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Acer laptop Win 7 Ultimate x64 OEM, how to clean install without disk?
Hi folks,
I have an Acer E1-571 with Win 7 Ultimate x64 pre-installed and I would like to make a clean install. I've had some malware infections over the years and registry-damaging cleanups, and for peace of mind, I want to wipe the drive and install fresh.
Relevant or not, I have a couple of concerns regarding the authenticity of the pre-installation, i.e. whether it was done at the store I bought it from rather than at the factory:
- I used Magical Jelly Bean to get the OEM product key and cd key: when I googled the keys, they worryingly appear on several web sites offered as keys for anyone to use.
- I checked for the hidden partition PQSERVICE, using DISKPART commands as well as in Disk Management. No hidden partition found. It possibly existed at one time and I accidentally deleted it in Disk Managment, seeing no use for a reserved partition and thinking it was part of some virus infection. Yes, I won't be doing that again. Stupid some might say, but then if it is supposed to be hidden to protect it, why not hide it in Disk Management as well as File Explorer, or just label it Recovery Partition Do Not Delete. Anyway, back to topic.
When I explained the situation to Acer, they wanted to charge for a recovery disk. If I was responsible for deleting the reserved partition (and I think I did) then I could just pay them, and the job might be done, but I think the cost of the disk is excessive and I wonder why they couldn't just have it for download for customers to burn themselves and control it by requiring the laptop serial number or MAC address.
Anyway, I thought a completely clean install from a simple iso would also be free of the bloatware compared with an Acer recovery disk.
I downloaded an iso from a user on forums.mydigitallife.info, but I haven't checked the integrity yet.
I have an idea of the correct steps I need to go through for a successful clean install, if anyone can confirm, or advise me otherwise:
- Verify the integrity of the iso using MS File Checksum Integrity Verifierand compare it against a checksum on MSDN (if I can find the exact same iso, which I doubt I can)
- Burn the iso to disk using imgburn or the MS USB/DVD Download Tool to create a bootable disk.
- Install from the disk. Activation will be automatic using the SLP key / slic table on the bios.
- Reinstall Acer drivers.
I realise that the drivers might be a pain to reinstall one by one, in the right order, and if anyone believes it is all too much hassle and that I should pay Acer their ransom for a recovery disk, assuming the recovery disk is guaranteed to work, then at least I will have learned a few things on the way.
Thanks!