Thank you. So to confirm that I fully understand your recommendations, this is what I now need to do:
1. Back up ALL files on my hard drive to an external.
2. Google how to make a recovery disk and create one.
3. Google how to use the recovery partition and use it.
And then after applying the recovery partition, my laptop should be back to performing how it did when I first got it, and then I just need to restore all my files and reinstall all my programs and stuff?
There was mention of backing up drivers or downloading drivers or something of that nature in someone's response in this thread. Is that a necessity at all when doing the recovery partition method?
You've got it about right.
You don't mention looking in your own program menus for some reason.
There may be posts on this forum that better explain the procedure for an Acer laptop, but I haven't really searched for such a post. Or just try Google.
It's a near certainty the procedure is explained in your user's manual, which you should download anyway if you don't have it.
The programs supplied by Acer would be reinstalled automatically when you do a recovery, but you would have to reinstall anything you later installed, as well as restore all of your personal data.
If you do a recovery, you shouldn't need to download drivers or anything.
But----I'd be prepared for the recovery to go completely into the toilet and not even boot. Know what you will do if that happens---namely, do a clean install. So I would go to Acer web site and download drivers anyway now, in case the recovery method fails.
Put all that stuff on a DVD or preferably a USB thumb drive.
You should be particularly certain to get the Ethernet or wireless driver so you can get an Internet connection going.
If you do a clean install from a burned ISO disc, that disc will include most and maybe all needed drivers, but you cannot count on it having the Ethernet/wireless driver. If you have a working Internet connection, you can later download the necessary drivers if you didn't already do so.