Acer Recovery Disk: Guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8

December 14, 2021

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Here we can see, “Acer Recovery Disk: Guide for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8”

A recovery disk can also be referred to as a restoration disc, repair disc, boot disc, or rescue disk.

Acer users can utilize the computer’s installed Acer eRecovery Management software to create a recovery and backup drive. This program is installed by default on most Acer computers unless specifically deleted.

Using Acer eRecovery Management, create recovery disks for Acer

By default, Acer computers contain a recovery partition (similar to Dell PCs’ recovery sector) that allows users to restore their Windows system.

Acer eRecovery Management is the software that allows you to build recovery media, reinstall Windows without the original installation disk, and reload your system’s drivers.

Depending on your Acer model, the eRecovery Management software may seem different. Here’s how it appears on Windows XP computers:

For Windows 8 users, the software should appear like this:

You can use Acer eRecovery Management to:

Use Recovery Management to restore your Windows.
Make a recovery media and utilize it (CD, DVD or USB).
Drivers and software for your system need to be reinstalled.

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In Windows XP, create a recovery drive

Following these instructions, Windows XP users can generate a recovery CD for their Acer systems (desktops, laptops/notebooks, etc.).

Startup your PC. If you have an Acer laptop, the AC adapter must be plugged in.
Select All Programs from the Start menu.
Next, look for the folder Acer Empowering Technology.
Select Acer eRecovery Management from the drop-down menu.
Select the symbol in the lower right corner of your desktop.
Acer eRecovery Management has started to load.
If you are loading the software program for the first time, it will prompt you to:
- To input the software’s password. Follow the wizard’s instructions to do so. Maintain a password that is both easy to remember and secure.
- To make your first image CD/DVD of factory default settings. If that’s the case, simply add the blank CDs or DVDs you’ll need (the software will tell you how many you’ll need) and click OK. This screen should look like this at this point.
Next, click the Create button to make the recovery disk.
Click Next after selecting the Full backup option. After the initial Full backup, the Incremental backup (quick) option will be enabled. Incremental backups are faster and take up less space than full backups.
Click Next after giving this backup a reference name.
If the software program asks you to close all open programs, choose Yes and Next.
Make sure Yes is chosen on the Do you wish to continue? Page before clicking Next.
The process of creation begins.
A confirmation notice will display when the operation is complete, stating that backup files have been made successfully; click OK.
Go to the software program’s Burn Disk tab. This should be located near the bottom of the software’s display.
Select Burn a backup disk from the user’s backup. Your backups will be burned to a CD or DVD using this choice.
To use your optical drive, choose it and click OK.
When requested, insert any extra CDs or DVDs that are required.
Label these disks and store them safely once the operation is completed1.

In Windows Vista, create a recovery disk

These methods can be followed by users who have Windows Vista installed on their Acer machine to build a recovery disk:

Turn your PC on. Laptops require an AC adaptor to be plugged in.
Locate the “Acer” folder in the Start menu. In the Search programs and files search bar, type Acer.
Click on Acer eRecovery Management in this folder.
If Windows User Account Control pops up and asks if you want to execute the program, say yes.
From the left menu, select Backup.
Select Create Factory Default Disc from the drop-down menu.
Place the first blank DVD in the drive.

The software will let you know how many DVDs you’ll need to make the recovery disks. Then, when the first DVD is finished, the software will prompt you to insert the second.

Remove the first DVD, label it, and then place a blank DVD in its place. And so on till the whole thing is finished.

8. Click Finish to terminate the program once the software has completed the operation.

9. Your backup disks have now been made. Keep them safe by labelling them.

In Windows 7, create a recovery drive

Users of Acer machines running Windows 7 can build recovery disks by following these steps. These steps are very similar to those in Windows Vista.

Startup your PC. Before you begin, make sure your Acer laptop’s AC adapter is connected.
Go to Start and look in the All Programs folder for the “Acer” folder. Then, type the folder name in the Search programs and files search bar.
Select Acer eRecovery Management from the drop-down menu.
Select Yes if the Windows UAC window appears and asks for permission to launch the software.
Back up your data.
Click Make a Default Factory Disc.
Place the first DVD in the player.
When prompted, insert the second DVD.
When the creation process is complete, click Finish.
Your backup disks have now been made. Keep them safe by labelling them with a permanent marker.

In Windows 8, create a recovery drive

Windows 8 can use the methods below to build their own set of Acer recovery DVDs.

Startup the PC.
To open the Windows 8 Search Charm, simply start typing “recovery” when Windows 8 starts (or press the Windows key and Q). For example, for “Acer Recovery Management,” a search result will show. Select that name by clicking on it.
Do you want to allow the following program to change this computer if you get this message? – Select Yes from the Windows 8 UAC (User Account Control) menu.
The Acer Recovery Management program should now begin to load.
Select Create Factory Default Backup from the drop-down menu.
Next, click Next on the “Create a recovery drive” screen. The Copy of the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery disk checkbox can be left unchecked.
Make that your USB flash drive is shown in the “Available drive(s)” list, has at least 16 GB of available space, and is blank when the “Select the USB flash drive” screen displays.
Next should be selected.
At the warning notice, click Create. The entire contents of the drive will be erased. Make sure you’ve backed up any personal files you might have on this drive.
The recovery disk creation process will now begin. If the “Copy the recovery partition” checkbox was selected, it could take up to 30 minutes; otherwise, it will take less time.
Click Finish on the “The recovery drive is ready” screen when the operation is complete.
Close the program.
Make a label for your USB drive and keep it safe from any harm or loss!

Restore the functionality of Acer computers

The recovery partition that comes with your Acer PC can be used to restore your system.

When the splash screen appears (at the Acer logo), press and hold the Alt and F10 keys to enter recovery mode when you restart your computer.

Instructions for restoring Windows XP

Follow the steps below to restore your Acer computer to factory default settings or the most current backup drive settings.

If you can’t get into Windows XP to open Acer eRecovery Management, try the following:

Your computer should be restarted.
When the Acer splash screen shows, press and hold the Alt + F10 keys to boot into the Acer eRecovery Management program.

These are the steps to restore the machine to its original factory settings without utilizing the recovery disks:

Continue with these instructions if your computer has the Empowering Technology-branded Acer eRecovery Management software:

First, make sure you’re on the Restore tab.
Select Restore system to factory defaults from the drop-down menu.
Enter the password for the Acer eRecovery Management program. This is set to 000000 by default (6 zeros). If you forget your password, go to Troubleshooting for additional information and learn how to recover it.
Confirm that you wish to move forward with the restoration.
Follow the wizard’s next set of instructions.

Continue with these procedures if the Acer eRecovery Management program on your PC does not mention Empowering Technology:

From the left, select Restore.
Select Completely Restore System to Factory Defaults from the drop-down menu.
When the message says “This process will reboot and restore your system” appears, select Yes.
Start by pressing the Start button.
To confirm, click OK.
The Acer eRecovery Management application will now start when your computer restarts.
Click Next on the “Notice” screen.
On the “Restore Destination” screen, click Next.
To confirm the action, click OK.
The restoration procedure should now begin. It could take anything from 30 to 40 minutes.
When the message “Restore completed” appears, click OK.
Windows will reconfigure and restart your PC. Your computer may restart after that.

Follow these methods to restore your computer using your saved Acer recovery DVDs. These rules apply to the Empowering Technology-branded Acer eRecovery Management software:

Choose the Restore option from the drop-down menu.
Select Recover system from CD/DVD from the drop-down menu.
In your optical drive, place the first disk of your recovery disk set.
Verify the procedure.
When the software prompts you, insert any of the next set of disks.

Instructions for restoring Windows Vista

Follow these steps to restore the computer using the Acer recovery disks you created. This guide is for Windows Vista users.

These instructions apply to the Acer eRecovery Management software without the Empowering Technology name. Follow the steps from Windows XP if your software version for the Windows Vista system is branded with Empowering Technology.

The instructions are as follows:

Start your computer and press F12 repeatedly to go to the Boot menu.
Use your arrow keys to pick your optical drive, such as IDE CD-ROM Device, once the Boot menu has loaded.
Hit Enter after inserting the first disk from the recovery disk set.
Now you should be able to access the recovery media.
To reinstall Windows Vista, simply follow the wizard’s instructions.

Instructions for restoring Windows 7

Following these methods, you can restore Windows 7 using your saved sets of Acer recovery disks:

Startup the PC.
To access the Boot menu, repeatedly press F12.
Select your optical drive, such as IDE CD-ROM Device, using your arrow keys.
Insert the first disk from your set of recovery disks.
Press the Enter key.
Your Acer recovery media should now be ready to use.
To reinstall Windows 7, follow the wizard’s instructions.

Instructions for restoring Windows 8

If you can boot into Windows 8, you can restore your system using the following steps:

To open the Search charm in Windows 8, press the Windows key and C simultaneously.
In the search bar, type “recovery.”
Select Acer Recovery Management from the drop-down menu.
If you’re asked if you want to let this software program make changes, say yes.
Select Restore Factory Settings from the drop-down menu.
Next should be selected.
Choose between removing only my files and cleaning the entire drive (recommended).
To confirm, click Reset.
The process of restoration will now commence.
After this operation is completed, follow any wizard instructions to reinstall Windows 8.

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If you can’t boot into Windows 8, but you have the USB recovery disk, you can restore the system by following these steps:

Shut down your PC.
Place the USB recovery disk in the drive.
Turn the computer on.
To enter BIOS, press F2 as soon as feasible. For example, if you have an Acer desktop, press Del instead.
Using your arrow keys, navigate to the BIOS Boot tab: and.
Find a “USB HDD” item in the list (this is your USB recovery drive) and highlight it with your arrow keys.
Press F6 to move “USB HDD” to the top of the list once selected. You may need to hit F6 many times to move it higher, depending on its present location.
Using your arrow keys, scroll to the Exit tab once “USB HDD” is at the top of the list.
Using your arrow keys, select Exit Saving Changes and press Enter.
Make sure [Yes] is chosen before pressing the Enter key.
The computer will restart.
Select a keyboard language when Windows 8 starts up again.
Select Troubleshoot from the drop-down menu.
Select Reset your PC from the drop-down menu.
To confirm the action, click Next.
Select Windows 8 from the drop-down menu.
Select Yes and repartition the drives if you no longer have the Acer recovery partition. Otherwise, choose No to preserve the current partitions.
Simply delete my files or completely clear the HDD. It takes longer to fully clean the drive, but it cleans the entire drive (this is recommended).
Select Reset from the drop-down menu.
The procedure will now begin.
The “Choose an option” screen will show once the operation is complete.
Remove the USB recovery disk from the computer.
At the “Choose an option” screen, click Continue.
To reinstall Windows 8, follow the wizard’s instructions.

Troubleshooting

The Acer eRecovery Management program does not operate

If the D2D recovery option in the computer’s BIOS is deactivated, Acer eRecovery Management may not work.

The D2D Recovery option can be enabled by following these steps:

Startup your PC.
When the splash screen shows, press F2 to enter BIOS.
Using the arrow keys ( and ), navigate to the Main tab.
Check the [Enabled] or [Disabled] status of the D2D Recovery item (typically the last item in the menu). If D2D Recovery is [Disabled], use the arrow keys ( and ) to select the D2D Recovery item, then hit Enter and select Enabled after it’s selected (highlighted).

Acer eRecovery Management has become unresponsive

The Acer eRecovery Management program can become stuck during the process of producing recovery DVDs or restoring the computer’s settings.

The software becoming stuck at 0%, 99.9%, or loading files are common problems.

The hard drive or the Acer recovery partition (required to return the computer to factory settings) may be corrupted.

You can try one (or both) of the fixes listed below.

Fix 1: Disconnect all peripherals from your computer except the keyboard and mouse, and leave only the essentials (keyboard and mouse): printers, USB flash drives, scanners, etc.

Fix 2: To check the integrity of your hard disk, use Command Prompt and run the chkdsk command.

To boot into Recovery Console and access Command Prompt, you’ll need your Windows installation CD.

You can download Easy Recovery Essentials, our Windows recovery and repair disk if you have the original Windows CD. In addition, if your computer has boot issues, you can use the Automated Repair feature to discover and correct them automatically.

Follow these steps to run the chkdsk command:

First, place your Windows installation CD in the drive.
Then, to boot from the installation CD, restart your computer.
When the notice “Press any key to boot from CD” appears on your computer, press any key.
Follow these procedures, depending on your Windows version:

- If you’re using Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. 1. At the Options menu, press R to bring up the Recovery Console.
  2. Put your Administrator password in the box.
  3. Press the Enter key.

- If you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. 1. After you’ve chosen your language, time, and typing method, click “Repair your machine.”
  2. Click Next after selecting your Windows installation drive (typically C:).
  3. From the System Recovery Options box, select Command Prompt.

5. Type the following command into Command Prompt when it appears:

chkdsk /f /r

Users of Windows Vista and 7 might need to add the hard drive letter after chkdsk, as shown here:

chkdsk C: /f /r

Where C: (without the trailing slash: /) is the drive where you installed Windows (usually C:).

6. Restart your computer after the chkdsk process is completed.

7. Restart Acer eRecovery Management if necessary.

Forgot your Acer eRecovery Management password?

This is the default password

The default password for Acer eRecovery Management software is 000000. (6 zeros).

Change the password if necessary

If you need to change your password but can still launch your computer, follow the steps below.

The following options may differ slightly depending on your Acer computer model, but you should be able to change the password.

Start your computer and look for the Acer eRecovery Management program (click Start, go to All Programs, and then look for the “Acer” or “Acer Empowering Technology” folder).
When the app loads, choose either Password: Change eRecovery Password and click Next (if this option is available; this depends on your program version) or go to Settings and change your password.

In Safe Mode, run Acer eRecovery Management.

If you’re having trouble booting into Windows, try launching Acer eRecovery Management in Safe Mode and changing the password from there.

Follow these instructions to enter Safe Mode:

Users of Windows XP:

Press F8 until the Windows XP splash screen shows.
From the Options menu, choose “Safe Mode with Networking.”

Users of Windows Vista:

Press F8 several times before seeing the Windows Vista splash screen.
From the Advanced Boot Options menu, select the Safe Mode option.

Users of Windows 7:

After restarting your computer, press F8 frequently.
From the Options menu, choose Safe Mode.

Users using Windows 8:

Restart your computer while holding down the Shift key and pressing the Restart button.
Select the Safe Mode option when the Startup Settings screen appears.

On the recovery disk, look for the aimdrs.dat file

If you can’t get into Windows or run the software in Safe Mode to reset the password, another option is to look for the aimdrs.dat file on the recovery partition.

To perform commands in Terminal, you’ll need a Live Linux CD. Run the following commands in Terminal once it has been opened:

Hit Enter after typing ls /dev/sda1.
Hit Enter after typing cd /mnt.
Enter the command mkdir Acer.
Type ls and press Enter to see if an “Acer” is listed (folder created).
Hit Enter after typing mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/Acer.
Hit Enter after typing cd /mnt/Acer.
Enter the command ls. A list of files should now be created, with each entitled aimdrs.dat.
Hit Enter after typing cat aimdrs.dat.
Your Acer eRecovery Management password should be in this format on the [MyData] tab:

[MyData]
PD=your_password

It could also have the following format:

[MyData]
PASSWORD=your_password

In Windows 8, creating a USB recovery disk does not work

If you have issues generating the USB recovery disc with the Acer Recovery Management program for Windows 8, check sure you have all of the Microsoft Windows updates installed on your computer.

In May of 2013, Microsoft provided a hotfix for this problem.

Microsoft’s May 2013 upgrades for Windows 8 must be installed on your PC.

Conclusion

I hope you found this information helpful. Please fill out the form below if you have any queries or comments.

User Questions

1. How can I create a recovery CD for my Acer laptop?

Startup your PC.
Go to Start and look in the All Programs folder for the “Acer” folder.
Select Acer eRecovery Management from the drop-down menu.
Select Yes if the Windows UAC window appears and asks for permission to launch the software.
Back up your data.
Select Create Factory Default Disc from the drop-down menu.
Place the first DVD in the player.

2. How do I get my Acer Windows XP back to factory settings?

Run Acer eRecovery Management from Programs > Acer Empowering Technology. Backup, Burn Disk, and Restore are the three options at the bottom of the eRecovery Management window. When you click Restore, you’ll be given Restore System to Factory Default option.

3. What is the procedure for downloading Acer eRecovery management?

Select Notebook or Desktop utilities from the Acer support site. (This is dependent on your system.)
Install Acer ePower Management Version # for your system by clicking on it.
After installing Acer ePower, go to Acer eRecovery Management Version # for your machine.
Restart the computer.

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4. How can I recover Acer laptop 1) without recovery disks, and 2) with hard drive formatted with new OS installed? Want to upgrade to Win 10

How can I recover Acer laptop 1) without recovery disks, and 2) with hard drive formatted with new OS installed? Want to upgrade to Win 10 from techsupport

5. How can I restore Acer Recovery Management functions (bootup recovery menu) when the PQService (100MB) partition was formatted before doing a clean reinstall, but the OEM Recovery (17GB) partition wasn’t?

How can I restore Acer Recovery Management functions (bootup recovery menu) when the PQService (100MB) partition was formatted before doing a clean reinstall, but the OEM Recovery (17GB) partition wasn’t? from AcerOfficial