Win 7 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Win 8 Pro 64

My new T430s has Win 7 Pro preinstalled via downgrade rights in Windows 8 Pro. I assume this means the recovery media on the machine is for Win 7(?). Since the machine apparently has a Win 8 Pro license that has been downgraded, what is the procedure to follow to upgrade the existing license to Win 8?
I tried searching Support (which hasn't worked much of the PM) to locate instruction for upgrading a machine that already has a Win 8 license, yet whose preinstall was downgraded to Win 7 Pro. I'm not sure whether the COA is in BIOS - and if it isn't, will these machines be unable to access the Lenovo tools from the Windows Store?
I would sure appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction. Thanks.
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I solved the issue so I'm updating my post for continuity. I managed to fetch the original box from the dumpster (!!) where I discovered a Windows 8 Pro Operating System Recovery Disc. I also noticed a small sticker on the outside of the box indicating that both OS were included.
If anyone else receives one of these pre-downgraded Win 8 Pro machines, you'll find the Safe Computing envelope actually contains something worth keeping.

Similar Messages

T540p - Purchase Choice - Win 7 vs Win 7 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Win 8.1 Pro 64

Can someone explain what are the differences, advantages, and disadvantages of choosing between the following 2 Win 7 Pro - Options when choosing the custom configuration on the Leneov website for pourchasing the T540p ?
Windows 7 Professional 64
Windows 7 Professional 64 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 8.1 Pro 64
JosephB
T61 6459-CTO - 15.4 WXGA - XP SP3
Solved!
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Hi,
Here's my understanding:
Windows 7 Professional 64: old school - Win 7 installed and CoA sticker with key in the battery compartment..
Windows 7 Professional 64 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 8.1 Pro 64: No Win7 CoA sticker. Win 8.1 key in BIOS. Win 7 installed. Usually Win 8 media included in the box. (I've seen reports that it sometimes wasn't included - verify that before purchasing).
The advantage of Win 7 old-school is that the CoA key can be used when doing a clean Win 7 install from Microsoft media. Advantage of the downgrade setup is that you also have Win 8.1 if you later decide to change OS. Disadvantage is that doing a clean Win 7 install requires some strange gyrations: Understanding downgrade rights
If you do go with the downgrade option, please make Win 7 recovery media when you receive your laptop. Otherwise if you switch to 8.1 at some point you won't have a way to go back to 7 easily.
Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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Windows 7 preinstalled through downgrade rights

When I ordered my T440s in March of this year I had the option of ordering it with either Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8 Prof or Windows 8.1 Professional in addition to the regular version of Win8. Each of the Prof. versions cost $50 more.
I had read somewhere that if I ordered it with Win7 Prof. that I could at some time later install Windows 8 Prof. since I was getting Win7 through downgrade rights. I paid $50 extra to get Win7 Professional rather than the standard version of Win8.
I just ran a configuration for a T440s today and noticed that the choices of operating system shows two Windows 7 options. Both cost $50. One is listed as Win7 while the other is listed as Win7 through downgrade rights. There was no two choices in March and even back then I had read that ordering Win7 was through downgrade.
So my questions are:
1) can I switch to Win8 Professional without any additional cost as I had understood?
2) if so how do I change over to Win8 Professional? I created a set of recovery disc for win7 but I don't know if it contains Win8 Prof.
part of the reason I'm asking now (more immediately) is that I had ordered the 500GB HDD with OPAL capability on it with the intention of implementing hardware encryption. I'm having problems finding any documentation or instructions on how to implement the hardware encryption (thanks a lot Lenovo) AND in searching the Internet it "appears" that I would need a version of Windows 8 to accomplish this as there is feature called edrive that is in Windows 8 (but not in Win7) that is required. (the only option for win7 laptops would be to utilize some third party software like WinMagic... which means it will cost me more money).
If it is true (that I need Win8) then I need to migrate to Win8 now, even before I really use this laptop. Which is why I'm asking about my "right" to migrate to Win8 Prof and how I would go about doing so.
thanks.

Hi John_B,
please take a look at this thread in the W seies board, hopefully it will help answer your question.
The W7 key is embedded in the Lenovo factory image so you will need to create recovery discs.
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
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How to upgrade to Win 8 from "Win 7 Pro 64 preload through downgrade rights in Win 8 Pro 64"?

If I buy a new W530 that according to the tabook has "Windows® 7 Professional 64 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Windows 8 Pro 64-bit" how could I in the future upgrade to Windows 8 with minimum hassle?
Am not really interested in spending the time on clean installs so am wondering if there is a hidden Windows 8 preload behind the visible Windows 7 preload, for instance available through Lenovo support sending me Windows 8 recovery disks for the W530.
T500: Vista 32, 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 15.4" 1680x1050, 500GB 7200rpm, ATI Radeon HD3650 + Intel 4500MHD. T42: XP, 1.7GHz, 2GB RAM, 14.1" 1024x768, 250GB PATA, ATI Radeon 7500.
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Hi zilla,
hopefully my post here contains the information you are looking for.
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
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Windows 7 Pro installed through downgrade rights

If a pre-configured machine comes with Win 7 Pro "through downgrade rights," does that mean the key would also work with Win 8 Pro?

Hi John_B,
please take a look at this thread in the W seies board, hopefully it will help answer your question.
The W7 key is embedded in the Lenovo factory image so you will need to create recovery discs.
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
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Downgrade Rights Of Windows Server

Can I downgrade from Windows server 2012 to Windows 2008 , I got an update from the customer representative that I can do it, but they told me to check for the downgrade rights. I just want to know that how can I check that whether I have downgrade rights
or not and I also want to know how can I downgrade .

Hi,
Customers who have licensed software through a Microsoft Volume Licensing program are eligible to use prior versions of the software edition that they have licensed. This is known as a downgrade right.
If you have legally obtained physical media (CD/DVD) of older licensed Microsoft products that your organization is currently licensed to use through downgrade rights, you can use these prior software versions at your discretion.
With the release of new product versions, previously available products are removed from the VLSC as they become N-2 versions. Support for physical media purchases of these N-2 products through Microsoft also ends at that time.
If your organization continues to require access to specific prior version products, we recommend that you first contact your Microsoft reseller to determine whether they still have media inventory. If you received past shipments of physical Volume Licensing
media (comprehensive or subscription kits) or purchased physical CD/DVD media, you can continue to use these discs to install prior versions of products that are no longer available from the VLSC.
for oem licenses, Downgrade rights are documented in the Microsoft Software License Terms that
customers accept upon first running Windows and Windows Server software. Thanks
to downgrade rights, end users who have acquired a later version of the software (such as Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard) can use an earlier version of the software (such as Windows Server 2008
R2 Standard) until they are ready to migrate to a later version Technology.
To downgrade Windows Server software customers must:
Purchase a Server system licensed with Windows Server software.
Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.
Perform the downgrade or down-edition process to the eligible
downgrade/down-edition product using the media/key from a genuine, previously
licensed OEM, retail or Volume Licensing Server product.
thanks
diramoh

Re-Imaging + Downgrade rights Win 8 Vol license to Win 7 Pro Refurbished?

HI, is the following possible according to Microsoft licensing terms in Europe?
- I buy 100 x refurbished PCs with Windows 7 Professional Refurbished licenses (from an official Microsoft refurbisher)
- Then, I buy 1 x Windows 8 Professional Upgrade license.
Does this allow me to Downgrade my Windows 8 Professional license to Windows 7 Professional and do Re-Imaging with this 1 license and install it on my 100 PCs?
As far as I understand Microsoft-Licensing, it should be ok, but I want to make sure it is ok.
I read here (http://blogs.technet.com/b/volume-licensing/archive/2014/02/13/licensing-how-to-reimaging-rights-top-5-questions.aspx ):
2 - May I use reimaging and downgrade rights together to deploy a
prior version of the edition licensed?
Yes. If the underlying OEM or Retail license you are reimaging offers downgrade or prior version rights, you are a Volume License (VL) customer, and have the appropriate VL media and keys available that match the edition and language for the underlying
license, you are permitted to reimage a prior version. For more information on your downgrade rights, see the license terms applicable to your product, or see the
Downgrade Rights Licensing Brief. For more information about access to prior product versions, please see the
fulfillment website.
Many thanks!
Stefan Tauchhammer
Stefan Tauchhammer

The short answer is, yes, that is what the paragraph you quoted says. If you haven’t read through the
Reimaging Rights Volume Licensing brief, I would recommend it.
Brandon
Windows Outreach Team- IT Pro
The Springboard Series on TechNet

T450s downgrade Win 8.1 Pro to Win 7 Pro Secure Boot Process?

Hi all, New owner of a T450S with 8.1 Pro. I have a Windows 7 Pro OEM disc (no serial number) that I can put on a USB thumb drive. Prior to owning a secure boot machine I would just format the hard and install Win 7. With secure boot and the downgrade I'm not sure how this works. 1. Is the serial number that I have backwards compatable? Can I just format, install and use the 8.1 Pro serial number on my Lenovo? 2. I believe I will have to disable secure boot but I'm not sure. Any help or link to a tutorial would be appreciated. ThanksChrissy

@ the OP,
The article ColonelOneill linked says "You’ll need to activate by phone. Call up the phone number displayed in the activation window and explain that you’re exercising your Windows 8 Pro downgrade rights. Have your Windows 8 Pro key ready; you’ll need it to prove your PC has downgrade rights."
Here's a link to Microsoft's description of how to activate a downgrade: Understanding downgrade rights
Z.

Downgrade from win 7 pro to xp pro

my x201 think pad came with xp pro as a downgrade from win 7 pro, and recovery disks for win 7.
when i attempted to upgrade to win 7, i forgot to save my xp documents. lenovo premium support tried to recover my word, excel and pdf documents, but could not.
i'm not comfortable with win 7, and would like to downgrade to xp pro, sp 3.
how can i accomplish this?
x201 thinkpad, 300 gig hard drive, 4 megs of ram [actually 3+ megs, 32-bit system.
thanks!

Hi campus56,
If you didn't create Win XP's recovery discs, then you would need to order them from lenovo, whether you're upgrading or downgrading it's always recommended to create recovery discs through ThinkVantage of your previous OS.
Hope this helps.
Maliha (I don't work for lenovo)
ThinkPads:- T400[Win 7], T60[Win 7], IBM 240[Win XP]
IdeaPad: U350
Apple:- Macbook Air [Snow Leopard]
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Windows activation after Downgrade win 8 pro - win 7 pro

Hello, me again, (you guys have been great thank you very much) let me see if I understand this correctly (been reading Google) Lenovo does not put a COA sticker on the x230 for windows 8 pro? It is all automated?
I just loaded up windows 7, looked around the laptop, took the battery off and could not find a product key. Great...Probably should have looked this up beforehand. On top of that I cannot get the phone activation option to even come up on this thing.
Any suggestions at all for this situation: x230 had a defective hard drive, lenovo sent a new hard drive, and 4 recovery cds FOR A LAPTOP WITH NO CD DRIVE. I cannot stand windows 8 so I loaded windows 7 using a usb stick. The very last thing I need to do is activate windows, I apparently do not have a key for windows 8 to call microsoft with, and even if I did, I cannot find the microsoft activation number on this computer.
Thanks again people, would not have gotten this far without you...
Moderator note; comment removed Forum Rules

You are supposed to have downgrade rights if your machine was sold with win8 PRO. If you install from Lenovo disks, it will not ask for a key. Unfortunately, you are probably going to need to get access to a USB DVD drive. They can be gotten for under $20 on eBay, or you can try to borrow one.

Win 7 Pro to Win 8 Pro Upgrade Help needed!

So basically I need somebody to walk me through this like I'm computer illiterate, which I'm generally not, but hesitant to get started without actually understanding the whys and hows.
I bought a Thinkpad S440 with preinstalled WIndows 8 Pro.
It has the Win8Pro sticker at the bottom and the five recovery disks.
Now, the store told me that Lenovo had downgraded it to Windows 7 Pro, so this is what I'm running currently.
I want to upgrade it first to Windows 8 Pro and then to Windows 8.1 Pro (unless I can do it all at once?) Clean install preferable.
It does not have an optical drive, so the Recovery disks which state they can be used to upgrade are pretty much useless. I don't have access to an optical drive anyway, so I can't create iso images of them either.
Also, I don't have a Windows 8 Pro Product key, because apparently it's embedded in the BIOS.
I'm at a loss as how to go about this thing. I bought a Windows 8 Pro machine, I want to be able to use Windows 8.1 Pro. I mean, it should be possible, right? The stickers and purchase order all state Win8 Pro as the OS.
P.S. There's also a 20GB partition on my SSD for Lenovo Repair & Recovery? Is that usable somehow? Why is it there?
Advice? Walkthroughs? I'm completely frustrated with the lack of Product Key.
I've done several upgrades and clean installs on previous computers, but I've never felt limited like this....
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi clen3k,
You might not have to do that, but nowadays USB optical drives are very inexpensive and you should be able to find a drive even where you are located.
But, back to the original question. Seeing as how Windows 8 was preloaded and your machine was downgraded to Windows 7, your recovery partition should contain the Windows 8 OS. I say, "should".
Have you loaded anything into the Windows 7 OS that you don't want to lose? Loading Windows 8 might be as simple as booting into Rescue and Recovery and returning the machine to factory settings. Or, just go into Rescue and Recovery from the desktop and return the machine to factory settings. Once you are in there you should be able to see what OS Recovery is going to install.
Only thing is if you don't like Windows 8, you will have to jump through a few hoops to get Windows 7 installed back onto your machine.
I would suggest getting yourself an external hard drive if you don't already have one and doing a backup of the current OS before you start so you could return the machine back the way it is now if something messes up. No matter what happens, down the road you will want to do current backups on a regular basis anyway so you need to have something to do those backups on.
Regards,
Dave
T430u, x301, x200T, x61T, x61, x32, x41T, x40, U160, ThinkPad Tablet 1838-22R, Z500 touch, Yoga Tab 2 Windows 8.1, Yoga Tablet 3 Pro
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Downgrade Rights 8.1 Pro to 7

Hello All,
I have been searching for a bit but haven't found exactly what I am after, so I thought I'd ask around and see if anybody can help me out.
We recently brought 10 machines (E550) into our environment (20 more on the way) with 8.1 Pro installed. We have a custom image of Windows 7 Pro we would like to use. The image is generated from a retail copy of Win 7 Pro that has been fully patched and customized with some common line-of-business applications we regularly use. This allows us to generate new machines very quickly without having to deal with heavy amounts of patching and customization and is a real time saver for us.
We are a relatively small organization and don't have a VL account with Microsoft and as such, we've been relying on the OEM keys provided with the machine to activate our copies of Win 7.
Now, with the new machines, we are able to view the embedded SLP key for 8.1 Pro but we cannot activate it against our retail copy of Win 7 Pro like we could with previous OEM keys ('Invalid key' or 'key entered incorrectly' messages). We meet all the requirements set out by MS for downgrade rights but I cannot find any way to make it work, outside of purchasing VL upgrade keys and using those- a huge additional expense for software we already purchased when we bought the equipment.
Has anybody found a workaround to using the embedded key? Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll respond back right away.

Have you looked at this, http://www.microsoft.com/OEM/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/downgrade_rights.aspx
I have not actually tried a downgrade but the only thing I can think of is there is a difference between reimage and install. Not sure if that is your problem.
Hoov
Microsoft MVP - Consumer Security
SpywareHammer.com

Upgrade win 7 Pro to win 8.1 Cannot access Homegroup

I have a Dell Desktop which was the computer that I created my homegroup on. I have a total of 6 computers on my home network. When I upgraded from Win 7 pro to Win 8 pro. It asks me to join homegroup. When I click on join, the computer spends several
minutes "verifying password". Then it asks me for the password and I enter the correct one that was used before the upgrade. The CPU spends several more minutes grinding away before telling me, "Windows no longer detects a homegroup on this
network. To create a new homegroup, click OK, and then open HomeGroup in Control Panel." I click OK. I go back to the HomeGroup in control panel and it tells me I have created a homegroup on this computer (actual names not included for security reasons)
and only gives me the option to join. If I click join I go through this same process again....
I ran the troubleshooter and no problems are detected. I asked for more help and that's how I eventually got here.
Help
Fred Williams

Hi ,
Based on your description ,there several possible reasons for this issue ,please try the following methods and let me know the results .
1.1 Type “services.msc” at the command input box hit enter.
       1.2 Go to the two services ,and make sure that they are on.
  2.  Date and time might be incorrect. Here’ how to check this :
           2.1  Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap
Search
           2.2   In the search box, enter date and time, and then tap or click Settings.
2.3   In the list of results, tap or click Date and Time.
    3. Already belong to an HomeGroup
In this case ,leave the HomeGroup and rejoin it and make sure that no duplicated computer name exist.
If the issue still haunts you ,please check more solutions at
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/homegroup-problems-in-windows#

Trying to upgrade from Win 8 to Win 8 Pro, missing "add features"

Hello,
I bought a new laptop that has Win 8 preinstalled on it. I can't figure out how to tell what edition, I think it's Home something or other.
I've tried following the directions at:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs
When I swipe and search for "add features" it comes up blank. I have a MSDN subscription and downloaded (and got a key for) a Win 8 Pro ISO, but I tried running it and it didn't seem to do anything. I was never presented with a
place to enter my key for the upgrade. I assume I can use this key if I ever get the "add features" to show up?
-Charlie

On 4/6/2013 6:46 PM, Charles Foxtrot wrote:
<snipped>
You have to change the product-key on the "Computer" to the Windows 8 Pro Key. But you will not be able to give the Win 8 pro product-key at the time during the DVD installation process, at least that's what happened for me doing a Win 8
Pro install over Win 8 Home. This is assuming you booted off the Win 8 Pro DVD and did the install, and it never asked for the product-key.
After the install, you can go to the Desktop tile from the Start page and go to File Explorer where you will see the "Properties" tab. You can also type in "computer" from that Start page, and then you can click the
icon that takes you to File Explorer and to the "Properties" tab. It's at the "Properties" tab where you will see the specs for the computer and the O/S type. You will also see a line about "changing the product-key or activate it",
and it is there where you will give the Win 8 pro product-key. It will run for a little bit, but after it's all said and done, the O/S should indicate that it's Win 8 pro.
I believe the only time you will see the "change product-key" is when you boot off the Win pro DVD and do the install, and then the change product-key feature is activated so you can change the product-key.
I went through hell for a couple of hours. I did the install off the Win 8 pro DVD and installed it. It never stopped and asked for the product-key. I looked at the computer specs after the install, and it never showed that it was Win 8 pro. It was still
Win 8 Home. :) What the hell do mean you are not Win 8 Pro? I did the install off of the DVD! :)

Running Dual boot windows 8 and win 7 pro with xp mode installed!! I love it!!

It took over 2 days to figure out how to adjust the bios to get my win 7 pro DVD to boot and install dual boot on this GREAT MACHINE!!
Step 1: using diskmgmt.msc you have to shring the C partition. I shrunk it so I had 80GB remaining as unallocated space.
Step 2: You have to enter the machine Bios adn set the BIOS to Both and UEFI as first
Step 3: Connect your usb dvd
Step 4: Put your win 7 pro dvd in the usb dvd drive
Step 5: Reboot your machine and when it starts press F12 to get the boot menu and select the usb dvd drive then press enter
The machine restarts
Message on screen says press a key to boot from cd/dvd
Press space and it boots up the win 7 pro DVD
After files copy and load the setup screen asks to accept the agreement and where to install win 7
BE SURE TO SELECT THE 80GB location
Then follow thru the win 7 prompts to load it.
When the machine restarts you will see a dual boot screen with Windows 7 on top as first selection and Windows 8 below it as 2nd selection.
Make sure to hit enter with windows 7 selected
The win 7 installation completes.
You will see many items with drivers not installed dont fret.
You can load most of the drivers by highlighting the device in control panel/device manager and pick update driver then select BROWSE for DRIVER and be sure to put in drive D:\ which is now the windows 8 drive and hit search.
Many of the windows 8 drivers installed with no issue.
The Realtek driver was an exception .. goto to the lenovo site and pick the x100e tablet and download the LAN driver from there about (4MB). Copy it to flash drive and install it in win 7 from the .exe file. The driver for LAN will install sucessfully. The version of the driver is 7.46 something the 7.11 versions do not workl.
I have only 3 drivers that I could not find - 2 list as unknown and are related to ACPI or power management and 1 lists as USB controller but all the USB stuff works without it.
Be sure to either shutdown the system or sign out of win 8 when your done so you get the dual boot menu. If you shutdown while logged into win 8 the next time you start up it will go right to win 8 until you signout and restart.
Just to let you know an easy way to shutdown is go to the desktop and press ALT + FN + F4 and a shutdown menu comes up on the desktop.
Once win 7 pro is installed you can download the XP mode free from Microsoft and install it.
This is of course AFTER you have ACTIVATED WINDOWS 7 ONLINE with YOUR ACTIVATION KEY(you supply).
ENJOY! This is the BEST machine I ever had!

It's been many, many years since I don't do dual boot anymore. Don't find the reason to do it, either. Different kinds of virtualization should be enough. Anyway...
dfw1417 wrote:
It took over 2 days to figure out how to adjust the bios to get my win 7 pro DVD to boot and install dual boot on this GREAT MACHINE!!
ENJOY! This is the BEST machine I ever had!
WHICH machine?
Cheers.
If I helped you, please give me some kudos! ^^

Win 7 preinstalled through downgrade rights in Win 8 Pro 64

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