Hi Martin,
From what you have said about 'Safe Mode', I don't think that this will work, but you can give it a go. Reboot into 'Safe Mode with Command Prompt'. You will need to log on. At the prompt, enter 'rstrui' and provide administrative credentials when prompted. You should be able to use System Restore as normal when it appears. If that doesn't work, then you might have to look at the possiblity of using an adapter (external hard drive enclosure) in order to access your drive from the machine you are using to post to the forum. These are obtainable in both 3.5 and 2.5 inch versions and, since you have a laptop, you will require the 2.5 inch version. These interface by USB and come with a separate power supply, although some 2.5 inch models are supplied with power via the USB bus (sometimes with 2 USB cables). Whilst this will not enable you to repair the faulty driver, you should be able to access and copy over the important files, although this is not guaranteed. You can then reinstall your HDD to your laptop and try the following. After the POST has completed, there should be a key (typically F11, but check your manual) that you press in order to access the in-built recovery partition. Be aware though, that this will recover your system to its original state and that ALL files and data will be lost. If you are successful with this, then immediately create a recovery disc by following the instructions in the manual. The creation of such a disc will help with similar problems in the future and should not affect system recovery using the recovery partition as described above. If you don't have access to your manual, please reply with details of your ACER laptop, i.e. model number (fill in your system specs in your User CP)and I should be able to supply you with a link to the manual.
