Installation and Upgrade Go Back to Previous Version of Windows in Windows 11


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This tutorial will show you how to go back to the previous Windows from Windows 11 without losing your documents, photos, and other personal files.

Windows 11 gives you the ability to uninstall and go back (roll back) to a previous version of Windows.

When you upgrade to Windows 11 from Windows 10, repair install Windows 11, or update to a new version of Windows 11 (ex: Windows Update), a copy of the previous installation is saved to the Windows.old folder in the root directory of the Windows 11 drive as a backup. This backup will allow you to be able to go back to the previous Windows for up to a 10 days after upgrading to Windows 11 if you should want to.

Going back to the previous Windows will keep your personal files, but it'll remove apps and drivers installed after the upgrade, as well as any changes you made to settings.

To go back, you'll need to:
  • Keep everything in the windows.old and $windows.~bt folders after the upgrade.
  • Remove any user accounts you added after the upgrade.
  • Have the USB drive you used to upgrade to Windows 11 (if you used one).
Reference:


Contents

  • Option One: Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Advanced Startup
  • Option Two: Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Settings
  • Option Three: Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Command Prompt




Option One

Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Advanced Startup


1 Boot to advanced startup.

2 Click/tap on Troubleshoot. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Advanced_Startup-1.png

3 Click/tap on Advanced options. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Advanced_Startup-2.png

4 Click/tap on Uninstall Updates. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Advanced_Startup-3.png

5 Click/tap on Uninstall latest feature update. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Advanced_Startup-4.png

6 Click/tap on Uninstall feature update to begin. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Advanced_Startup-5.png

7 The previous version of Windows will now start restoring.




Option Two

Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Settings


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Recovery on the right side. (see screenshot below)


Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-1.png

3 Click/tap on Go back on the right side under Recovery options. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-2.png

4 Check why you are going back to provide feedback to Microsoft, type more details under Tell us more, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-3.png

5 Click/tap on No, thanks. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-4.png

6 Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-5.png

7 Click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-6.png

8 Click/tap on Go back to earlier build or Go back to Windows 10 to begin. (see screenshots below)

Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-8.png
Go_back_to_previous_Windows_Settings-7.png

9 The previous version of Windows will now start restoring.




Option Three

Go back to Previous Windows from Windows 11 in Command Prompt


You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.


1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter.

DISM /Online /Initiate-OSUninstall /Quiet

This command will restart the computer immediately to start going back to the previous Windows.


For more command usage details, see: DISM operating system uninstall command-line options | Microsoft Docs




That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Last edited:
Hi,
Now why would you want to do that 11's not throwing sfc errors like 10 does so it's already better :D

Edit
Did notice windows.old folder was only 8gb lol
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-7-10-11Pro's
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 17" Nitro 7840sn/ 2x16gb 5600c40/ 4060/ stock 1tb-os/ 4tb sn850x
    CPU
    10900k & 9940x & 5930k
    Motherboard
    z490-Apex & x299-Apex & x99-Sabertooth
    Memory
    Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb & Trident-Z 3600c16 4x8gb & 3200c14 4x8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Titan Xp & 1080ti FTW3 & evga 980ti gaming
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek x3
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
    Screen Resolution
    1920-1080 not sure what the t.v is besides 43" class scales from 1920-1080 perfectly
    Hard Drives
    2-WD-sn850x 4tb/ 970evo+500gb/ 980 pro 2tb.
    PSU
    1000p2 & 1200p2 & 850p2
    Case
    D450 x2 & 1 Test bench in cherry Entertainment center
    Cooling
    Custom water loops x3 with 2x mora 360mm rads only 980ti gaming air cooled
    Keyboard
    G710+x3
    Mouse
    Redragon x3
    Internet Speed
    xfinity gigabyte
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    mbam pro
Hi,
Now why would you want to do that 11's not throwing sfc errors like 10 does so it's already better :D
There could be many reasons.
  1. You simply prefer Windows 10 over Windows 11
  2. Just because my computer runs Windows 11 very well without any hick ups, some other user may have many issues with Windows 11.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296 (Release Channel) / Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo A485
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 2700U Pro
    Motherboard
    Lenovo (WiFi/BT module upgraded to Intel Wireless-AC-9260)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU Vega 10
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" FHD (built-in) + 14" Lenovo Thinkvision M14t (touch+pen) + 32" Asus PB328
    Screen Resolution
    FHD + FHD + 1440p
    Hard Drives
    Intel 660p m.2 nVME PCIe3.0 x2 512GB
    PSU
    65W
    Keyboard
    Thinkpad / Logitech MX Keys
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 2S
    Internet Speed
    600/300Mbit
    Browser
    Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    SecureBoot: Enabled
    TPM2.0: Enabled
    AMD-V: Enabled
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296(Release Preview Channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    i7-7700k @4.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z270-A
    Memory
    32GB 2x16GB 2133MHz CL15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW 11GB
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" 10-bit Asus PB328Q
    Screen Resolution
    WQHD 2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    512GB ADATA SX8000NP NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4
    PSU
    850W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 2S
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX Keys
    Internet Speed
    600/300Mbit
    Browser
    Edge (Cromium)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    AC WiFi Card
There could be many reasons.
  1. You simply prefer Windows 10 over Windows 11
  2. Just because my computer runs Windows 11 very well without any hick ups, some other user may have many issues with Windows 11.
Hi,
I haven't been using 11 but a couple days
I tried to run crystal disk info and it failed to run might of been crystal disk mark can't remember

Not sure how many items won't run atm I'm still setting up and only have a rude 1st system image not a real tuned system image yet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-7-10-11Pro's
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 17" Nitro 7840sn/ 2x16gb 5600c40/ 4060/ stock 1tb-os/ 4tb sn850x
    CPU
    10900k & 9940x & 5930k
    Motherboard
    z490-Apex & x299-Apex & x99-Sabertooth
    Memory
    Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb & Trident-Z 3600c16 4x8gb & 3200c14 4x8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Titan Xp & 1080ti FTW3 & evga 980ti gaming
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek x3
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
    Screen Resolution
    1920-1080 not sure what the t.v is besides 43" class scales from 1920-1080 perfectly
    Hard Drives
    2-WD-sn850x 4tb/ 970evo+500gb/ 980 pro 2tb.
    PSU
    1000p2 & 1200p2 & 850p2
    Case
    D450 x2 & 1 Test bench in cherry Entertainment center
    Cooling
    Custom water loops x3 with 2x mora 360mm rads only 980ti gaming air cooled
    Keyboard
    G710+x3
    Mouse
    Redragon x3
    Internet Speed
    xfinity gigabyte
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    mbam pro
I was reading earlier that W11 may cause some slow downs in cpu's and memory losses, i guess that would be a reason to roll back & if one didn't like it at all compared to W10 !! I have W11 Beta ever since it rolled out & i like it !! So hope the new W11 is even better !!
Chuck
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows11 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2428)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP HP ENVY TE01
    CPU
    2.90 gigahertz Intel Core i7-10700
    Motherboard
    Board: HP 8767 A (SMVB)
    Memory
    16214 Megabytes Usable Installed Memor
    Hard Drives
    1511.52 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
    1418.15 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    M 185 wireless
    Internet Speed
    12 ms Jitter 8 ms Download 10.5 Mbps Upload 1.7
    Browser
    Edge & FF
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
was reading earlier that W11 may cause some slow downs in cpu's and memory losses
Yes, if you enable all (Windows 11 optional Virtualization Based Security) security features, certain games and applications may or may not run a bit slower (up to 28% according to some reports). But it kinda makes sense. Also these benchmarks seem to be all over the place. Could be some driver that isn't quite compliant with VBS.

Also on AMD systems Level 3 cache seems to have a 3x increase in latency for some reason. This latency issue is already fixed in the Dev branch. We only need to wait for MS to push the fix to official branch too.

Then we have File Explorer that for some reason does not release all reserved memory after closing it, or the release is slow. You only notice this if you open up and close multiple FEs within a short period of time.

On my AMD laptop running latest Dev branch and with all security features enabled, I haven't noticed any slow downs or memory leaks. So there's hope for all of these issues being fixed very soon on official branch.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296 (Release Channel) / Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo A485
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 2700U Pro
    Motherboard
    Lenovo (WiFi/BT module upgraded to Intel Wireless-AC-9260)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU Vega 10
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" FHD (built-in) + 14" Lenovo Thinkvision M14t (touch+pen) + 32" Asus PB328
    Screen Resolution
    FHD + FHD + 1440p
    Hard Drives
    Intel 660p m.2 nVME PCIe3.0 x2 512GB
    PSU
    65W
    Keyboard
    Thinkpad / Logitech MX Keys
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 2S
    Internet Speed
    600/300Mbit
    Browser
    Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    SecureBoot: Enabled
    TPM2.0: Enabled
    AMD-V: Enabled
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296(Release Preview Channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    i7-7700k @4.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z270-A
    Memory
    32GB 2x16GB 2133MHz CL15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW 11GB
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" 10-bit Asus PB328Q
    Screen Resolution
    WQHD 2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    512GB ADATA SX8000NP NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4
    PSU
    850W
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 2S
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX Keys
    Internet Speed
    600/300Mbit
    Browser
    Edge (Cromium)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    AC WiFi Card

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