Uninstalling Win 10

A naive neighbor discovered that he had inadvertently installed Windows
10 and now he wants to go back to whatever he had before (and he doesn't
know which version of Windows he had!)

I googled "uninstall windows 10" and got hits for "uninstall windows 10
technical preview". Is that what I'm looking for? If not, what do I
advise him?

Thanks.

Ken1943 wrote on 10/16/2015 12:53 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:50:43 -0400, Alek
wrote:

A naive neighbor discovered that he had inadvertently installed Windows
10 and now he wants to go back to whatever he had before (and he doesn't
know which version of Windows he had!)

I googled "uninstall windows 10" and got hits for "uninstall windows 10
technical preview". Is that what I'm looking for? If not, what do I
advise him?

Thanks.

That could be a disaster.

Why?

The only thing with 8/8.1/10 is the start
menu with all the BIG tiles. Tell him to get Start10 ,my favorite, and
he will be almost back to the way he was. Some good under the hood
changes even with the automatic updates.

He's having a problem logging in to his email at comcast.net. He feels
that he may have been hacked, because he got a call from "Microsoft" and
they wanted $53 to help him, to which he foolishly agreed.

I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.

On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:23:20 -0400, Alek wrote:

Ken1943 wrote on 10/16/2015 12:53 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:50:43 -0400, Alek
wrote:

A naive neighbor discovered that he had inadvertently installed Windows
10 and now he wants to go back to whatever he had before (and he doesn't
know which version of Windows he had!)

I googled "uninstall windows 10" and got hits for "uninstall windows 10
technical preview". Is that what I'm looking for? If not, what do I
advise him?

Thanks.

That could be a disaster.

Why?

The only thing with 8/8.1/10 is the start
menu with all the BIG tiles. Tell him to get Start10 ,my favorite, and
he will be almost back to the way he was. Some good under the hood
changes even with the automatic updates.

He's having a problem logging in to his email at comcast.net. He feels
that he may have been hacked, because he got a call from "Microsoft" and
they wanted $53 to help him, to which he foolishly agreed.

I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.


One can roll back to the previous version of Windows within 30 days.

What you have just told us could make a big difference.

A. If the neighbour was rolling back because he just found Windows had
been upgraded, then it is more likely to be within 30 days.

B. If the neighbour was rolling back because he gave scammers access
to his PC, then it might be more than 30 days since Windows was upgraded.


Beyond 30 days, the neighbour may or may not be able to
C. Restore the PC to factory settings
D. Reinstall the copy of Windows that came with the PC.
If you need to take either of these last two options, back up all data first.
These options will delete the data on the hard drive.


For instructions, go to
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...ptions#go-back
and expand the section "Go back to your previous version of Windows"


--
Kind regards
Ralph

Ken1943 wrote on 10/16/2015 2:08 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:23:20 -0400, Alek
wrote:

Ken1943 wrote on 10/16/2015 12:53 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:50:43 -0400, Alek
wrote:

A naive neighbor discovered that he had inadvertently installed Windows
10 and now he wants to go back to whatever he had before (and he doesn't
know which version of Windows he had!)

I googled "uninstall windows 10" and got hits for "uninstall windows 10
technical preview". Is that what I'm looking for? If not, what do I
advise him?

Thanks.

That could be a disaster.

Why?

The only thing with 8/8.1/10 is the start
menu with all the BIG tiles. Tell him to get Start10 ,my favorite, and
he will be almost back to the way he was. Some good under the hood
changes even with the automatic updates.

He's having a problem logging in to his email at comcast.net. He feels
that he may have been hacked, because he got a call from "Microsoft" and
they wanted $53 to help him, to which he foolishly agreed.

I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.

Because nothing is for sure as Windows 10 is too new. If he is that
bad with computers, he should not try anything. Just because he can't
get into his email account means nothing. Nobody knows what the
scammer did. My only thought would be to do a repair install. He would
need to get the "media creation tool' and make a dvd that is either
32 or 64 bit. Open the dvd in File Explorer and run the setup
program. DO NOT BOOT FROM THE DVD FOR THIS.

I'm pretty sure that he is incapable of doing this. Wouldn't you suspect
that of a person who didn't know what version of Windows he was running?

He said that he would try to have his son who lives 1000 miles away help
him via Skype. Better him than me! :-)

Ralph Fox wrote on 10/16/2015 3:19 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:23:20 -0400, Alek wrote:

Ken1943 wrote on 10/16/2015 12:53 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 11:50:43 -0400, Alek
wrote:

A naive neighbor discovered that he had inadvertently installed Windows
10 and now he wants to go back to whatever he had before (and he doesn't
know which version of Windows he had!)

I googled "uninstall windows 10" and got hits for "uninstall windows 10
technical preview". Is that what I'm looking for? If not, what do I
advise him?

Thanks.

That could be a disaster.

Why?

The only thing with 8/8.1/10 is the start
menu with all the BIG tiles. Tell him to get Start10 ,my favorite, and
he will be almost back to the way he was. Some good under the hood
changes even with the automatic updates.

He's having a problem logging in to his email at comcast.net. He feels
that he may have been hacked, because he got a call from "Microsoft" and
they wanted $53 to help him, to which he foolishly agreed.

I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.


One can roll back to the previous version of Windows within 30 days.

What you have just told us could make a big difference.

A. If the neighbour was rolling back because he just found Windows had
been upgraded, then it is more likely to be within 30 days.

B. If the neighbour was rolling back because he gave scammers access
to his PC, then it might be more than 30 days since Windows was upgraded.


Beyond 30 days, the neighbour may or may not be able to
C. Restore the PC to factory settings
D. Reinstall the copy of Windows that came with the PC.
If you need to take either of these last two options, back up all data first.
These options will delete the data on the hard drive.


For instructions, go to
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...ptions#go-back
and expand the section "Go back to your previous version of Windows"

Thank you. I'm sure he has no idea when the upgrade took place.

On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:48:45 -0400, Alek wrote:

Thank you. I'm sure he has no idea when the upgrade took place.


A friend or neighbour could help him go to

Start menu Settings Update & security Recovery

and check whether the "Go back to Windows ..." option
was available.


--
Kind regards
Ralph

In article
Ralph Fox wrote:


One can roll back to the previous version of Windows within 30 days.


Only in theory. If you remotely believe you may need to rollback,
you should image your drive prior to updating. MSFT's rollback
scheme is precarious and not guaranteed. I have first hand
experience. A failed rollback well within the 30-day period.

Imaging is your friend.

Alek wrote on 10/16/2015 3:48 PM:
Ralph Fox wrote on 10/16/2015 3:19 PM:


For instructions, go to
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...ptions#go-back
and expand the section "Go back to your previous version of Windows"

Thank you. I'm sure he has no idea when the upgrade took place.



Mutliple options are available...some of which a

1. If less than 31 days the Go Back to a prior version of Windows is
available in Win10. If more than 31 days the option will not be present

2. Restore the prior o/s using a pre-Win10 created image (if available)

3. Restore the pc to factory settings using the OEM provided or user
created media.

4. Reinstall the prior o/s and all programs using Windows installation
meida and application software installation media.

5. Take the device to a reputable shop and at user expense have the shop
return the machine to the prior o/s and with all data intact.



--
...winston
msft mvp windows experience

On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:23:20 -0400, Alek
wrote:


I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.




If he allowed "bogus phone call people" to take control of his
computer, rolling back is not good enough as far as I'm concerned.

I highly recommend that he do both of the following immediately:

1. Do a clean reinstallation of Windows.

2. *After* reinstalling Windows, change all of his passwords,
especially any for banks or other financial sites.

Since they *might* have installed a key logger, simply changing his
passwords without first reinstalling Windows may not be good enough.

Wolf K wrote on 10/16/2015 5:02 PM:
On 2015-10-16 15:19, Ralph Fox wrote:
[...]
If you need to take either of these last two options, back up all data first.
[...]

I'd say: Back Up The Data! Use USB flash memory sticks or an external
drive (which your neighbour should have anyhow).

I'm sure he thinks that backup is what happens when he puts his car into
Reverse!

Nomen Nescio wrote on 10/16/2015 5:33 PM:
In article
Ralph Fox wrote:


One can roll back to the previous version of Windows within 30 days.


Only in theory. If you remotely believe you may need to rollback,
you should image your drive prior to updating.

A little too late for a naive user who permitted MS to install 10!!

Ken Blake, MVP wrote on 10/16/2015 7:26 PM:
On Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:23:20 -0400, Alek
wrote:

I have no hands-on with W10 so am reluctant to offer advice. I thought
that rolling back might take care of the damage done by the bogus phone
call people.

If he allowed "bogus phone call people" to take control of his
computer, rolling back is not good enough as far as I'm concerned.

I highly recommend that he do both of the following immediately:

1. Do a clean reinstallation of Windows.

2. *After* reinstalling Windows, change all of his passwords,
especially any for banks or other financial sites.

Since they *might* have installed a key logger, simply changing his
passwords without first reinstalling Windows may not be good enough.

I'll see what he says after his son advises him. But I agree. I doubt he
can do a reinstall himself. Maybe there's a recovery partition on his HD
that he can use?