Reinstalling "Media Direct"

I believe the drive has to be partitioned in order to use Media Direct, as it is bootable (meaning the laptop can boot to that program). On the default Dell install, there are three partitions. One is the XP partition, one is the Ghosted partition for recovery, and I'm assuming the third is for Media Direct, although I could be completely wrong.

i've seen it and it works pretty much like hp's quickplay, it uses a bootable partition that's accessed whenever you press the dvd or music button, if it's powered off. The thing i'm gonna miss about my pavillion is the remote, it totally rocks, dell should pump one for the 9400 since it's a media powerhouse. If you haven't seen one it's pretty much like the old creative cd-drive remotes

so ur saying that if you dont remove the third partition when you reformat, MediaDirect will work after you've reformated?

yep if u reformat the windows partition only yeah since i think it's the bios that bots to media direct after the button is pressed. So if u don't repartition it should be OK. But you migth wanna call dell support to confirm this, altough i'm pretty sure.

how many background processes(bloatwares) can you get rid of with formating only the windows partition and leaving the media direct partition alone?

since i haven't gotten th elappie yet i still don't know but people have reported a fine increase in performance

the ghost partition is only 5 gigs right?? how big is the other partition for media? i just want to make sure i leave it alone when my laptop comes in and i reformat it

mate just format the big one. On my Pavillion the quickplay partition is 212 MB so de mediadirect shouldn't be bigger than 500MB

Dell says to leave a partition of 1308MB for reinstalling but I do not know what final size is...it'll be the smallest on on the drive!

so i can kill every partition on there except for the smallest one right? then reinstall windows and i should be good to go? im getting an e1705 delivered in a couple of weeks and i want to do a fresh windows install. would you guys recommend i install xp pro over getting a copy of their windows media??

As far as MediaDirect goes, are the E1705 and 9400 identical in that regard? Will the 9400 also boot to a specific MediaDirect partition for playing movies/music/etc with the press of a button? I'm asking, because there's no option for XP MCE on the 9400s, while there is on the E1705. The rest of the laptops and features look identical.

quick question regarding media direct and partitioning

I just began doing a reformat on my e1705...

Before reading this thread I went ahead and deleted all existing partitions

I'm now running the complete format (vs the quick format) which is creating just one large partition. A very slow process but its at 83% complete currently.

For Direct Media to install properly, should I go back and repartition/format for a 2nd partition of 1308 mb? Otherwise I won't be able to install media direct? If thats the case then will media direct know where to install itself into the smaller 1308 mb partition? Does it ask where it needs to be put or does it figure it out itself?

also, are there any tricks when setting up the small partition? Special drive letter for it... does it need to be the first partition?... etc...

Thanks for your help.

Ben

*EDIT: I found the answer I was looking for in a pdf file. I'll paste it below for future reference in case it proves useful to others. Sorry about the text format.

Reinstalling Dell MediaDirect

Before you can reinstall the actual Dell MediaDirect software, you must prepare your hard drive for the reinstallation. You need to follow all the instructions in "Preparing the Hard Drive for the Dell MediaDirect Reinstallation" on page 3 while you are installing the Windows XP operating system after having replaced the original hard drive in your computer.

Preparing the Hard Drive for the Dell MediaDirect Reinstallation:

While you are installing the Windows XP operating system, you need to partition the hard drive so that 1308 MB of space is left unpartitioned and reserved for Dell MediaDirect.

To create a partition on your hard drive:

1 Press the <F8> key to agree to the license agreement while you are installing Windows XP

2 When the setup partition window appears, use the arrow keys to select the unpartitioned space.

3 Type C to create a new partition using unpartitioned space.

NOTE: To create sufficient space for the Dell MediaDirect partition on your hard drive, you need to calculate the partition size in megabytes (MB) by deducting 1308 from the total available space in MB on the hard drive.

4 Type the size in MB that you want to use for the new partition and press <Enter>.

5 Use the arrow keys to select the partition that you created and press <Enter>.

6 Select Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick) and press <Enter>.

7 Return to the Windows XP install guide to complete the installation of Windows XP. When you have finished all of the steps in the Windows XP install guide and the desktop appears, you can reinstall the Dell MediaDirect software.


To reinstall the Dell MediaDirect software:

1 Insert the Reinstallation CD into the optical drive. The Dell MediaDirect™ Powered by Cyberlink window opens.

2 Press <Enter> to reinstall Dell MediaDirect.

A message appears indicating that the reinstallation process is complete.

3 Remove the Reinstallation CD from the optical drive and press <Enter> to exit the reinstallation window.

4 Shut down the computer through the Start menu.

5 Use the Dell MediaDirect button on your computer to launch the Dell MediaDirect to complete the reinstallation process.

okay, has anyone else here deleted ALL and reformated all of their partitions?

I just completed 8 hours of formatting and installing of the OS and all my apps and getting everything the way I like it. I also reserved a 1308mb unpartitioned space for later installing MediaDirect 2.0 when I get the disk in the mail.

anyways, after 8 or 9 hours I've finished all but the mediadirect re-install. Thats when I come accros this thread here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...direct+install

it doesn't look too promissing

It appears that if your like me and youve deleted all the partitions then you are pretty much screwed in getting media direct reinstalled. It is possible but it aint easy.

refering to Robjbw's post here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...2&postcount=47

it makes me think I may have to do another all day reinstall of my OS, apps, and MediaDirect2.

Anyone else here in the same boat as me but was able to get mediadirect reinstalled?

Thanks,

Ben

Maybe stupid question, but does media direct play all media files, like DivX and XVid also?

What's media direct and why does it take up 1gb+?

MediaDirect 2.0 is a tool which allows viewing/access to the DVD/CDROM, photos from memory cards, etc... without needing to boot up into the windows operating system. It exists in its own partition so that when you press the "MediaDirect" button, which is near the power button, it will launch media direct instead of booting into the primary windows partition. Easy way of access your media files without booting up the OS.

Trouble is though, I inadvertantly deleted the Media Direct partition and I'm trying to get help reinstalling it. If anyone can help, please see post # 13 and 14 on the previous page of this thread.

Thanks,

Ben

ygohome - what size was the partition you deleted that contained media direct?

I dont know if there is a rule against this...but I found some interesting stuff about media direct on an other forum...here is the link http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...t=40902&page=2
page 2 and 3 have some good info.

Does the Media Direct feature have excellent battery life or something? My e1705 boots up so fast that greatly extended battery life would be the only reason for me to use it. (rarely, at that)