[Coda]

First off: You don't HAVE to have a Microsoft account to log in. You can create a local-only account. It's mostly just a convenience.

Anyway, Windows 8.1 is a substantial improvement over 8.0. For the most part, if you already have 8.1 installed, there's not a whole lot of reason to go back to 7; the main difference you'll encounter in day-to-day use is the start screen vs. the start menu.

If your laptop has a touchscreen, 8.1 can actually be rather pleasant to use. It's a little awkward with a mouse, but it's better than 8.0.

Give it a try. Reinstalling an OS is enough of a pain in the butt that you should see for yourself how you feel about it.