Acer Aspire E5 User Manual

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RECOVERY
If you are having trouble with your computer, and the frequently asked 
questions (see Frequently asked questions on page 62) do not 
help, you can recover your computer - i.e. return it to an earlier state.
This section describes the recovery tools available on your computer. 
Acer provides Acer Recovery Management, which allows you to 
create a recovery backup, a drivers and applications backup, and to 
start recovery options, either using Windows tools, or the recovery 
backup. 
Creating a recovery backup
To reinstall from a USB storage drive, you must first create a recovery 
backup. The recovery backup includes the entire original contents of 
your computer’s hard drive, including Windows and all factory-loaded 
software and drivers. Using this backup will restore your computer to 
the same state as when you purchased it, while giving you an option 
to retain all settings and personal data.
Note
Acer Recovery Management is only available with a pre-installed Windows 
operating system.
Important
We recommend that you create a Recovery Backup and Drivers and 
Applications Backup and as soon as possible. 
In certain situations a full recovery will require a USB recovery backup.
Note
Since the recovery backup requires at least 16 GB  of  storage  after           
formatting, it is recommended to use a USB drive with a capacity of 32
 GB              
or larger. 
						

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1. From Start, type Recovery and then click Acer Recovery 
Management in the list of apps.
2. Click Create Factory Default Backup. The Recovery Drive window 
opens.
Make sure Copy contents from the recovery partition to the 
recovery drive is selected. This provides the most complete and 
safest recovery backup.
3. Plug in the USB drive then click Next. 
						

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•Since the recovery backup requires at least 16 GB  of  storage          
after formatting, it is recommended to use a USB drive with a 
capacity of 32
 GB or larger.
4. You will be shown the backup progress on the screen.
5. Follow the process until it completes.
6. After creating the recovery backup, you can choose to delete the 
recovery information on your computer. If you delete this 
information, you can only use the USB recovery backup to restore 
your computer, if you lose or erase the USB drive, you cannot 
restore your computer.
7. Unplug the USB drive and label it clearly.
Creating a drivers and applications backup
To create a Drivers and Applications Backup, that contains the 
factory-loaded software and drivers needed by your computer, you 
Important
Write a unique, descriptive label on the backup, such as Windows 
Recovery Backup. Make sure you keep the backup in a safe place that 
you will remember. 
						

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may use either a USB storage drive or, if your computer features a 
DVD recorder, one or more blank recordable DVDs.
1. From Start, type Recovery and then click Acer Recovery 
Management in the list of apps.
2. Click Create Drivers and Applications Backup. 
Plug in the USB drive or insert a blank DVD into the optical drive, then 
click Next.
• If you are using a USB drive, make sure your USB drive has 
enough capacity before continuing.
• If using DVDs, it will also show the number of blank, recordable 
discs you will need to complete the recovery discs. Make sure that 
you have the required number of identical, blank discs.
3. Click Start to copy files.You will be shown the backup progress on 
the screen.
4. Follow the process until it completes:
• If you are using optical discs, the drive ejects each disc as it 
completes burning it. Remove the disc from the drive and mark it  
						

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with a permanent marker. 
If multiple discs are required, insert a new disc when prompted, 
then click OK. Continue until the process is complete.
• If you are using a USB drive, unplug the drive and label it clearly.
Recovering your system
To recover your system:
1. Perform minor fixes. 
If only one or two items of software or hardware have stopped 
working correctly, the problem may be solved by reinstalling the 
software or the device drivers.  
To reinstall software and drivers that were pre-installed at the 
factory, see Reinstalling drivers and applications on page 26.  
For instructions on reinstalling software and drivers that were not 
pre-installed, see that product’s documentation or support Web site.
2. Revert to a previous system condition. 
If reinstalling software or drivers does not help, then the problem 
may be solved by returning your system to a previous state when 
everything was working correctly.  
For instructions, see Returning to an earlier system snapshot on 
page 28.
3. Reset your operating system. 
If nothing else has solved the problem and you want to reset your 
system, but keep your user information, see Returning your 
system to its factory condition on page 29.
4. Reset your system to its factory condition. 
If nothing else has solved the problem and you want to reset your 
system to factory condition, see Returning your system to its 
factory condition on page 29.
Important
Write a unique, descriptive label on each backup, such as Drivers and 
Applications Backup. Make sure you keep the backup in a safe place 
that you will remember. 
						

							26 - Recovery
Reinstalling drivers and applications
As a troubleshooting step, you may need to reinstall the applications 
and device drivers that came pre-installed on your computer from the 
factory. You can reinstall using either your hard drive or the backup 
you have created.
• Other applications - If you need to reinstall software that did not 
come pre-installed on your computer, you need to follow that 
software’s installation instructions. 
• New device drivers - If you need to reinstall device drivers that did 
not come pre-installed on your computer, follow the instructions 
provided with the device.
If you are reinstalling using Windows and the recovery 
information stored on your computer:
1. From Start, type Recovery and then click Acer Recovery 
Management in the list of apps.
2. Click Reinstall Drivers or Applications.  
						

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3. You should see the Contents section of the Acer Resource 
Center. 
Images for reference only.
4. Click the install icon for the item you want to install, then follow 
the onscreen instructions to complete the installation. Repeat 
this step for each item you want to reinstall.
If you are reinstalling from a Drivers and Applications Backup on 
a DVD or USB drive:
1. Insert the Drivers and Applications Backup into the disc drive or 
connect it to a free USB port.
• If you inserted a DVD wait for Acer Resource Center to start.
• If Acer Resource Center does not start automatically, press 
the Windows key + , then double-click on the optical drive 
icon. 
• If you are using a USB drive, press the Windows key + , then 
double-click on the drive that contains the backup. Double-click 
on ResourceCenter. 
						

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2. You should see the Contents section of the Acer Resource 
Center. 
Images for reference only.
3. Click the install icon for the item you want to install, then follow 
the onscreen prompts to complete the installation. Repeat this 
step for each item you want to reinstall.
Returning to an earlier system snapshot
Microsoft System Restore periodically takes a snapshot of your 
system settings and saves them as restore points. In most cases of 
hard-to-resolve software problems, you can return to one of these 
restore points to get your system running again.
Windows automatically creates an additional restore point each day, 
and also each time you install software or device drivers.
Returning to a restore point
1. From Start, type ’Control Panel’ and then click Control Panel in the 
list of apps.
2. Click System and Security > Action Center, then click Recovery
at the bottom of the window. 
3. Click Open System Restore, then Next. 
Note
For more information about using Microsoft System Restore, from Start, type 
’Help’ and then click Help and Support in the list of apps. Type ’Windows 
system restore’ in the Search Help box, then press Enter. 
						

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4. Click the latest restore point (at a time when your system worked 
correctly), click Next, then Finish. 
5. A confirmation window appears; click Ye s. Your system is restored 
using the restore point you specified. This process may take several 
minutes, and may restart your computer.
Returning your system to its factory condition
If your computer experiences problems that are not recoverable by 
other methods, you may need to reinstall everything to return your 
system to its factory condition. You can recover from either your hard 
drive or the recovery backup you have created.
• If you can still run Windows and have not deleted the recovery 
partition, see Recovering from Windows below.
• If you cannot run Windows, your original hard drive has been 
completely re-formatted or you have installed a replacement hard 
drive, see Recovering from a recovery backup on page 32.
Recovering from Windows
Start Acer Recovery Management:
•From Start, type ’Recovery’ and then click Acer Recovery 
Management in the list of apps.
Two options are available, Restore Factory Settings (Reset my PC) 
or Customized Restore (Refresh my PC). 
Restore Factory Settings deletes everything on your hard drive, then 
reinstalls Windows and all software and drivers that were pre-installed 
on your system. If you can access important files on your hard drive, 
back them up now. See Restore Factory Settings with Acer 
Recovery Management on page 30.
Customized Restore will attempt to retain your files (user data) but 
will reinstall all software and drivers. Software installed since you 
purchased your PC will be removed (except software installed from  
						

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the Windows Store). See Customized Restore with Acer Recovery 
Management on page 31.
Restore Factory Settings with Acer Recovery Management
1. Click Restore Factory Settings. 
2. The Reset your PC window opens.
Images for reference only.
3. Click Next, then choose how to erase your files: 
a.Just remove my files quickly erases all files before restoring 
your computer and takes about 30 minutes. 
b.Fully clean the drive completely cleans the drive after each file is 
erased, so no files can be viewed after the recovery. Cleaning the 
drive takes much longer, up to 5 hours, but is much more secure 
as old files are completely removed. 
4. Click Reset. 
Important
’Restore Factory Settings’ will erase all files on your hard drive.