Hi to all, I have been using shortly an ACER 5100 notebook and my system is already becoming unstable, with BSOD screens coming up regularly... With this type of notebook, you have to install XP for the selected language from a hidden partition, and an i386 folder is created on the C: disk in the process. You don't get the orginal MS Windows XP CD. Is there a way to restore Windows in its original state, without losing everything installed, using this i386 stuff ? Thanks in advance for your help. Claude

If your 5100 is like the Apsire 16xx series then when it arrived you would have been encouraged/prompted to make a recovery CD/DVD? Presumably this would allow what you want? Regardless - whilst you can still access data etc... I'd be very much inclined to copy off system entirely all critical data etc. to removable media; and verify/confirm thos copies are trul readable etc. Then set about recovering a working/stable system. Possibly the ideas/info at: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sho... may give you some pointers (alt + F10 is one way to access the recovery partition appparently?)

Hi trvlr, Yes, I created a DVD when installing Windows XP, but I have absolutely no clue about what to do with it... I am really afraid that restoring the system with it will (as in the Aspire 1600 series) reformat completely the hard disk, which I precisely want to avoid ! My question is about finding a non destructive "repair" option without having the original MS CD. Thanks for your input, anyway - Claude

If you have a large enough HDD, you can use Partition Magic to repartition it into a C: and D: drive. You can then use Ghost 2003 to make an image of the C: to the D:. If your computer has a DVD burner, you can use Ghost 2003 to write an image of your C: to DVD media.

Hi Doctor1954, If I understand correctly your point, your suggestion is to take an image of my C: disk, then try to restore the original Windows with the DVD created at install time and, if it does not work as I expect, reload the image of C: ? Actually, my HDD is already partitioned and I have Drive Image 7 installed, so I can do it. BTW, I already had to do it a couple of times in the past, but you can never be sure that the image will no be corrupt !

Thus far I haven't yet "had" to run the recovery DVD I made for my Aspire... (touches wooden head/leg etc...). So I'm less than useful in answering your will wipe the drive etc... For hp/compaq and dell systems I seem to recall you get two/three options as to which level of restore etc. youcan go... Possibly the Acer approach is similar. When I get chez-moi in a coupe of hours I'll have a look-see at what info came with my Acer in that regard. Also I think there is an Acer-users/support-group forum "out there" - somewhere... Perhaps "we" can find that as it too may have useful input? Meanwhile I encourage you to make the data etc. copies - NOW (fail-safe as it were). Then if you have to destroy rather than recover (as in repair) your installation... at least you will have all your data etc. safe.

Hi trvlv, thanks for you inputs. Actually, I had an ACER 1600 before the present notebook, and it was the worst crap I ever had ! At least, with the ACER 1600 there was a leaflet supplied about how restoring the system with the provided CD's and it clearly stated that the HDD would be reformatted... with the 5100 series, there is simply no documentation provided about recovery, except that you are prompted to create (optionally) a DVD when you install windows. Maybe, I can take the risk to follow Doctor1954's suggestion and play around with the DVD after taking 1 or rather 2 images of C: - Claude