boot manager missing and not able to reset factory default

[Ayesha0]

hi, thanks for replying! .I spoke to an acer call center manger, its just I've racked up a lot of phone bills so calling them would be really pointless because I spoke to a manger he said they don't store it. but please someone...why is the sticker at the back why is it not fade proff, everylaptop ive seen of family members or m8s, its the same thing!

 

[windrider]

I have a fairly new Acer laptop, and my sticker is in tact and readable on the bottom. What they don't want to do is give anyone the backup discs anymore like my old Acer laptop. You either have to pay or do the recovery discs yourself the minute you get home.
And that mainly has to with Microsoft actually, not Acer.
I did the recovery discs myself, rather than pay them $60.... There are other methods as well to get the image they created on the partition as well, if you google it.
But have you looked at this post to get your product key

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/153626-product-key-number-windows-7-find-see.html

 

[Ayesha0]

I have a fairly new Acer laptop, and my sticker is in tact and readable on the bottom. What they don't want to do is give anyone the backup discs anymore like my old Acer laptop. You either have to pay or do the recovery discs yourself the minute you get home.
And that mainly has to with Microsoft actually, not Acer.
I did the recovery discs myself, rather than pay them $60.... There are other methods as well to get the image they created on the partition as well, if you google it.
But have you looked at this post to get your product key

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/153626-product-key-number-windows-7-find-see.html

why doesn't Microsoft want to give the product keys then?
I tried all the key finders and they keep giving me default keys...
Honestly paying an 100 is not an option , because if I do that, than i would of spent at least 200 on this laptop and that doesn't make sense to do that, as you now a days buy cheaper ones.

 

[theog]

   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?

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

 

[gregrocker]

Agreed, your best approach now is to order the Acer Recovery Disks. If you plead with a supervisor to help recover your key they may relent, or at least provide the Recovery Disks for cost of shipping. It's worth trying.

The Recovery Disks don't need a key since they self-activate.

Once you have Recovered, audit the Product Key with Belarc Advisor to keep on hand as sometimes MS can parse this key which is an SLP factory mass-activation key and not the COA sticker key. It's better than having nothing if you want to try the clean reinstall at some point in the future.

 

[mjf]

I advised you back in post #14 to get/buy the ACER recovery disks.

Personally I will not buy ACER again. I have no personal experience with the other large OEMs but they may be just as bad and I think it's just a fact of life. "Sell em and forget em". In the earlier days I would have been lost without this forum and I'm not sucking up to any one in saying so.

NB: What your post highlights to people generally is:
Record your COA PID Number affixed to your PC is a safe place.
Edit: In case it becomes illegible over time as happened to the OP.

 

[Ayesha0]

Once you have them in place, audit the Product Key with Belarc Advisor to keep on hand as sometimes MS can parse this key which is an SLP factory mass-activation key and not the COA sticker key. It's better than having nothing if you want to try the clean reinstall at some point in the future.

The people who fixed my laptop (repair center) said I cannot use my recovery discs because a file on the discs is faulty/damaged. They took out my old hard-drive and put in a completely new one so the guy who works at RC said theirs no point putting in my own Recovery CD as it wont work and I most probably will get- boot mngr error again. Also he went on about some crap how now my own product key is not even mine anymore as my laptop has been completely wiped ..which makes no sense as the key would re-activate so why now all of a sudden my key is now completely gone.
To the poster before me, yes ppl should be warned from my mistakes but also, its not just my fault here. Its also the people who are supposed to be a good and big company, its mainly their fault. If your a computer technician surly its your job to know that if the key at the back has faded how difficult it would be if the silly owner (lol me) has not got a copy..therefore do not install a trial!! lol
Anyway.
Is there any point in me even calling Microsoft to ask for my key back or not? Seems like that wont work either, I know it might sound simple to some to just go out and buy a new windows CD, but its really costly so I really cant.

 

[gregrocker]

This is not correct. The Recovery Disks can run on a new HD which is what they're designed to do, since otherwise you could normally run the Recovery partition on the original HD.

 

[mjf]

They took out my old hard-drive and put in a completely new one so the guy who works at RC said theirs no point putting in my own Recovery CD as it wont work and I most probably will get- boot mngr error again. Also he went on about some crap how now my own product key is not even mine anymore as my laptop has been completely wiped ..which makes no sense as the key would re-activate so why now all of a sudden my key is now completely gone.
To the poster before me, yes ppl should be warned from my mistakes but also, its not just my fault here.

I think I'm the "poster before me" who spent time posting to help you. Many others read these posts and I am reminding them to keep a copy of their PID written on the COA sticker which the OEMs must attach to your PC. It is the key for the OS already paid for.

Factory restore/recovery disks whether they are ones an owner makes or you buy from the OEM later, are intended to work on the existing or a totally new HDD which is at least the same size as the original.
For a new HDD ACER used to have a (free) preparation utility to run beforehand.

 

[Ayesha0]

-I think I'm the "poster before me" who spent time posting to help you. Many others read these posts and I am reminding them to keep a copy of their PID written on the COA sticker which the OEMs must attach to your PC. It is the key for the OS already paid for.

Factory restore/recovery disks whether they are ones an owner makes or you buy from the OEM later, are intended to work on the existing or a totally new HDD which is at least the same size as the original.
For a new HDD ACER used to have a (free) preparation utility to run beforehand.-

I appreciate your help, I'm just saying that I understand how people can look at my situation and just blame me. But in reality there were a lot of things . In the end its not all about just one little laptop, its the principle which so many businesses and companies seem to forget. When you pay someone you expect them to do what you paid them, or at least offer support if it didn't go as they said it would. Like you said in earlier post,sell to them and forget them. Lol its exactly whats happened as the RC guys keep going on about how my product key is gone and they cant do anything. When they're the ones who told me to go back to the retail store to get my key before they installed a trial...this was before I went in to e recovery again. But they made it sound so easy and that is my fault for believing them because I thought I could get it back easily too.
gREG do you think if i went in to erovery now, with new hd installed i can hopefully get the key re-activated? When I asked the RC guy he said no, you will just get a 'bootmngr' is missing...

 

[theog]

They took out my old hard-drive and put in a completely new one

why is the sticker at the back why is it not fade proff, everylaptop ive seen of family members or m8s, its the same thing!

Why do your family members use Notebooks on their laps without a Notebook cooler?
(causing overheating & fading of stickers)

 

[Ayesha0]

well obviously this is a mistake on our part but i would appreciate if you left my family out of it because you don't know them and how do you know they use it without coolers? I didn't tell manufactures to put valuable info on the back where it is likely to fade. if that's the case shouldn't they put a warning to everyone to buy laptop cooler?e sad.
so basically now, if i do get a product key , lol I will be storing it many, many different places .. because this now has been 2 weeks of me trying to get it back its really sad.. on the other hand, I was never told i would need my
key because I paid well over £600 for a laptop that came with the key pre-installed. SO thats why I don't want to spend another 100, what really annoys me with all this money is that I could of bought an apple mac lol!

 

[gregrocker]

Again, the solution is to order Factory Recovery Disks from Acer which are shipped free within 90 days of purchase and for shipping cost after that.

As suggested if you ask for a supervisor and plead for help determining your key (perhaps using other identifiers on the sticker or your Serial Number) then even if they won't help with that they may give special consideration on shipping the disks for free.

Once you run the disks it will be self-activated so you can save a WIn7 backup image and never have to worry about the key again since you have both the backup image of your completed install, and the Recovery Disks.

 

[Ayesha0]

Again, the solution is to order Factory Recovery Disks from Acer which are shipped free within 90 days of purchase and for shipping cost after that.
Once you run the disks it will be self-activated so you can save a WIn7 backup image and never have to worry about the key again since you have both the backup image of your completed install, and the Recovery Disks.

Hi i

 

[mjf]

 

[Ayesha0]

Again, the solution is to order Factory Recovery Disks from Acer which are shipped free within 90 days of purchase and for shipping cost after that.
Once you run the disks it will be self-activated so you can save a WIn7 backup image and never have to worry about the key again since you have both the backup image of your completed install, and the Recovery Disks.

Hi I just spoke to the RC guy, turns out he isnt as bad as Iv been saying, not sure what it is but I still haven't confronted them properly of the problems Ive been having. But anyway, when I spoke to Kas @ repair center ( he's the recpetionist who also deals with a lot of the tech stuff) he told me that I could not put my reovery CD in as apparently my keys been wiped. Also my own recovery cds a file is corrupted and could damage my hd as I said before.
He ALSO said that if i did order new CD's than I would have to make sure a key would be on it..??! Lol honestly I can not get a word in to make him see sense or maybe its just me. I tried explaining to him I'm not trying a Windows 7 cd, I want to try Recovery CD's..Again he kept on saying check if the key is on it?!
So my question is:- Is my Product key still in my laptop system? Because I have been told differently. Kas told me that my key has been completely wiped off the system no matter what CD I put in or something to the effect of me never getting it back. If that makes sense to anyone please let me know because it sure as heck didn't make sense to me. My apologies anyway for going on about the same thing.

 

[Ayesha0]

lol, oh my God i started the post ages ago and than completely forgot about it! I hope someone can make sense of what those rc guys are telling me because it makes no sense to me, ive always been under the impression you key stays in the system no matter what and how on earth can a recovery cd become corrupted? It hasn't been scratched or anything.
all this hassle has made me think of doing an IT course.

 

[gregrocker]

The factory Recovery disks self-activate and always have. What is/not on the HD has no effect on this as they are intended largely for if the HD fails and is replaced, since you can run the Recovery Partition on the same HD.

You can confirm this with Acer Tech Support before you order the Recovery disks which is still your best option.

 

[Ayesha0]

thanks!

 

[gregrocker]

Glad to hear you go a key from MS. You can now clean reinstall using a Windows 7 retail installation disk for your version. Here are the steps: Reinstalling Windows 7

As I answered twice before you can also certainly run Recovery Disks to restore your computer to original factory condition - if you want the preinstalled bloatware which comes with it. If you use Works this might be necessary if you cannot find a Works installer or it isn't on an Acer Applications disk they sent you. However I would not use preinstalled Norton's bloatware but instead use the free AV's recommended by all of us here: Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast 6. Are there any other programs that came with the Acer which make it worth running the inferior Factory Recovery? We can help you sort this.

I dont' know why the receptionist at the shop told you you cannot run Factory Recovery after a HD change since this is what the disks are specifically designed to do.