Recovery Center 6860FX?

Now I am new to the forums so please don't flare at me...

I have read about doing the clean install for the gateway 6860FX. However I do not have it yet but I am planning to buy one next month so I want to get as much knowledge as possible on this notebook. This is going to be my first notebook PC.

Now I read about the Gateway recovery center in the description. Is there any way that someone can show me screen shots (or better yet a video) of this 'recovery center' (or recovery process), showing the different steps on how to approach this? I am paranoid that I may do something wrong when I buy the laptop since I am not as...well...'notebook savvy' as the rest of you here. Also, is there a 'backup drivers only' option in the recovery center? Please help before I start switching paths to another notebook.

 

Read the manual that comes with your laptop, its the small black booklet. It tells you how to make a backup of your Drivers and apps. The backup goes on one dvd, so make sure you have a blank one with you.

 

Well...the problem is I do not have the laptop yet that's why I am asking lol but hey I will keep that in mind when I do get it. Someone should really make a walkthrough video however...its only a suggestion from me. If someone would kindly do so, it would make a bunch of people that are as paranoid as I happy . Thank you for the help flynnaz.

 

It is realy easy, when you get it you will see, just make sure you make the backup disc, after you make it, try it out to make sure it works

 

Also since I will be going to college with this notebook...how much is the expected battery life of this notebook (include power settings and backlight brightness please). I saw the review but I do not believe it . I also heard of these machines getting hot at times, is there any notebook coolers, that I can buy from best buy (I would love to have everything in one trip), that would best suit this notebook with minimal noise? Next thing, recommend a notebook carrying case for me too (From best buy applies here too). I am sorry if this is too much...I would love to be prepared

As for the operating system side...Vista 64-bit on this machineO_O...I never had experience with a 64 bit system and I have heard of incompatibility issues with some software. Will this affect my games? I am usually playing steam games, COD4, battlefield 2/2142 on my 32 bit computer and will be planning on gaming with the laptop.

 

If you don't mind shopping online, you can get a great deal on a backpack (I like Slappa http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4413 ) and cooler (Look on newegg.com) or this site. for your future P-6080fx. As for the 64bit Vista I have had zero problems with COD4, Everquest 2, Crysis, Bioshock, Neverwinter Nights 2, Steam (all Games), and all my apps. AS for over heating, just make sure you have your laptop on a solid surface so the vents underneath can vent.

 

that still doesnt solve my battery question but im guessing that will be answered eventually LOL...im gonna give it time since i know there will be ppl that will take the time to check real world times THANK YOU FLYNAZZ LOVIN UR SUPPORT!!! Heck better than HP LMAO...Rep for you

 

LOL, I am not too sure on battery time as I have mine plugged in most of the time. I will let you know if I learn any more about it.

 

alright thanks flynnaz

 

battery is about 1.2 hours to 3 hours depending on settings/voltage and usage. dont think your gonna get anything more than that. and that 3 hours really is virtually impossible. gaming on high, you might get an hour.

 

there is a power option in control panel, you can change it to balanced, performance or battery saver accordingly. i suggest you to buy this laptop as a desktop replacement. if you need to carry this with you to classes everyday, i would say to spend another 300-400$ for a Asus triple E.

For the backup part, get yourself a DVD or two. i used CDs at first but it got stuck on the second CD. (note, you need 1 DVD or 4 CDs to make a backup copy). It is indeed very easy to make a back up copy. But just to give you an idea about how easy it is.
1. Click (Start)>All Problems>Gateway Recovery Center to open the Gateway Recovery Center
2. Click Application and Drivers external media, then click Next (should be the last one.)
3. Click Create System Recovery Disc, then click Next.
4. Insert a blank DVD in to the DVD drive. Close the Autoplay dialog. (this can be done anytime prior to this step).
5. It should detects your DVD and says it will take a DVD to make a backup copy or something like that. if that is the case, click I Have Enough Discs, then click Next.
6. Now just wait for it to create the disc. Be patient, ignore the weird clicking noices that the DVD drive is making. it took me about 15-20 minutes, not really sure though. it would sometimes get stuck at a point but always go through eventually. So just wait.
7. Once it's done, a window should open. Click Finish. Take out the DVD and label it.
and you are done. it's that easy

 

Thank you for the idea I love giving rep cuz it makes me feel better inside so rep for you and the other guy that told me the approx hours of battery life.

 

just how long does take to recover a laptop using the dvd??? i haven't used that option yet. and i was just curious. thanks

thanks for the rep darth!

 

whats the easiest way to backup the partition with the recovery on it ?. id like to keep the files but hose the partition and free up those extra 15gigs.

 

technically you can copy the whole partition as is and store it on an external hard drive. (just tried it and it seemed to work)

and also technically speaking, that 15 gigs isn't really killing you (but most seem to disagree with this. more so with raid config's. )

if you get down to only 15 gigs left on your system, then you already have a problem..lol. in my book anyways.

and ryo1000 just posted a very nice way for you to do that as well.

other option is to use an imaging program, which is faster on making and restoring from. imho that is.

 

i never tried to recover with that DVD, just loaded some drivers and that was it. hopefully i won't need it anytime soon lol

 

i was always curious as to did it really work...i heard a few people had problems trying to reinstall using it later down the line....

 

ya i use ghost for my backup of xp but havent really looked into doing a ghost image of vista yet or i should say i had in the past but the version of ghost i had wouldnt do it and acronis image maker seemed a tad funky . as for the 15 gigs i have plenty of space left over still on my 320 but having more is always a good thing plus i had to create some funky partitions to get xp on here cause i didnt want to delete the restore partition i also tried to back up that partition before
but at the end there were a couple files that didnt seem to want to copy so i didnt proceed further till i knew forsure it would work later on .

 

hummm, i swear by acronis true image. allows me to re image my laptop thru a network/ and i can store the image anywhere.

and norton ghost was to slow, so i gave up on them long ago..

 

I totally agree, acronis is awesome.