Will it be useful for specific use cases in the future? Will it have a long lasting, dignified last phase of life, before it gets a working retro tech piece? With the original software: of course!"

Windows 8 and 8.1, IMHO, was never a good choice for a lasting OS like WinXP or Windows 7 was.  They are already be out of support per this statement from Microsoft  "Windows 8.1 falls under the same lifecycle policy as Windows 8, and will reach end of Mainstream Support on January 9, 2018."   Already past that date and I have not seen/heard of enthusiasts doing anything or making an effort to keep it going like WinXP or Windows 7 followers are doing.  But to each his own.

Have fun and use it, if you wish, as long as it meets the need.

[abcd4B]

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