Take the 2-minute tour ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.

I have an Acer Aspire One D250 which originally came with Windows XP.

When I bought it I needed to start using it fast, so I only made a copy (as in, copy all the files) of the original C drive to another drive, and then I installed Windows 7 and Linux on it (erasing everything that was on the drive before, including the Acer recovery partition).

Now I would like to sell it, so I'd like to put it back in the factory condition. Is there a simple way I can use the backup of the files I've made to restore it to the original condition, ie. reinstall Windows XP?

Thanks.

share|improve this question

2 Answers 2

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Clean Install XP from a disc you borrow (deleting all previous partitions in the process), then remove the drive and and connect to another PC, then delete all files on the drive, copy your backed up files to the drive, put it back in and see if it boots, or delete all the partitions on the drive, format it NTFS, copy your backed up files to it then run a fixmbr and fixboot after you put it back in the Acer.

share|improve this answer

There is a feature on Acer Apire One netbooks which is accessed by pressing Alt+F10 during startup. This will return it to factory condition.

Edit: in that case, there's a program I have used in this same situation called WinToFlash which allows you to install Windows from a flash drive. (This requires the Windows installation disc.) Of course this doesn't truly answer your question, but it is a viable alternative.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.
{"cc_re__cc_re__cc_by_sa_3_0": ["                  <li><a href=\"//area51.stackexchange.com\" title=\"proposing new sites in the Stack Exchange network\">Area 51</a></li>\r\n                        <li><a href=\"//careers.stackoverflow.com\">Stack Overflow Careers</a></li>\r\n                    \r\n                </ol>\r\n            </td>\r\n    </tr>\r\n</table>\r\n                </div>\r\n            </div>\r\n\r\n            <div id=\"copyright\">\r\n                site design / logo &#169; 2015 stack exchange inc; user contributions licensed under <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license\">cc by-sa 3.0</a> \r\n                with <a href=\"http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/06/attribution-required/\" rel=\"license\">attribution required</a>\r\n            </div>\r\n            <div id=\"svnrev\">\r\n                rev 2015.5.1.2550\r\n            </div>\r\n            \r\n        </div>\r\n    </div>\r\n    <noscript>\r\n        <div id=\"noscript-warning\">Super User works best with JavaScript enabled<img src=\"http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-c1rF4kxgLUzNc.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"dno\"></div>\r\n    </noscript"], "copyright__copyright__copyright": ["\n\nEdit: in that case, there's a program I have used in this same situation called WinToFlash which allows you to install Windows from a flash drive. (This requires the Windows installation disc.) Of course this doesn't truly answer your question, but it is a viable alternative.\n\nshare|improve this answer\n\nYour Answer\n\n\u00a0\ndiscard\n\nBy posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.\n\nNot the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question."]}