Windows 10 provides an option to downgrade laptop from Windows 10 to Windows 8.1 or Windows 7. If Windows 10 has any issues, or you somehow just happen to hate it, you click the button "Go back to Windows 8.1or 7". That is really convenient. However, this button is only available for a month after you upgrade to Windows 10. Here are the steps to go back:
The process will take one hour or two depending on how much data on your Windows.old folder.
A Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 laptop will create the Windows.old and $Windows.~BT and $Windows.~WS directories after upgrading to Windows 10. All the data on the previous version will be saved in the Windows.old folder. After 30 days running Windows 10, these folders will automatically be deleted, resulting in the option "Go back to Windows 8.1or 7" missing. In order to rollback after 30 days, you can rename these folders or back them up to other location keeping their original names. Of course, this has to be done within 30 days.
When you need to revert to windows 8.1 from windows 10, you can change these folders' names to their original names or restore them to the original location. Then change the date and time of your computer to a date that is with the 30-day period. Finally, you should find the "Go backup to Windows 8.1 or 7" option available again under Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.
Theoretically, this will work, but if it fails, you can reinstall Windows 8.1 or 7, and then recover the data back from the Windows.old folder.
To have an easier and securer way to rollback laptop to Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, you can create a system backup with a freeware Qiling Disk Master Standard before upgrading to Windows 10. Qiling Disk Master comes with an intuitive interface, so you can back up or restore to the previous version of Windows effortlessly. With Qiling PXE boot tool or bootable media, you can restore your system even when your computer fails to boot. To go back to previous Windows with Qiling Disk Master:
All in all, with Qiling Disk Master, you can downgrade laptop from windows 10 to windows 8.1 or 7 with a few clicks at any time. Besides, it also support dissimilar hardware restore, system clone, file sync and many other useful features.