Trying to help a friend with a built in backup partition issue.


  1. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 home premium
       #1

    Trying to help a friend with a built in backup partition issue.


    Hello guys. New member here with a question. This is a little bit of an odd question, but I'm sure you have seen some strange ones.

    Ok, so I have a close internet friend who lives in Russia. She is having some real issues with her PC, which is a Packard Bell One-Two all-in-one. It did not come with a hard copy of Windows, but has Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit installed from the factory, and has a restoration partition for resetting the system. The problem is that it appears that her backup partition has become corrupted, possibly by a virus that causes us to reset it in the first place. After restoration to factory settings, she keeps getting error messages, multiple programs will not run or install correctly, including ones that were a part of the original system build. Packard Bell and Microsoft in Russia have been absolutely worthless. Providing no help what so ever. Microsoft help hotline here in the USA was similarly worthless.

    So, I know we need to do a clean install, and wiping the old drive is not an issue, but how can we do that without a hard copy of the operating system? I have downloaded the iso of the operating system in English and loaded it to a USB thumb-drive as a boot-able drive, but I have not been able to find it in Russian. Would it be possible to run the install with the English version from the thumb-drive, and then convert to Russian later? I'm concerned about whether or not we would be able to activate with her serial number, because the versions would not match up.

    She's not particularly PC savvy, and she uses the PC for work so it being completely down for more than a few hours is not acceptable. Any advice you guys could offer would be extremely helpful.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #2

       Information
    We always assume you have made your Recovery Disks using the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Media Creator app the first day you had your new PC.
    & made the Startup Repair CD.
    startup repair disc-create


    Did you make the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disks?

    look the program, Acer Empowering Technology > Acer eRecovery Management.
    Acer Support - Answers, E-Mail, Chat - How can I restore my computer with the backup discs I created?

    Trying to help a friend with a built in backup partition issue.-acer001.png

    You can Order Acer recovery disks from here:
    https://secure.tx.acer.com/RCDB/Main.aspx?brand=acer


    Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
    Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
    Hard Drive Diagnostic Procedure
      My Computer

  3.    #3

    Another option if she didn't make her Recovery disks is to contact PB Support to order them.

    If possible maybe you can help her do a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 with the Product Key on COA sticker attached to machine. This is a superior install to the factory recovery with all the corrupting bloatware.

    The only problem might be finding a Russian language Win7 installer if that's what is required.

    Since Recovery partition is corrupt she can delete all partitions during install as shown in Steps 6-7 in Clean Install Windows 7.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 home premium
    Thread Starter
       #4

    She never made a backup media, and I did no know she didn't get a disk until after she started having problems.

    She has contacted Packard Bell, and basically they told her to go F herself. Packard Bell in Russia is not an option for help, their "help line" seems to translate roughly to the "how stupid are you to be calling us? We already have your money" line. They don't even make a pretense of trying to help you.

    So, we are stuck helping ourselves. Any idea how to do that? Would the install work with an English disk and a Russian product key?
      My Computer

  5.    #5

    Most likely yes. I haven't seen a case yet where the same version in a different language did not activate with the Product Key on the COA sticker.

    Does she want English Win7? If not you can research on the web where to find Russian language for the licensed version although you would want to be absolutely certain any torrent does not contain a crack or infection, by reading enough comments that assure this. Remember you can unlock all versions in any .iso before burning to disk using eicfg removal tool

    Otherwise if English is fine then everything you need is provided in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.
      My Computer


 

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