Quick Reference Guide
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- About This Reference
- Checking Out Your Computer
- Setting Up and Getting Started
- Working safely and comfortably
- Preparing power connections
- Connecting to a broadband modem or network
- Connecting a dial-up modem
- Starting your computer
- Turning off your computer
- Restarting (rebooting) your computer
- Using the keyboard
- Using the mouse
- Using optical drives
- Using the memory card reader
- Using the diskette drive
- Adjusting the volume
- Installing a printer, scanner, or other device
- Upgrading Your Computer
- Preventing static electricity discharge
- Opening and closing the case
- Replacing the optical disc drive
- Replacing the diskette drive
- Replacing the memory card reader
- Replacing the hard drive
- Installing memory
- Adding or replacing an expansion card
- Replacing the heat sink and processor
- Replacing the system battery
- Replacing the power supply
- Replacing the system board
- Maintaining Your Computer
- Troubleshooting
- Safety guidelines
- First steps
- Troubleshooting
- Add-in cards
- Audio
- CD or DVD drives
- Diskette drive
- The diskette drive is not recognized
- You cannot save a file to diskette or you see the message “disk is full or write-protected”
- You see an “Access Denied” or “Write protect” error message
- You see a “Disk is full” error message
- You see a “Non-system disk” or “Disk error” error message
- The diskette drive LED is lit continuously
- Display
- DVD drives
- Ethernet
- Expansion cards
- File management
- Floppy drive
- Hard drive
- Internet
- Keyboard
- Media Center
- Memory
- Memory card reader
- Modem (cable or DSL)
- Modem (dial-up)
- Your modem does not dial or does not connect
- You cannot connect to the Internet
- Your 56K modem does not connect at 56K
- Your fax communications program only sends and receives faxes at 14,400 bps when you have a 56K modem
- The modem is not recognized by your computer
- The modem is noisy when it dials and connects
- Monitor
- Mouse
- Networks
- Passwords
- Power
- Printer
- Sound
- Recovering your Windows Vista system
- Recovering pre-installed software and drivers
- Using Microsoft System Restore
- Recovering your system to its factory condition
- Recovering your system using the Windows DVD
- Recovering your Windows XP system
- Telephone support
- Legal Notices
- Index
www.gateway.com
109
Recovering your
Windows Vista system
You can solve most computer problems by following the
information in “Troubleshooting” on page 91 or in the
technical support pages at www.gateway.com
. Problem
solving may also involve re-installing some or all of the
computer’s software (also called recovering or restoring your
system). Gateway provides everything you need to recover
your system under most conditions.
• If only one or two items of software or hardware have
stopped working correctly, the problem may be solved
by re-installing the software or the hardware drivers.
To recover software and drivers that were pre-installed
at the factory, see “Recovering pre-installed software
and drivers” on page 110. For instructions on
reinstalling software and drivers that were not
pre-installed, see that product’s documentation or
support Web site.
• If re-installing 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. For instructions, see “Using Microsoft System
Restore” on page 116.
• If nothing else has solved the problem and you want
to return your system to factory condition, see
“Recovering your system to its factory condition” on
page 119.
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
Windows DVD, then recover your pre-installed software and
device drivers using recovery discs that you created. (Your
computer must have a DVD-compatible drive to use these
options.)
• To re-install Windows using the Windows DVD, see
“Recovering your system using the Windows DVD” on
page 120.
• 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 114.
Caution
To prepare your computer for additional system recovery options, you
should create a set of software and driver recovery discs as soon as possible.
For instructions, see “Preparing for software and device driver recovery” on
page 110.
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