transfer restore partition in Vista Home Premium

Hey everyone,
im hoping that someone can help me out here.
A few months ago my friends computer was stolen; she managed to get it back, but everything (OS and all!) was totally wiped. It's an ACER, and they usually have a recovery/restore partition, but I'm pretty sure that that also has been wiped. I was able to get it to run using an old backup disc she had made a year ago, but we are hoping to do a restore to factory settings.
I also have a different friend with the EXACT same computer. Is there some way for me to get the ACER eRestorer off of his HDD and onto hers so that I can run it?
What you should be able to do is restart the computer, and at the ACER screen hit Alt+F9or10, and it gives you the option to restore to factory settings. I have done this my other friends computer, so I know that he has that partition.
How do I find it, copy it, and get it to work on the other computer?

Alternatively, she has the Vista Home Premium sticker on the bottom, so if i could manage to get my hands on a VHP disc I should in theory be able to clean install Vista, right? Any ideas on where to get one?

thanks for your help!

*EQL*

 

Contact Acer and inform them of your friend's situation. They may be able to supply her with a restore disc, possibly for a small fee.

 

Yes, i looked it up, but it is $20. I was hoping that I could do it from the other friend's computer for free.
Thanks,
*EQL*

 

It's a safe bet Acer, with MS's help, has taken steps to prevent this sort of thing. You could try drive cloning software. The only one I've used is Acronis TrueImage and it costs more than $20. Someone else with more experience with the freeware alternatives will have to weigh on this. Also, I believe you will run into licensing and activation issues.

 

thanks for your help guys. I ended up downloading a vista home premium DVD and using that to clean install vista. I used the Vista Access Key on the bottom of the computer... so I'm hoping that this more on the 'less-illegal' side of doing things. I figure that so long as I'm using the key that was paid for (for that computer), then it's not horrible in comparison to some people!
thanks for your help.
*EQL*