Problems with appearance and personalization

marsmimar said:

...
After you have everything set up again I'd immediately make a system image using either the built in Win 7 imaging tool or any of the free products like Macrium or Paragon. Once you have a system image, feel free to experiment. If and when the computer gets hosed (and it will happen if you like to tinker :)) you can use the system image to be up and running in about 30 minutes.

If you do regular images (say just before you install the MS Patch Tuesday updates) it should take only a few minutes to restore your computer. :)

Macrium images/restores at about 3GB/min on my machine.

A system Restore will not change any personal folders like Music, Pictures, Docs, etc. It will remove any programs you installed prior to the restore point you choose.
system Restore Tutorial.

NotDarkYet I agree with Mac here, bite the bullet, do a recovery, complete reinstall and start from square one. That will fix everything in one swoop.
How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7

How to Do a Clean Installation with Windows 7

Read both through, it's not difficult and pick the one best for you. I suspect Acer has a restore function built-in alrady, look through your start menu, for something like Restore, or system Recovery.

The discs you made should return your computer to original factory settings (just like it was the day you got it home.) Everything on the hard drive will be wiped clean. But you may also have a hidden recovery partition (accessible through your start menu or by clicking a specific Fn key at start up) that would do the exact same thing - return your machine to factory specs. I'd look for/try that first because if one of those discs didn't burn correctly you could be up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

"Also, in the 'Warning' box on the Clean Install Windows 7 page it states I need: '2 GB RAM for 64-bit Windows 7' and '20 GB for 64-bit Windows 7'; will I lose this memory?"

This refers to the minimum requirements for any computer doing a clean install. For best results you need 2GB RAM and 20GB of free hard drive space (not the same as RAM.) If you use the discs you made or the hidden recovery partition, you wouldn't have to worry about this because your machine already meets those minimum requirements and probably exceeds them.

Not sure what you mean by "backup point". I'm familiar with restore points, data backup, and system image backups. Generally speaking, old "points" can be deleted if you're sure you'll never need them again (to free up hard drive space) but some people like to keep the last 3, or 4, or 5,or 20 "just in case". Don't know if this answers your questions.

Added: Acer used to call their hidden recovery partition Hard Disk Recovery. Hard Disk Recovery should be enabled by default. To see if it is enabled, restart the system and hit ALT+F10. This will begin the Aspire system recovery process. You will be prompted to type six zeros as a security step. Type 000000 to proceed. You will then see a screen to select your Operating System. Do this and hit enter and the recovery process will begin. If Hard Disk Recovery is not enabled, you may need to go into your system’s BIOS by hitting F2 at boot and enable it under the Advanced tab. Once Hard Disk Recovery is enabled, you should be able to proceed with clicking ALT+F10 at start up.

Note: These instructions may have changed. Check your user manual for the specific information for your particular model.