Windows 7: Looking for help on performing a clean reinstall or repair install

Hey! I've been experiencing problems with my laptop for probably a year now, it takes forever to start up when it's either shut down or in sleep mode. After doing some research online and attempting some various fixes, I think my quickest solution is just to perform either a clean reinstall or a repair install.

I'm just wondering which of those 2 options you would recommend for my situation.

Also, I have an Acer laptop that came with Windows 7 Home Premium (with Service Pack 1) when I purchased it. So I found these 2 articles for a clean reinstall and a repair install, and I was just hoping to confirm that following the steps in one of these would work for me:



Repair Install

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Thanks!
Tommy

Are you unwilling or unable to do a restore to factory specifications using an Acer recovery partition or recovery disks?

If so, then those other two choices are a possibility.

If you do a clean install, you will need a valid 25-character Product Key.

Back up your personal data in any case.

Is there any of the factory software that came with your laptop you use. If not, then clean install with an ISO of 7 home premium (bit specific - 32 or 64). This will install only the OS and not any of factory bloatware that comes with it. You can download the ISO from here.

Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life

Remember to download all your drivers for your laptop and to include any software that might be viable... ie, for a built in webcam.

Thank you for your speedy rely!

What would be the difference between a clean reinstall and a restore to factory specifications (ie. What advantages might that add?)

I don't know if I have an Acer recovery partition or recovery disks, so I wouldn't know how to go about doing that. And I did purchase my laptop so I'm pretty sure I have a valid 25-character product key on a sticker on it somewhere.

Thanks!

Thanks for your reply! How do I tell which software is factory software and which is Windows software? And how do I go about downloading all my drivers?

Thanks

If you'll read through Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 it explains how drivers are handled best in Windows 7 which is different than XP.

It also explains that leaving out the preinstalled factory crapware and duplicate utilities gives better performance by the OS.

However if you'd like to try running Acer factory recovery: Acer Support: Recovery media and Restoring a system to factory load. Make your Recovery disks first so you have a backup method.

Afterwards you can Clean Up Factory Bloatware. In fact running those steps now may help solve some of the performance issues you're having. If not you can also try these Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7

I wouldn't be satisifed with "pretty sure" on the Product Key. Confirm yes or confirm no.

A clean reinstall will give you Windows 7 per se, without anything else Acer may have added. You will be able to choose your own partitioning scheme during the installation.

A restore to factory specifications will give you Windows 7 plus whatever other stuff Acer may have included---most of which you are probably better off without. You will end up with Acer's default partitioning scheme, which can be adjusted after the restore.

It's a near certainty you have an Acer recovery partition. You likely don't have recovery DVDs unless you personally made them.

Don't attempt the clean install if you do not have the Product Key.

I would not attempt the clean install if I had not made the recovery disks.

Most would tell you that the primary advantage of a clean install is that the programs Acer included can likely be replaced at no charge with better programs. The included programs that you never use will be gone. Less clutter and less occupied space on your C drive.

We can't really confirm whether you have a recovery partition without a picture of your Windows Disk Management. You likely access recovery from an Function Key during the boot process--or possibly from a program in your list of programs.

I do have a product key on a sticker on the bottom of my laptop.

I'm not sure what an Acer recovery partition is, or how I would access it. In my dvd book of computer-related disks, I DO have a burned DVD disk that I labelled "Repair Disk Windows 7 64-bit"... would that be my recovery disk? If so would using that be my best option out of all the available ones?

You say "I would not attempt the clean install if I had not made the recovery disks." Why is that?

The "repair disk Windows 7 64-bit" is not a disk to restore you to factory specifications unless you mislabeled it. It's to repair the Windows installation itself.

All the Acer's I have seen do have a recovery partition. You would access it through a menu in your list of programs or from an F key. I'm not sure exactly how on an Acer, but Google should tell you quickly. I'd look in my programs menu for Acer or Acer Recovery or similar terms. If you reboot, then F10 or alt-F10 may also lead to the recovery option.

Post a screen shot of Disk Management and we can probably identify the recovery partition on sight. It may be called "PQService".

If you restore from that partition, you shouldn't need that Product Key. If you do a clean install, you will need it.

Here's why I would not do the clean install without making recovery disks:

If you do a clean install, the recovery partition will likely be deleted. Even if not deleted, it may no longer work. The recovery disks are a substitute for the recovery partition and can be used even if the partition is gone. However, the disks are not as reliable as the partition---so you should always be prepared to do a clean install. If you ever have to deal with Acer support, they may want you to restore to factory specifications.

So how exactly would I go about making recovery disks then if I need to do a clean install? Or is it too late since my system is already having issues, causing the need for a clean install in the first place?

Here is a screen shot of my disk management (I think this is what you wanted)? Are you able to help me find the recovery partition and continue on from this: