Thursday, January 14, 2010

How to Reset Acer eRecovery Password

Are you forgot your eRecovery password when you need to recover/re-install your Acer machine while your Windows totally crashed and you can't even boot to your OS?

Read this first?

eRecovery How it Works

Acer has a software named eRecovery. This software dedicated to their customers in order to get Windows OS recovery process a lot more easier and faster even a kid able to do it.

Acer created a hidden partition labeled PQSERVICE

You wouldn't able to see this partition in Windows explorer. If you want to see this partition existance, right-click My Computer -> Manage -> Disk Management


PQSERVICE partition contain an image of Windows OS (XP/Vista/Seven) and this partition will be load to recover anytime when your Windows OS crashed, unstable, or infected by virus.

By pressing ALT+F10 before entering Windows boot process, you will access Acer eRecovery menu and asked the location where the backup will restore (ussually C: Drive). After few simple clicks (as easy as click Next) you will have your Windows back as 'factory default' state (State when you bought your Acer machine)

But how if there are password required for eRecovery? The windows is crashed and unfortunately... you don't know the password?

Here are the tricks!


Try the default password  000000

If it's not working, let's go to the next tricks to see your forgotten password.

If you are familiar with Linux OS

Try Ubuntu live CD and

  1. Boot with Linux/Ubuntu live CD
  2. Mount PQSERVICE partition
  3. Open file aimsdrs.dat on first depth of PQSERVICE partition
  4. Write down the password or edit the file to change the password (find PD="xxxx" and the password is xxxx)
  5. Restart and try the password

Is there another way without using Linux Live CD ?

Yes, but only if you still able to login to your Windows!

Download Partedit32 launch the program and change the type of the partition pqservice from X values to 07. Usually X values is in the first row on the partition sequence.

    1. Restart the computer press F2 on boot to enter the bios, and then disable the option (d2drecovery).

    2. Restart and press F8 several times until you reach the Windows recovery menu, choose the option : command prompt. The windows open and now there is a letter for a new drive, x for example.

    3. Type "dir" and seek the file "aimsdrs.dat". Then type this command at the prompt : "Copy aimsdrs.dat C:"

    4. Restart your computer normally, open a notepad browse for your file open it and recover your password. Do not forget to restore your partition pqservice in its initial state with partedit32, and to reactivate the D2D recovery option in the bios.
      Hope this will help :)

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