Quick Reference Guide

CHAPTER7: Maintaining Your Notebook
88
If you upgrade or exchange your hard drive or if your hard
drive is completely erased or corrupted, your only option for
system recovery may be to reinstall Windows from the
WindowsDVD, then recover your pre-installed software and
device drivers using recovery discs that you created. (Your
convertible notebook must have a DVD-compatible drive to use
these options.)
• To re-install Windows using the Windows DVD, see
“Recovering your system using the WindowsDVD” on
page 98.
• To re-install your pre-installed software and device
drivers using recovery discs, see “Recovering
pre-installed software and drivers using recovery discs”
on page 91.
Recovering pre-installed software and drivers
You can perform a partial recovery by recovering the software
and device drivers that were pre-installed at the factory. If you
need to recover software that did not come pre-installed on
your system, you need to follow that software’s installation
instructions.
You can recover pre-installed software and drivers from a set
of recovery discs (you must create the discs) or by using
Gateway Recovery Center.
Preparing for software and device driver recovery
You can usually recover your pre-installed software and drivers
from your hard drive. However, if you ever re-install Windows
from the Windows DVD or install a new hard drive, you need
to recover your pre-installed software and drivers using a set
of software and driver recovery discs. Because these discs do
not come with your convertible notebook, you should create
your own set.
You should create a set of discs for recovering your
pre-installed software and device drivers, in case you need to
use them later for a complete system recovery. (Your
convertible notebook must have a recordable disc drive to
perform this procedure.)
Caution
Although you may not be expecting to need recovery discs, we
recommend that you prepare for any eventuality and create a set of recovery
discs while you have the opportunity.