Seems to me that MS did the bu@@ering.
As often happens with this
OEM software, reloading the OS non-destructively is not an option. Some do, some don't.
The issue is Gateway's policy on this. After a call to Gateway India, to a man that may as well have been clockwork, he gave up on finding the answer from the computer maker.
Even had the bod professed to knowing, I wouldn't have trusted him anyway.
It's been mentioned before about using Linux to get a pure boot. Sounds like it might be a plan. He's got two laptops in the place, so can relax when he's got his data. It's just being sure of the next step.