advice on restoring a laptop to factory settings

searchlight123

hi all

acer aspire 5536 laptop
originally purchased running vista home but was upgraded to windows 7 home premium some months after purchase in 2010.

its running really slow now so would like to restore to factory settings and start again. i realise i will probably have to restore to vista and then upgrade again to 7, (i have the acer upgrade discs), but i cannot get into a recovery screen at boot up to access this restore feature. nearest i got was a black screen with something like ' hdd recovery missing'.

i'm assuming the original upgrade from vista to 7 may have erased it? is there any other way of achieving this. i have backed up anything important from the machine.

any pointers would be appreciated. i have tried the various f8, f10, f11 and f12 at boot up. all to no avail.

many thanks.

NiftyDigits

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

If it doesn't work for you, we can tackle the issue in a different way.

searchlight123

thanks nifty. will read thru the linked article and come back to you.

searchlight123

just a thought (as the linked article looks a 'little' complicated.
i have received the invite to upgrade this laptop to windows 10 later this month. i was wondering if i should wait for this? at upgrade is it possible to make it a clean install or will i just end up with a new OS but still have all the same old junk on the laptop?

Jivesinger

tonygold wrote: »

just a thought (as the linked article looks a 'little' complicated.
i have received the invite to upgrade this laptop to windows 10 later this month. i was wondering if i should wait for this? at upgrade is it possible to make it a clean install or will i just end up with a new OS but still have all the same old junk on the laptop?

Microsoft have said that *after* you've upgraded to Windows 10, then you'll later be able to do a clean install. I don't think there are details on exactly how this will work yet though.

From the Windows 10 FAQ (US Version)

Can I reinstall Windows 10 on my computer after upgrading?

Yes. Once you’ve upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade offer, you will be able to reinstall, including a clean install, on the same device. You won’t need to purchase Windows 10 or go back to your prior version of Windows and upgrade again.

You’ll also be able to create your own installation media like a USB drive or DVD, and use that to upgrade your device or reinstall after you’ve upgraded.

searchlight123

great info.
many thanks for that.

Jivesinger

Re: Windows 10, the only thing I'd add is that I'm not planning to be the first in the queue to update my main laptop to Windows 10 on or after 29 July (as opposed to my old laptop which has the test version of Windows 10 on already).

I would suggest waiting a while - perhaps a few weeks - to let it settle down and let others find the bugs. If you're in a hurry to have a clean-installed laptop, I'd be inclined to go with the route Nifty suggests.

NiftyDigits

tonygold wrote: »

just a thought (as the linked article looks a 'little' complicated.
i have received the invite to upgrade this laptop to windows 10 later this month. i was wondering if i should wait for this? at upgrade is it possible to make it a clean install or will i just end up with a new OS but still have all the same old junk on the laptop?

Ignore the complicated bit. Install without product key,, add the product key afterwards, update. Don't wait for Windows 10.