Windows 8

Shouldn't have any problems. Drivers for Win7 are compatible with Win8, so it should be smooth sailing.

 

You can take relief in the fact that as long as you don't alter the bootloader partition and you can get into fastboot mode, you should be able to recover the tab from just about any mess. Just be aware that unlocking the bootloader will wipe the device clean. After that you are able to get into the wonderful world of custom roms, kernels, and much more.

 

Its VERY hard to actually brick a device these days. You can recover from just about anything.

 

Is it too late to return it for a Windows 7 laptop?

 

I was serious about returning it.

Spoiler

I read the other day that if you want to pi$$ off someone, give them Windows 8.

Actually, WUGS is how I got Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus, drivers on my Windows 7 laptop. It's not a problem you can blame on Windows 8.

 

I can second this. I've managed to get into one hell of a pickle over the last 2 days and I honestly thought my tablet would be used in future as a bread board.

Somehow with a semi-functioning bootloader (and 6 hours of hair pulling aggravating snowballing of problems) I managed to get my device up and running almost flawlessly. Wugs toolkit was the hero of the day, without it I'd probably still be trying to figure out what was wrong.

Don't worry about Windows 8 either. All windows 7 drivers should be compatible with windows 8 and most software/programs that are functional on vista/7 should also work fine on windows 8.

 

On Windows 8 I usually have to go to pc settings/general/advanced startup and restart with the option to allow unsigned drivers in order to install the drivers for my various Android devices. I'm not sure if the drivers you need for the Nexus 7 are signed or not...I just enabled the unsigned drivers before I tried to install them. The option does not persist after rebooting so you need to restart in the advanced mode each time you want to install new drivers.

 

I think if I remember correctly, I think Wugs uses the Samsung ADB drivers for the Nexus 7 which are signed. The other two options aren't signed I believe. However if you choose to download and install the ASUS ADB drivers from their website, they are also signed. I think Win8 works better with the signed drivers from my experience. I could never get the pdaNet drivers to work, so I don't bother with them anymore.