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Question

Gateway laptop Restore to factory settings

Dec 27, 2011 5:23AM PST

I would like to restore it back to factory settings. Which key should I press F8, F10? I have backed up everything to an external hard drive. Can I access all of my files from my eternal making it my C drive for always? Can I covert it to Windows 7 and how would I do that?

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Start with the model number
Dec 27, 2011 5:48AM PST

but you should be able to find that information at the Gateway site yourself. As for accessing your files from your external...I don't know what you mean. Your access comes from the OS so that will be your primary drive. As for "converting" the laptop to Windows 7, that will depend on the hardware. If it's already Vista, your chances may be reasonably good that you can upgrade to Win 7 But if you've any previous OS, your chances of installing Win 7 may be slim. This is because you're dependent on the laptop manufacturer to provide drivers for proprietary hardware and they're not likely to be accommodating in that regard. Good luck.

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Answer
Support
Dec 27, 2011 8:37PM PST

NO, you can't use an ext. HD to start a PC using windows. There's nothing you can do to change that.