Boot Repair gone after OS reinstall

[gregrocker]

I suspected errors and performance problems on my eMachine t5234 might be
related to the factory bloatware, so I used the included VIsta Premium OEM
disk to do a clean reinstall, formatting the C drive while preserving the D
recovery. Loaded great with no bloat or programs at all, drivers installed
themselves and Updated, got Java and Adobe(s) from their website, instant
performance and connection improvement. I only needed Works off of factory
recovery so eMachines chat provided link to start menu hotlink into recovery
sector to retrieve Works. All good, so far.

And THEN.....I check Safe Mode for Repair my Computer and it isnt there!
eMachines tech says I disabled Recovery Partition with OS clean install from
OEM disk, yet I have access via Start Menu Recovery Center link to
Applications and Drivers (where i got my Works). I check my Repair options
on the OEM/OS disc: Startup repair, System Restore are there, but Complete
Restore option cannot locate CD even though it is running in the drive!
Guess I can use Install again.

Unfortunately eMachines is not able to tell me what has happened, only that
I should have used their bloated Recovery partition/disk, that my OS disc is
not replaceable if ever corrupted (have to buy a bloat disk for $20) and that
my Recovery partition is probably no longer of any use except to retrieve the
one program I want off of it via Start Menu hotlink. Does anyone out there
have any advice on what I should do. I still like the trimmed down OS
reinstall with no bloat, errors and faster. But I can't help but think I've
screwed up pretty bad here, somehow.

 

[Bill]

I suspected errors and performance problems on my eMachine t5234 might be
related to the factory bloatware, so I used the included VIsta Premium OEM
disk to do a clean reinstall, formatting the C drive while preserving the D
recovery.

And THEN.....I check Safe Mode for Repair my Computer and it isnt there!
eMachines tech says I disabled Recovery Partition with OS clean install from
OEM disk, yet I have access via Start Menu Recovery Center link to
Applications and Drivers (where i got my Works). I check my Repair options
on the OEM/OS disc: Startup repair, System Restore are there, but Complete
Restore option cannot locate CD even though it is running in the drive!
Guess I can use Install again.

From reading this, it sounds to me as if all you've done is kill the
OEM system recovery option that eMachines had built into your
computer...i.e...you no longer have a menu option to restore your system
to its factory state in the event that something goes wrong. However, it
sounds as if (like me, with my Acer system) you truly do not want to
restore the system to its factory state again anyway, because of the
bloatware. If I'm understanding that correctly, then you've truly lost
nothing with this decision. Your restore options are now no different
than the options available to someone who made the decision to build
their own system from individual components.

As long as you can recover the one program that you want from the
recovery partition, I can't see where you've ruined anything. You have
your Windows disc for a full reinstall when that's needed again. I would
also recommend a good backup program that would permit a full
backup/restore of your entire hard drive, if you don't have such a
program already. My personal favorite is Acronis 11.0. With it, in less
than five minutes, I can fully re-install my Vista partition, which runs
around 12 gigs.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks Bill, I feel a lot better now!

Is there freeware or an inexpensive program which could allow me to pluck
out the Works program from the dead partition, reformat the (huge,
largely-unused 320 gig) hard drive for a new recovery partition, then install
such an image on it? I'm not even sure I need a recovery partition at all if
it couldn't contain the OS since all I need from it is Works while everything
else I use practically downloaded itself for me after the OS reinstall.

Also is the Vista OEM disc replaceable at all if it gets lost or corrupted?
Thanks again for making a very long (48 hour ) day.

 

[Bill]

Thanks Bill, I feel a lot better now!

Is there freeware or an inexpensive program which could allow me to pluck
out the Works program from the dead partition, reformat the (huge,
largely-unused 320 gig) hard drive for a new recovery partition, then install
such an image on it? I'm not even sure I need a recovery partition at all if
it couldn't contain the OS since all I need from it is Works while everything
else I use practically downloaded itself for me after the OS reinstall.

Also is the Vista OEM disc replaceable at all if it gets lost or corrupted?
Thanks again for making a very long (48 hour ) day.

I don't know of any freeware that would allow you to extract the Works
program, but hopefully someone else will.

If you feel extremely adventurous, though, and don't mind trying out a
free version of Linux called Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com), the latest
version allows both reading/writing to Windows-based partitions. I have
an Ubuntu install on my own system, and it displayed the recovery
partition on my Acer system as a separate hard drive, even though the
partition was hidden. It also permitted me to browse the contents, and
even copy them.

About your OEM disc...do you have a DVD burner on your system? If so,
you should be able to make a copy of that disc with the proper DVD
burning software. One option is Ashampoo Burning Studio 7. It has a
$39.95 retail, but can be used free for 30 days. In addition, if you
sign up to receive newsletters from them, they will offer tremendous
discounts on their software. My copy of Burning Studio was purchased
from them for $7.99, thanks to one of their newsletter discounts:
http://www2.ashampoo.com/webcache/html/1/product_2_1110__.htm

Though I don't have a link, I've heard some say that a Windows Vista
"Anytime Upgrade" disc can be purchased directly from Microsoft for a
few dollars. In spite of the title, that disc is nothing more than a
renamed Vista installation DVD. I used the one that came with my Acer
system to put a fresh install of Vista on my computer, without the
bloatware that the recovery partiton wants to install.