How to clean install Win7 on Acer (WinXP) Aspire 5315

My first post -- a newbie!

My Aspire 5315 has always been "fixed" by paid guru.
The Acer is very unstable (last clean install was approx 2009)

This forum appears to be the most active "laptop" forum.
I cannot find WinXP to Win7 upgrade "help" in "notebookreview.com" including Acer Upgrades

I have never installed an OS -- what concerns me is that when this Acer was new (with Vista) it took about 2 days for two gurus to downgrade to WinXP. -- WiFi driver took 3 days to rectify by a third guru.

(My expertise is writing VBA projects/addins for AutoCad and Excel -- but under the hood is a mystery)

Q_1:I do not know if it is wise to upgrade to Win7 (clean install) or remain with WinXP. ?
Q_2: how/where do I identify existing BIOS version in my Acer ?
Q_3: would I have to retrieve all existing drivers (names) before clean installing ?

PC has original specs except for extra RAM (now 2gig).

Would appreciate any guidance and feedback, thank you

 

You can ignore driver versions since you're using XP and thinking of upgrading to Win 7 (drivers would be different anyway).

This notebook was supported in Vista so Win 7 should work with no problems however with 2GB RAM you should either stick to XP or upgrade RAM (if possible- Acer claims 2GB is max which may or may not be true).

BIOS version would be visible in BIOS setup or via an application like Everest/AIDA.

 

Thank you "downloads" for your support.

My Acer is maxed out at 2GB RAM -- added extra 1GB in 2007 when Vista was a nightmare
Concensus was Aspire 5315 was engineered for XP but Acer marketed it with Vista.
A "black-friday-Walmart special" (? we don't have Walmart in Australia but we get similar deals bad and bad)

I will stay with WinXP for now (it has worked on the Acer), until I master installing an OS and ironing out any problems.
The Acer is now a spare, having been superceded by a new Toshiba-Win7.

Current BIOS is v1.14 (courtesy SysSpec), Acer-EU warning with down load for v1.45 adds to my concerns.

"bigzone's" tutorial does not join all the dots, The link to Soulpass results in a single line "Updates coming around mid 2013" and that is it.

Acer's ePower (?) was eliminated when XP was originally installed. I do not want any crapware on the Acer because it is stodgy as it is.
WiFi did not work at first when XP was installed in 2007 (the third guru installed "directly onto the chip (? I presume firmware?)

Q_1: Should I make a note of existing drivers and which ones should be "noted"?

Found a folder "83017b8d788dbfee6e87945c" (see image) on the Acer after last clean reinstall by a PC tech about 4 years ago.
I presume an extracted ZIP file.
Have googled the folder name -- nothing found.
Search engine "DuckDuck" found one "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/19617/0000950103-11-003802.txt"
"DuckDuck beta" found 27 links but they are all hex numbers​

Q_2: Would appreciate if you refer me to a checklist of "how-to" reinstall XP to get me started ?

Thank you

 

If you have no problems, there's no reason to update BIOS (you may if you want to but there's no good reason to do so).

As for installing Win XP- there's nothing really to it- apart from following the "next next next" procedure you really need only one Acer application- Launch Manager.

Without it Wi-Fi will not work (it's responsible for the on/off button). Windows should install all or most drivers automatically- if Wi-Fi fails to start after install- connect the notebook to a router via an Ethernet cable and let Windows update itself. Often times that will include a working driver(s) that were missing with a clean install.

 

Throw a W7 in there and as downloads already said, you'll need the Launch Manager. Get 3.02, as it looks better. That's it. I did it on my cousin's 5315 couple of years ago, and I don't recall any problems. All of the hardware was recognized. And you can put 3GB in there, but that's it, it wont boot with 4GB.

 

@ downloads

Q: Does "Launch Manager" add the "ePower" (I think it was called) to the laptop ?
Thank you

@ triturbo
Thanks for your input.
This laptop is a business tool -- no games, just research and occasional downloads.
With original Vista, the Acer performance was woeful. Maybe the ePower stuffed up the Acer. ?

I know there were many versions of 5315 and at the time of purchase it was revealed my "series" was engineered for XP.
Acer had to market with Vista else they would lo$e with "old OS XP"
Common sense would be to trash the Acer and get a more recent PC. BUT I enjoy programming (AutoCad/Excel) + learning.

 

No, Launch Manager doesn't add ePower Something although it's not needed- Windows Power Management settings will do just fine (unless it does something else that I don't remember)

 

Cannot find "Acer Launch Manager". Have just spent 4 hours on net all dead ends.
Acer.com is a dead loss (as is "http://www.acer.com.au/ac/en/AU/content/support" for me in Australia)

I have found reference to, but no downloads for ... QtZiAcer.EXE, lmanager.exe, ... claiming to be "Acer Launch Manager"
Three "answers.microsoft.com" pronouncing merits of "Acer Launch Manager" .. no download links
Search engines, I have used Google, DuckDuckGo (beta) which finds stuff Google does not even see.

Can anyone direct me to the Acer Launch Manager download.

--OR --

@ triturbo
Cannot find a mention of "Launch Manager v3.02" anywhere
One claimed "acer launch manager" (not a download) is v7.xx.xx
Loads of download managers and heaps of crapware posing as "Launch Manager" -- I suspect latter are startup-managers
-----
I have never used the web buttons on the Acer, so I would not miss them
My only concern is WiFi
Will I need "Acer Launch Manager" to use the "qwerty" keyboard (Aspire does not have numeric keypad) ??

 

Here is Launch Manager v2.07 for Windows XP and here is one for Win 7 v3.0.03 in case you decide to go for Win 7.

 

Here you are 3.04 And no, you don't need ePower.

Edit: downloads beat me