Desktops & All-In-Ones

[quovadis]

Hi, Purchased an exact replica hard drive for above machine and have my own copy of windows 7 and licence ...Am I able to install after fitting or does the drive have to be formatted or re-configured .... ?| I realise I will have to download the drivers but does this have to be one by one or is there a file that downloads all as required ? Acer want £50 odd pounds for the backup which is a bit steep I think , plus they advise that even purchasing them I will not get the recovery partition ? I have seen many discs on ebay stating that all the drivers are on one  cd, some offering windows, which I can activate using my exisiting serial number on the computer ... is this a good choice ? a driver is a driver yes/no , and I can update if required? . Any help and support appreciated, the hard drive at the moment is sitting in its unopened static bag waiting for me to make a decision poor thing 

regards 

Paul 

[Sharanji]

hi...

The best option is to use the recovery disc that you have created or purchased from Acer store.

It will install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and the drivers of your system. It will prompt for windows activation key since it is automatically aplied and activated for OEM version of windows. The recovery disc that has windows 7 and drivers of your computer can only be created from your computer or purchase from Acer store as per the serial or SNID numebr of your computer.

If you are trying to install a retail version of windows 7 with new licence, you may try installing it however you need to install all the driver and application needed for your computer from Acer support website. You will be able to activate using the exisiting product key of the OEM version of windows 7 printer on the computer

Let us know if you need further assistance with installing windows 7. We will be happy to help.

[quovadis]

Thank for the information, Do I need to format or partion the drive before use ? Will the installation offer a recovery partition

if not how is this done .... Do I need to download ALL the drivers or just specific ones to return the computer back to factory condition ?

Thank you for your time and consideration

regards

Paul

[Sharanji]

hi...

You may try installing the operating ssyte directly on new hard disk, there is no option to create a recovery partition on new hard disk. 

If you use a recovery disc for this model it will automatically install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and the drivers of your system.

If you are using your own copy of windows 7 and licence, you need to download and install the required driver from Acer support website.

You need to install the chipset drivers, then run the hardware vendor utility and it will display the list of hardware manufacturer name

You may download the required driver by checking the latest release date and install it.

Here's the weblink to download the hardware vendor utility :  Hardware Vendor Utility
You may download it on any computer and transfer the utility and run it.
Here's the weblink to download and install the drivers : http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/drivers

You may enter the model number or directly go to
Group >  All-in-one, Series > Aspire , Products > Aspire Z3101

Select the operating system from the drop down menu, then select All
Check the release date and download the latest VGA & other drivers and install it.