Recovering your system - Acer Iconia W3

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.  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.
3. Reset your operating system.
If nothing else has solved the problem and you want to reset your system, but keep your user information.
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.

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:
• From Start, type 'Recovery' and then click Acer Recovery Management in the list of apps.

• Click Reinstall Drivers or Applications.
• You should see the Contents section of the Acer Resource Center.

• 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.

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.

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.

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.
4. Click the latest restore point (at a time when your system worked correctly), click Next, then Finish.
5. A confirmation window appears; click Yes. 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 the system recovery DVDs that came with your computer.
• If you can still run Windows and have not deleted the recovery partition.

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.
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 the Windows Store).

Restore Factory Settings with Acer Recovery Management
1. Click Restore Factory Settings.

Caution: 'Restore Factory Settings' will erase all files on your hard drive.
2. The Reset your PC window opens.

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.
5. The recovery process begins by restarting your computer, then continues by copying files to your hard drive.
6. After the recovery has finished, you can start using your computer by repeating the first-start process.

Customized Restore with Acer Recovery Management
1. Click Customized Restore (Retain User Data).

2. The Refresh your PC window opens.

3. Click Next, then Refresh.
4. The recovery process begins by restarting your computer, then continues
by copying files to your hard drive. This process takes about 30 minutes.