Solved making copies of acer aspire 5745 Factory Recovery Disks.

Hello all , i am totally new here , i am having trouble finding information on the ability to make copies of the recovery disks [made on purchase] [3 of them + 1 for applications and drivers] .
My question is , is it possible to make copies [and if yes , then how?] of the above mentioned "factory recovery disks" ?
I have been using my acer aspire x64 bit laptop for two years now , and the operating system [windows 7 home basic x64 but crashes every month - but that is a problem/question for another thread/time]
for now i would like to know if i can simply make functional and bootable dvd copies that are identical to my current [in use and functional] 3 + 1 factory recovery disks ? As i am afraid that one day one or all of these disks will have scratches and will ultimately become corrupt , rendering them useless. Subsequently making my machine non-recoverable.
Note: I have already used the disks , successfully , about 25 times to revive from crashes. My hard drive and other components seem fine.
Just need to know if it is possible to make copies of these recovery disks [i would love to make atleast 1o sets of them -for complete peace of mind]
i am sorry for such a long and detailed post for a fairly simple question , to which i still donot know the answer to.
I would be much obliged to get as many answers from all you good and informed members. I appreciate you taking the time to read my concerns. Thanking you all, very respectfully, in advance.

Why not?? These are like other DVDs which contain nothing else than data!!! You can use nero for this purpose.
I think you are confused with the notification to "keep disk carefully". This is because the software that lets you make disk is one time use only, i.e., either you successfully make it once or never EVER.

Thank you very kindly Amazing.

THANK YOU SO MUCH AMAZING , YOU ARE TRULY AMAZING , I AM VERY GLAD AND RELIEVED TO READ YOUR PROMPT AND APT REPLY MY FRIEND. YOU ARE SO RIGHT , I WAS UNDER THIS IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO DO SO AS SO MUCH IMPORTANCE WAS GIVEN TO MAKING THOSE DISKS AS SOON AS THE MACHINE WAS PURCHASED AND THE FACT THAT NO MORE COULD BE PRODUCED AFTER IT WAS 'ONCE MADE' !!! I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH AS I COULD NOT FIND A STRAIGHT ANSWER TO THIS [SEEMINGLY] STRAIGHT FORWARD QUESTION , ANYWHERE ONLINE !!! I SHALL NOW BE SEEKING HELP FROM SOME PROFESSIONAL COPY MAKER [MAYBE IN ONE OF THESE CYBER CAFES ? ] THAT KNOW HOW TO USE THE NERO PROGRAM THAT YOU SUGGESTED , IN ORDER TO MAKE A WHOLE BUNCH OF COPIES OF THE SAID SETS , SO I CAN FINALLY BE AT PEACE IN MY MIND. AND THEN FIND OUT AS TO WHY I AM NEEDING TO RE INSTALL WINDOWS VIA THESE DISKS ALMOST EVERY MONTH AS A RESULT OF SLOWER BOOTS AND THEN FINALLY NO BOOTS , ENDING IN THE RECOVERY DISKS PROCEDURE
MANY THANKS AGAIN AMAZING , YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER !!
HAVE A GOOD ONE ... AXE.

Hi axeblade,

Why should you have to go to a Professional Copy Maker (?) for such a simple job of copying data discs?

Do as follows:

Download and install CDBurnerXP http://cdburnerxp.se/en/home

Go through this: http://www.cdburnerxp.se/help/Data/copydata

Copy the disks yourself. Depending upon whether your source disc is a CD or DVD, you will need blank CD-R or DVD-R.

If you have any problems or doubts or need clarifications, you are welcome here.

Thank you so much jumanji .

Dear jumanji ,
First of all , i am very grateful to you for your reply and links sent therein. This was most thoughtful of you indeed !!
Being able to do this on my own did not occur to me at first as i must have assumed that it probably would be a gruesome task , hence i was considering the option of seeking help from a local technician.
That said , i shall follow the instructions and directions given by you.
Purchase the needed DVD-R 's for the task.
And 'try' to attempt doing the same on my own.
Although i am not confident that i will succeed , i think i should at least follow your advice and give it a shot.
It may be a while till i can procure the necessary disks and allot time for this task , but i certainly am going to try , especially after experiencing such good , kind and supportive help from you and this wonderful forum.
The offer for further assistance from you and the other respectful members of this forum is much appreciated by me, as i have a feeling that i just might be needing it .
In spite of being a senior member , you took the time to help and direct me toward my goal. I am humbled and do thank you once again.
I wish you very happy Ganesh chaturthi !!
Have a spectacular day .... Axe.

Thanks a lot jumanji

Thank you so much for the kind message jumanji , i tried to click on the "reply to sender"
link in that box to thank you for the message , although i cant figure out as to how to write/reply to you for that message , i did try to look out for a way to post a "you are welcome" message on your profile , but couldn't understand as to how
So i am posting here , that , You are indeed very welcome , in fact it is i , who should be thanking you [once again] for those wonderful links that would probably lead me to learning about how to burn/make copies for those factory recovery discs. I have not bought the necessary DVD-R"s yet , but when i do i shall be asking some more little questions to clarify as i go along doing that task , i hope you wont mind , like for instance , if i made the copies as directed in the software [on the links] then will the new DVD-Rs also be BOOTABLE !! just like the originals? etc. Thanks jumanji ... hope i am not being a pest.
Enjoy the week ..... AXE.

Yep, it will a one to one sector to sector copy, an exact replica.

If you could afford also buy a few DVD-RWs/CD-RWs as may be required and write your first project on rewritable disks. That way even if your burning goes awry for any reason, you will not be producing any coasters. ( you can erase the disks and use them again.) Once you succeed you may then burn them to CD-Rs or DVD-Rs)

Thank you for the kind and informative reply.

Thanking you once again dear jumanji ,
I am glad to know that the new DVD-R's that i shall purchase to burn the already created [once only] DVD-R factory recovery disks on to , shall also turn out to be BOOTABLE DVD'S !!! [just like the one's i am using to revive my system all the time]. {i.e. as you put it , "exact replicas" . }
I shall also purchase a host of DVD-RW's as mentioned , [i am sure they will be of help to store many of the things i like as back ups etc]
Although [un-fortunately] i do not understand as to what you meant by creating copies of the {already made DVD-R's (factory recovery disks) onto the " DVD-RW's " } , Can't i simply make about 5 sets of {3 dvd-r's each} , from my existing recovery dvd-r's ? Directly?!!? [through the software given by you in your links? ] Could anything go wrong and spoil my only existing dvd-r recovery disks set? As i go about doing that task?
Just got confused as to the relevance of the DVD-RW's in this process , and as to what their importance would be? Please do pardon my ignorance , but isn't having DVD-R copies the better idea as neither i nor anyone else could write over or corrupt it [once made] , as they can be only written onto only once , yes??
I shall be getting the advised dvd-rw's also , although their connection with this process is puzzling to me.
If my concerns on this are not worth explaining and if i am doing things correctly by simply making DvD-r [multiple set copies] via your suggested links , then please disregard my message . And forgive my ignorance once more. But if their is something that i may be missing to understand [in your opinion] then please do enlighten me regarding those issues.
thanking you in anticipation,
Very Respectfully.
Axe.

First of all, always run Recovery from its partition on the HD: Acer Support: Frequently Asked Questions list for Recovery media and Restoring a system to factory load

Make the Recovery disks to save as a backup. Extract the ISO (image file) from the disks to your backup drive using ImgBurn to save as a permanent backup to be burned to disks if the existing disks are ever needed and fail to boot.

However be aware that Factory Recovery is an inferior install since the preinstalled crapware and useless duplicate utilities hobble best performance of Win7. So you should strongly consider doing a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Thank you very much Gregrocker.

Respected Sir ,
I Thank you for the thoughtful reply and contents therein . I really appreciate the concern.
Firstly i have already made use of recovering my system by way of using the factory recovery disks , made on purchase. Because the system had some very persistent viral problems after the first year of purchase and had no choice but to use them , as all other methods had failed me . And of course that also means that i cannot [apparently] ever use the recovery partition on the internal hard disk drive in order to revive my system whenever need be. So that ship has sailed.
Now i have only my disks that i use to revive the frequent and unknown crashes of windows seven. Hence i a shall be making several disk set copies to have peace of mind that i need in order to know that i can atleast revive my system at will.
As far as the point you make of extracting the [iso] image of disk to a back-up drive , then i must say that i have never done or know how to do that , besides , i dont use back up [external disks] and further more i wanted to know if the disks that i shall make a lot of copies of , will solve the problem of ever having to be stuck with dusks that wont boot at some time??? isnt making them a good idea???
Lastly i really appreciate your advise on doing that clean install thing to get rid of all this 'set' bloatware and seemingly very rigid format , not allowing me to enjoy the operating system as i would in the old days with self built desktops. I have heard about this thing you mentioned but just am scared to venture into this new pattern , fearing the loss of an already existing and a somewhat usable system. Just not knowing what to expect , and i dont want to end up in the big box place / S/Station etc for no reason.
That said i would like to learn and go through how i can maybe do something to change this into a machine that doesn't take most of the time maintaining and repairing and observing etc
I am grateful for the links sent by you. I shall go through them and see if i can make any sense of it.
Mean while i appreciate if you have any tips on what i should keep an eye out for , if i do go in for this clean install and how will it make a difference or be superior to current format.
Main question from me would be , is it that these very disks [the factory recovery disks] will be the ones that will be used to install windows 7 on my internal disk again? or will i be needing newer disks or other kinds of software to intall /recover etc my windows seven , once the clean install is done?
Thank you once again Gregrocker , And my apologies for the long post/reply/message.
Have a wonderful day.
AXE.

How do you know you cannot use Recovery partition? The disks should reinstall it.

It is not healthy to rely on Recovery to solve performance problems in the first instance. You should instead work through the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7 to isoloate and solve the problem.

If necessary post up each issue as it comes up in a thread here for help resolving it.

You should never be afraid to be the master of your PC instead of letting it remain a mystery that vexes you. You have the ability to communicate ably and in the manner that can get maximum support from us here, where we happen to specialize in getting a perfect Clean Reinstall. Everything you learn along the way puts you more in charge of your system and builds your confidence to learn more.

Start by reading through thoroughly Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7
to ask back as many questions as you need. Everything you need is there including the latest official Win7 installer.

Dear Gregrocker.

Thank you once again.
You are right , I was also under the impression that when the disks will be used , then it would have the utilities required to set every aspect back to the way it was when purchased. But that is nit the case. I must have revived the system more than 30 times in the past one year [had the system for two] , and since the first time it was used , after that , every attempt to restore system [wether to factory defaults or to simply reinstal the OS and copy personal data for future use, has never worked ] by itself. this ERECOVERY program in acer doesnot get back to the way it was when purchased , after the recovery disks are used from the first time after a serious problem. The partition has no letter assigned nor is there a way to get into it . there are 13 gb alloted for it and windows shows it as empty although their is certainly some sort of data remaining in it. it is defragmentable. but unreachable and this so called PQSERVICE is not restorable in that even a retore point for it gets erased as soon as one is made. It seems corrupt for good. the recovery disks were made on purchase but still doesnot make things right for this PQSERVUCE 13 GB ERECOVERY DRIVE !!! I have tried everything for it. Even windows doesnot recognise it . May be another OS utility disk could take me throught this failed area , but i dont see what that would achieve. except for further mayhem.
You are totally right about one being able to be fully in charge of one's machine and be able to enjoy this otherwise wonderful operating system [win7] , it is the best so far. Although a clean instal will be something that i will require time to understand what it even means , and does and changes etc . I had some time , it is the middle of the night here , but this is the only time for now , i will have to go through the tutorials and links sent by you when time permits and see when i should start to go about doing it.
Do you think , taking this to the acer service station and telling them to do a clean install would be a good idea? so i can skip the 'hard to understand'commands and procedures in order to get this task done?
I appreciate again , your support , and kind words mentioned for me here in.
many thanks indeed.
I shall be in touch.
Best Regards.
AXE

The Recovery partition is not meant to be accessed so its files are hidden and no letter is assigned. You are only to run it from within Win7 or boot using the steps I gave you earlier.

Restoring 30 times in one year is excessive and not at all how to approach performance problems which need to be dealt with one at a time through Troubleshooting. Only when problems mount to an unsolvable critical mass should one resort to running Restore or Clean Reinstall.

In your case you should Clean Reinstall as a tech project to learn how much better your Win7 can perform without the throttling bloatware and duplicate Acer utilties. The point of it besides better performance should be learning more about your PC and the OS, so you should do it yourself unless you honestly feel uncomfortable taking it on. But it seems you have a curiousity about performance that may only satisfied by learning the process of getting and maintaining a perfect Win7 install. And this is the place to learn that.

Thank you Gregrocker.

Good morning Gregrocker ,
The idea of taking on this project is rather tempting , and feel that i would be doing it sooner or later in any case. I actually just found out a few days ago from the good folks right here that it was actually possible to make copies of those recovery disks [which i was guarding with my life ]. Hence am all excited about first learning the copies making thing by my self. And i am so happy for your encouragement for me to take bolder steps. I reckon they would be truly beneficial and educational for me. Especially now that i know about and have found this neat and awesome forum. I still have this lurking feeling in me [which might hold nothing] , that i just might get lucky and that these crashes will stop happening as in the past over a month or so the system has kinda behaved well with no crashes or slow boots etc I am , of course , not yet sure why , but looking into it [when time permits].
I am so thrilled to have found this place and feel like i am not alone anymore either.
Your advice is extremely valuable to me and makes total sense !!!
I thank you for everything.
AXE.

Have you begun working through the Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7? Or is a problem not occurring now?

Once a problem pops up start a new thread, describe it fully and begin working through the steps, report back results of each.

And to reiterate you should save a copy of the Recovery disks by extracting the ISO using ImgBurn and backing it up with your files so if you ever need to make a copy of the disks you can burn the ISO to CD with Imgburn. This is better than running off copies of the disk which may or may not work when needed.

You can also with HP Recov DIsks - make another set.

Dear Gregrocker.

Thank you so much for the follow up advises / instructions.
Since i have always taken the path of restoring my system via the factory recovery disks , my way of troubleshooting has always been [so far] to run the chkdsk facility either going through F8 > safe mode with command prompt or by running the system repair disk and entering command prompt from recovery options there in. Then running a check [3 and 5 steps] on Boot Drive [X: for me] , on System Reserved Drive [C: for me] And Finally the main OS contained [single partition in my case] with label ACER [D: for me].
The boot drive[x] always comes clean [i.e. "no problem found" and also does not contain any files in the bad cluster section] Only a [read only mode - 3 step chkdsk] is allowed for this boot drive]
The System Reserved always runs through smoothly with the [no problems found] message . Although, always maintains [since i can remember] a 60 KB size of files in the Bad cluster section , even after attempting to recover with a * /f /r [5 step run] The Drive labelled Acer [D][OS and extra data] will [sometimes in good speed and sometimes sluggishly] run through both [read only and the /f /r -5 step check] with sometimes showing a problem in read only mode and corrects it in the following fixing 5 step mode , With almost ALWAYS some sort of deletions of attributes 128 "" [?] and other such errors being deleted and replaced etc and Always has maintained a minimum of 60 KB in the bad sector fie section , with the addition of more KBs with every time this process is done [typically would go up to say a maximum of [so far] 240/280 KBs in the bad sector files] If all this goes through and after final report is gotten , a restart makes everything back to normal behaviour /booting/running/logging/speed etc. To answer your question , Dear friend , the problem currently seems to be that of an inability to complete the last [/f - 5 step] chkdsk run to fix errors found on the label Acer [D: for me] in the read only mode. What is happening is that the first 3 steps will go smoothly in /f fix mode but the 4th step might take a long time , Now here is where the problem usually and currently comes = AT THE FIFTH STEP [checking the empty space clusters] will start to run well and takes a few short breaks during certain clusters but only to get STALLED around half way through [say at 52 or 53 % processed] , the last time [the day before yesterday] it stalled there , but seemingly still functioning , finished its job completely. But took a whopping 3 hours, stuck at that 52 % area of so called "Free Space" [my drive is sata 320 gb hdd -running on AHCI mode currently]after which it delivered the report of the above type of corrections made. Following a very good experience of the system in all respects. And yesterday after doing my regular [read-only mode of label Acer] it stalled saying that it cannot continue in read only mode as errors are found again. So i reboot and go through the command prompt / administator /X: and do a /f /r - 5 step check and it did the first 3 steps quite fast but and pulls through the 4th but gets stuck at after about 50 % of the free space check , so i wait for it thinking maybe 3 hours is what it needs again, although this time it stayed for longer and i just aborted and rebooted and everything is just fine , their is no slugggish behaviour on any count, the hard drive and processor etc remains cool , and memory check is always done and is fine , and i have always used Microsoft Security Essentials [although still not made the windows defender offline disks -as mentioned in one of your brilliant links ] but there is no mal/spyware or any kind of virus activity , plus i never download anything except for the odd messenger service and a few photos etc ... i always have only the operating system and just a few extra mbs in extra files. Disks are regularly defragmented too. What is happening is that the system seems to be stalling for an indefinite amount of time in a certain place , usually while checking through the Free Space clusters on the main /active /biggest /OS contained Partiton [D: - ACER] My apologies for the very long post. I wanted to be a bit clear. As far as the making copies of the recovery disks , i am having trouble understanding as to what is meant by *extracting the ISO and backing it up with my files so if i ever need to make a copy of the disks i can burn the ISO to CD with Imgburn**. Does "extracting the iso " simply means to COPY ?? and to " BACK THAT UP WITH MY FILES" please pardon my ignorance but what files are you referring to that i should back this ISO [copy?] too? Are you suggesting that i make a copy of my recovery disk on my hard drive? or something else? so i could use it for future use? as you know that i loose ALL files on my HDD whenever i recover my system [which is often] [until lately] [strangely] [performance is getting better ] [i.e. machine is working like brand new] EVEN though given the fact that the last run to correct errors on the hdd was aborted by me on purpose] but without any consequences. So if my chkdsk ran completely in good/normal time. i am good . but in 3 hours i can load and reload my windows through the recovery disks atleast 3 times :p My fears of a clean install are firmly in place as i need my computer for daily use and this current state i am in is kinda working for me. Don't get me wrong , i wish to do it , and soon , but what holds me back is the fear of the unknown [so to speak] I seem to feel that of i understand what is happening with this chkdsk thing first then maybe i will be in a better position to make future decisions regarding the clean instal as i would know what to and how to return back to this state [hopefully] if need be and if at all possible. My sincere Thanks to you and repeated apologies for the length of this post ... if you made it this far ... i have [regretfully] taken quite some part of your time. Thank you Gregrocker , you really Rock !!! And i want to and will stay [as and when time permits] on top of these issues. [p.s. if you feel that this belongs on a new thread then do direct me to do so too] Most respectfully , AXE

Boot drive X is the boot disk you are currently booting, nothing more.

The problems with Disk Check might mean the HD is failing, or it could mean it needs file system or surface repair. What I would do is run Disk Check from the System Recovery Options Command Line until it resolves the errrors.

If this fails run the HD maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to check the condition of the HD and possibly do repairs.

Then to be most thorough I would wipe the HD using the diagnostics disk or Diskpart Clean Command to
Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 making sure you've made all the preparations given in tutorial for the reinstall.

As an alternative you could run the Repair Disks, but I'd still wipe the HD to get the cleanest slate and overwrite any boot code which may be interfering or problematic.

Once you've at least done both the repairs mentioned then install CrystalDiskInfo - Software to monitor the HD condition from your desktop. You can do it now as well.

Thank you very much Gregrocker.

Thanks a lot Gregrocker ,
I shall go through all these links that you have generously sent and try and figure out how to do them. And if i have any trouble please bear with me as i may get back later at sometime to ask /clarify things i was not able to gather. Thanks again and Have a good night .. ahem .. probably day time where you're at
Good times.
AXE

Good morning Gregrocker.

Dear Gregrocker , Hope all is well with you. I have been going through all the steps given by you and as directed i have done numerous disk checks [from recovery options - command line] and the behaviour is the same , i'e' it is still always takes quite a long time to get done with the bad sector allocations and especially going thrrough some empty space clusters. They do resolve and add on to some of the bad cluster files most times. although always in the rage of 200 to 300 kb's only. this behaviour has been for past full year. regardless of the times i have used the recovery discs[which has been a lot -with no choice - as it crashes] The hard disk drive , if were bad , would i still be able to load those recovery discs and be online and watch movies , chat , learn etc? Strangely these crashes happen more often and sooner when i restart or shutdown the computer and then start at a later date/time. If i use the SLEEP option , it can go on for weeks with no problem. Windows updates , multiple disk checks etc alsogive trouble to the file system , resulting in irrecoverable crashes.
I have learnt the copying / backing / and burning of the iso images , with imgburn. [thanks so much - i love that software - so clear and simple to follow and effective] .
I have downloaded the HD diagnostics iso and buned on dvd [of my manufacturer - western digital] , as shown in your link. [although the dates on that software are upto only 2005 . and my wdc hdd [laptop] was purchased much after that. So i wonder if it is the right one to run. Never the less i ran it from boot and the extended test ran a quick test giving a read error , and the extended test could not show any thing on the progress bar , resulting [after 15 minutes] in a message saying " TOO MANY ERRORS FOUND" ERROR/STATUS CODE 0225. [note : this test would not run in AHCI mode , and only detected the drive when i changed to IDE mode of my sata hdd. IT suggested to contact technical support. And by the way , now my recovery disks donot load at all in AHCI mode and only loads in IDE mode. {and works good if i disable the ISTOR [INTEL RST sevice - which was always the case in IDE mode}. I wonder if the file system is all messed up by overwritting and reloading the recovery discs all these times over two years. As if the Hard disk drive was bad , woulodn't it have given up by now? I also ran the seagate seatools HD diagnostics dusk and for it to give mre permission to write zeroes on the affected areas , so my oem can allot new good clusters to it , i would have to have a seagate hdd , and mine is wdc , and the wdc is just saying that there are "too many errors found" = the exact result message/words!!
If i had to go through a clean install [re-install] , I wanted to know if something went wrong , will the recovery disks bring it back to where it was ? just like before? even if without the useless recovery and system reserved partition etc? as the application drivers dvd and all for all the devices on this machine is with me [with copies] .
If i allot zeroes to the whole drive or throught the diskpart - clean command , will i be able to simply come back to this position [so i can be online] the way i am doing now , by simply booting the recovery discs on a totally zeroed out machine? with my apps and driver dvd also with me in addition to the copies of the same?
Additionally , the Clean Reinstall Factory OEM link is great , should i just download an iso copy and burn with imgburn? to dvd ? to use to instal windows 7? Major question there is that , i dont see a version for a WINDOWS & HOME BASIC , ony PREMIUM AND PROFESSIONAL ETC . AND also there bis an ISO_U type image? which is better? but mainly what to do about my version as it is not listed ... is this only for clients with a premium or professional version as i also have a proct certificate with a product key number which is valid and legal /preloaded' would i need to type that in even though it was preloaded? i have written it down from the bottom of this laptop. interestingly it doesnot work to activate my office 2010 which is preloaded also. i wonder why?
I know those are are a lot of questions and there are some more troubling me in my head , but i thought i would consult you with some of the main ones given herein. As i am getting more and more serious about the clean install and and totally fed up of reloading the recovery discs and now that it is giving a problem as it no longer loads in AHCI mode and only i IDE mode now , who knows what will happen next? with no fault of the recovery discs and the HDD seemingly fine [otherwise how could i be using it for so long with no problem performance wise] makes me feel there is this acer's useless utilities and erecovery way of loading windows is not good. And is there a way i can get the latest iso for my hdd to clear /repair the necessary parts? i checked and many model numbers are there but mine. [specifically] not there.
Finally the CrystalDiskInfo - Software iso also was used , and i am monitoring my hdd , but no matter how many times i go through the chkdsk[full -/f/r disk check or reload windows][recovery freshly] the status of that soft ware is on YELLOW COLOR - CAUTION .. error is PENDING BAD SECTOR COUNT. The temperature is always in normal range of around 38*C .
Forgive me for yet another very long post and many queries. It is because i am seriously considering the change over , at least afetr i make enough copies of the recovery disks on dvd-r's and the copies of the APPS -DRIVERS disks [so i dont have to rely on online support for ethernet drivers , etc etc. And ofcourse after i have gotten the answers to all these puzzling questions , that i am looking to get some answers to hopefully [no hurry though !!]
Without taking anymore of your valuable time , i send my respects for you. And best wishes always. You have been a driving force for me. And a inspiring teacher. I thank you very kindly for all you have done for me.
Have a wonderful tuesday sir.
Sincerely ,
AXE.

I don't have time to answer all of that now, but you can download Home Premium in your bit version and unlock all versions by running the eicfg removal tool on the ISO file before burning to disk or writing the stick. Then you'll have a menu to choose your licensed version.

Why would you expect the COA sticker key for Windows 7 to activate preinstalled Office? That is a trial version of Office anyway so if you want Office Starter you'll have to migrate to it's new free web version in Office 2013 available now. If you'd paid for the full office Program after it's trial period you'd know from the $200+ bill you paid, or you would have paid for it up front from the PC maker during a special order in which case you'll have documentation with the Office Product Key.

The tutorial makes it quite clear you are to use the installer drivers first, then whatever optional Windows Updates delivers. Then any missing drivers are to come from the Support Downloads webpage for your model PC or device. I would not use the drivers disk or unnecessarily make a bunch of copies of it since it becomes outdated the minute it is issued. The latest drivers are on the website.

Maybe someone else can answer some of the other questions or I will get back to them later as I have a dozen others waiting and need to take my dog to the beach.