Acer Recovery DVD Won't Create 100MB System Reserved Partition

AddRAM said:

Who knows how the Acer Recovery discs will set up the partitions. Send us a snip of disk management after you do the install so we can all see.

Thanks, but yeah the Acer DVDs won't format the drive. I'll look into that OEM download. Doh! If only I'd known that was available I wouldn't have had to pay $19.99 for Acer Recovery DVDs!

Another question while I'm at it...

I was going to buy the student upgrade to Windows 7 Pro for $94.95. Unfortunately Microsoft has taken that deal offline now...

Err... Maybe I should turn that frown upside down... :)

If I were to purchase the $39.99 upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, would I be able to downgrade to Windows 7 Pro? Would I then be able to use the Windows 7 ISO that gregrocker mentioned, and install that ISO to upgrade my XP product key to Windows 7?

Thanks for the assistance thus far!

I wouldn`t go near 8. Just get 7. Home Premium is all you need.

You'll want to buy Win7 Upgrade version. Your school IT office may have a way for you to still buy Student version at a significant discount.

AddRAM said:

I wouldn`t go near 8. Just get 7. Home Premium is all you need.

Maybe Home Premium is all I need now, but in 5+ years when I am running a PC with 32 GB of Ram, Home Premium is going to be damn useless. That's a very low ceiling Microsoft chose.

I found a place online selling Vista Business for under $100, the full copy. 5 years of security updates... I'm tempted.

Kubuntu will be my primary OS. I'm just interested in having a supported version of Windows past 2014 for the few things I can't do in Linux.

Does anyone know yet if the $69.99 Windows 8 Upgrade can be downgraded?

Greetings,

I finally found a solution to my problem. Here are the instructions to recover a missing 100 MB "System Reserved" partition (If your OEM Recovery Disks fail to recreate it):

1. Download and burn the Windows 7 Ultimate OEM ISO. (Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7)

2. Install Windows 7 Ultimate. (Windows 7 will automatically create the "System Reserved" partition when you create a "New" partition).

3. Immediately after Windows 7 Ultimate has finished installing, install Windows 7 via the Acer (other OEM) System Recovery disks. (The Acer disks will erase the C: Partition, but will not modify the "System Reserved" partition).

4. After installing the Acer disks, boot up to Windows 7.

5. Type: "diskmgmt.msc" inside the Start menu (Without the quotes).

6. In the Disk Management window, you will see that the "System Reserved" partition will now be labelled as D:. Right click that partition, and choose to Change the Drive Letter. Click "Remove" to remove the drive letter from the "System Reserved" partition.

7. Now right click and set the "System Reserved" Partition as "Active."

8. Reboot, and when you get back up to Windows, if you enter Disk Management again, you will see that "System Reserved" now includes the following Status: "System."

Since the Windows Ultimate install placed boot files on the "System Reserved" partition, by setting that partition as "Active" you can now boot from it. The partition marked "System" is the partition the computer boots from.

I also purchased Windows Vista Business for only $104, which included shipping. Not bad for 4.5 years of security updates and compatibility with modern Windows apps past 2014. Windows 7 Pro is way outside of my budget, and even if it was inside my budget, I wouldn't spend that much for a Windows OS since Linux is my primary OS. I've also read a lot of good things about Vista SP2 online. I just hope that Microsoft keeps their commitment to support Vista until 2017.

Do you need the higher version to get the encryption which also caused you to go to all that trouble to end up with the grossly inferior Acer factory Recovery having a System Reserved partition?

Otherwise I would only base my purchase on needed features: Compare Windows 7 Editions - Windows 7 Forums

May I also ask what app provided in Acer Recovery was so critical to have that you'd waste such technical skill trying to force it back onto your PC? I have not yet met a tech enthusiast who would even run with the factory preinstall.

gregrocker said:

Do you need the higher version to get the encryption which also caused you to go to all that trouble to end up with the grossly inferior Acer factory Recovery having a System Reserved partition?

Otherwise I would only base my purchase on needed features: Compare Windows 7 Editions - Windows 7 Forums

May I also ask what app provided in Acer Recovery was so critical to have that you'd waste such technical skill trying to force it back onto your PC? I have not yet met a tech enthusiast who would even run with the factory preinstall.

No, I don't need Vista Ultimate, nor would I be satisfied with Windows 7 Home (which still costs more $$$ than I want to spend). TrueCrypt is what I will use for encryption. Now that I have the 100 MB System Partition, I can follow that tutorial successfully. If I had found Vista Home for less I may have made that purchase though, depending on the price.

I don't know about any application in the Acer Recovery that was critical for me to use. I haven't reviewed all the applications included. Is it so wrong for me to want my netbook back the way it was when I bought it? That's just how I am. I feel more comfortable this way. I also like that I was able to solve my problem directly, rather than having to find a different approach. I feel good about my accomplishment.

I needn't justify myself to you, I am satisfied this way. Thanks for your assistance gregrocker, and to everyone else in this thread!

You're most welcome. Since your skills certainly qualify you as one, I believe you're the first tech enthusiast I've met who prefers the Factory Pre-install to a Clean Reinstall.