The Acer Bios version is 2.15.1227. The system boots directly from the hard drive, while the “Bios Boot Priority order” is 1st [CD&DVD], 2nd [Hard Disk: UEFI: ST10…] etc. Notice the CD&DVD does not show specifics about the DVD drive under Boot Options, But it does under Advanced – Miscellaneous. It shows AHCI Port 4: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH82N. The DVD drive also works fine while in Windows environment.
I am trying to keep all computers 32 bit. I have enough technical things to figure out with Visual Studio & SQL Server (working on the same program on different PCs) without considering whether the OS is 32 or 64 bit. The brand new Gateway DX4870-UB318 came with Windows 8 64 bit. The way I see it; if the hard drive were to fail, I might as well throw the PC in the trash, because there is no way to install a new OS on a new hard drive. I’ll bet I am not the only one who has run into this insane problem. I have spent hours with Gateway Tech-support and they seem to be preoccupied with learning to speak English fluently. Thank you for any help.
I don't want to hold everyone up on Christmas Day. All three comments look good, so I am crediting all three.