To uninstall a program:

1Close all software programs and folders.

2Uninstall the damaged program:

a Click the Windows Vista start button, Control Panel.

b Under Programs, click Uninstall a program.

c Select the program you want to remove, and then click Uninstall.

d Click Yes if you want to continue with the uninstall process.

To reinstall a program using the Recovery Manager:

1Click the Windows Vista start button, All Programs, PC Help & Tools, and then click Recovery Manager.

2Click Advanced Options, Reinstall software programs that came with your computer, and then click Next.

3Click Next at the Welcome screen.

4Choose the program you want to install, click Next, and follow the onscreen instructions.

5When you have finished reinstalling, restart the computer.

NOTE: Do not skip this last step. You must restart the computer after recovering software programs or hardware drivers.

System Recovery

After you have tried the previously mentioned methods of repairing your computer, you can run a system recovery as a last resort to reinstall the factory-shipped operating system, software programs, and hardware drivers.

System recovery completely erases and reformats the hard disk drive, deleting all data files you have created. System recovery reinstalls the operating system, programs, and drivers. However, you must reinstall any software that was not installed on the computer at the factory. This includes software that came on CDs included in the computer accessory box, and software programs you installed after purchase.

You must choose one of the following methods to perform a system recovery:

￿Recovery Image—Run the system recovery from a recovery image stored on your hard disk drive. The recovery image is a file that contains a copy of the original factory-shipped software. To perform a system recovery from a recovery image, see “Starting system recovery from the hard disk drive” on page 25.

NOTE: The recovery image uses a portion of the hard disk drive that cannot be used for

data storage.

￿Recovery Discs—Run the system recovery from a set of recovery discs (CDs or DVDs) that you create from files stored on your hard disk drive. To create recovery discs, see the next section.

Creating Recovery Discs

Complete the procedure described in this section to create a set of recovery discs from the recovery image stored on your hard disk drive. This image contains the operating system and software program files that were originally installed on your computer at the factory.

You can create only one set of recovery discs for your computer. Furthermore, the recovery discs you create can be used only with your computer.

After creating the recovery discs, you can delete the recovery image if you want to make extra space available on your hard disk drive.

NOTE: Do not delete the recovery image until you have made recovery discs.

Choosing Recovery Discs

There are several advantages to using DVDs instead of CDs when creating recovery discs:

￿DVDs have greater capacity than CDs, so there are fewer discs to record and store.

￿DVD recovery discs take less time to create than CD recovery discs.

To create recovery discs, your computer must have

a CD or DVD Writer drive, or other drive that can write to CDs or DVDs.

24Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide