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reformatting M140 + Media Direct?

post #1 of 37
2/27/06 at 3:20am
Thread Starter 
Okay, I'm about to receive my M140 in a few days, and I was wondering how to reformat my harddrive, and correctly re-install Media Direct. I've been reading a lot about people doing this so that all of the junk Dell puts on their computers becomes removed, but none of them say how to do it!

Any help for a newbee would be awesome I have the CDs (OS, Media Direct, drivers, etc.).

Thanks,
Matthew
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post #2 of 37
2/27/06 at 3:44am
Read the Dell FAQs. It's got the answers to the questions you are asking

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=53625
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post #3 of 37
2/27/06 at 4:01am
http://support.dell.com/support/down...&fileid=148039
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post #4 of 37
2/27/06 at 2:53pm
All I did was reformat the partition XP was and reinstall there. Leave the other partitions alone. Then after you're all reinstalled go to the Dell support page and under, I think Applications, find the Media Direct Repair Utility, download, run and voila. Worked for me anyway.
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post #5 of 37
2/27/06 at 9:53pm
Thread Starter 
XPSM140Guy,
Hmm.. I'm still confused about how to reformat.. Do I just pop in the OS CD and somewhere click a button that says "reformat"? How do I choose the specific partition with the OS (what's the name?)?
Thanks
Matthew
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post #6 of 37
2/27/06 at 11:20pm
Basically, stick the OS CD in while the computer is on, reboot...it should come up with the XP reinstall process. Let everything load, when you get to the screen that allows to choose the partition to install XP choose the one with the largest size.

This site has an excellent reinstall guide besides the one's noted in previous posts:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=42340
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post #7 of 37
3/1/06 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks dude. Just finished everything!
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post #8 of 37
3/2/06 at 2:09am
Hey XPS and rocketman, did you guys received a CD containing the DVD software that came with the XPS? All i got was the OS CD, Trend Micro Cd and the Drivers blue CD that Dell includes.
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post #9 of 37
3/2/06 at 1:39pm
I had to request the DVD software. Got it within 2 days of the request.
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post #10 of 37
3/3/06 at 2:27am
Thread Starter 
hmm.. DVD software? Like PowerDVD or something? I tested a DVD the other day and it worked fine... which DVD software are you talking about? I only needed to CDs, the OS and the Drivers and Utilities.
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post #11 of 37
3/3/06 at 5:22am
Yes, Power DVD
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post #12 of 37
3/4/06 at 7:12am
Hi XpsM140Guy
I complaint to dell about the installtion cd, all I got from them was 3 CDS and not the Media direct CD, Is there a way to make the Media Direct cd from dell utitlies after I reformatted and do a clean installation to my hard drive?
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post #13 of 37
3/4/06 at 12:31pm
I thought reinstalling a different kind of Operating System voids the warranty? or maybe it only applies to WinXP Pro 64-bit.
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post #14 of 37
3/4/06 at 1:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by haute4
Hi XpsM140Guy
I complaint to dell about the installtion cd, all I got from them was 3 CDS and not the Media direct CD, Is there a way to make the Media Direct cd from dell utitlies after I reformatted and do a clean installation to my hard drive?
Hey dude. I only got 3 CDs as well. But pretty much, reformat the OS as usual. I think it was XPS140guy that said to only reformat the largest partion, which is a great idea. After everything is done, do this (directly from http://support.dell.com/support/topi...us&cs=&s=gen):

To repair Dell MediaDirect on your hard drive:

1. Place the Repair Utility CD or the Drivers and Utilities CD, if applicable, into the CD drive and restart your computer.
2. Press the <F12> key as soon as the Dell logo screen appears to enter the boot menu.
3. Press the <down-arrow> key to highlight the first CD listing.
4. Press <Enter> to boot from the CD.

NOTE NOTE: If you are using the Drivers and Utilities CD, type <Q> after you boot from the CD.


5. At the prompt, type cd \MD2 and then press the <Enter> key.
6. Type Repair and press <Enter>. The Dell MediaDirect repair utility opens.
7. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to select OK and press <Enter>.
8. When the Done message appears, remove the CD from the drive and press the power button to turn off the computer.

You can now use the Dell MediaDirect button on your computer to launch Dell MediaDirect.

It only takes a few minutes to finish. Pretty cool!

Matthew
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post #15 of 37
3/4/06 at 1:08pm
Thread Starter 
BTW, I tested it and it works great! Just press MediaDirect when your laptop is off, throw in a DVD, and WHAM! MOVIE! hehe. plus you can look through videos pictures, and movies on your harddrive without booting windows.
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post #16 of 37
3/4/06 at 1:41pm

loading Xp pro with windowsmedia direct

Hey,
Thanks for the info. the only problem is I deleted all the partitions. Now, let just say i start from scratch. I allocated 1308 MB of space for Media direct. reload Window Xp Media direct, load all the utitlies and make a repair recovery disk as described, then go back and do a clean installation on Window XP pro on the larger partition. Now,Will I have Window XP pro and the media direct protion of the software ? I know this can be done, Because The customer support called me and asked how my laptop is doing after a few weeks. He told me Mdia direct works in the home, pro, and 2000. He didn't go into details how this was done, and I was not talking to INDIA.
Thanks for any input
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post #17 of 37
3/4/06 at 1:57pm
Media Direct, from my understanding anyway is not part of windows. It's part of the Cyberlink software (makers of PowerDVD). Do a search, there have been a few people on this forum who have been able to get the Media Direct reinstall CD. Remember, the only thing on the Resource CD and only is the REPAIR utility meaning it'll only fix the MD button if the original MD partition is still intact.
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post #18 of 37
3/4/06 at 1:59pm

voiding warranty installing different OS

Hi:
I talk to dell about this issue, and they gave me the run around. It all started when customer support called me and asked how my notebook was doing. I was tick off already because the price dropped $50.00 a week later, by this month it dropped $150., I purchased the 140m xps with 1g ram, bluetooth, 80g 5400rpm, ultra bright true life as additional option.
My conversation with dell is that I paid almost $1,200 for this unit and "you can't provide me with a set of CDs" To make a long story short, you want to delete all that stuff came with the laptop, because it takes up unneccesary space. Second, if you have a harddrive failure, dell will sent you a replacement hardrive and you can install it yourself rather than send the them the whole laptop. Without the CDS you're screw. So, my point is, break it really well that way they can't give you the run around.
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post #19 of 37
3/4/06 at 3:04pm
hi, this is my first time reformatting, and i had a question.

do i have to install my drivers one by one? or is there a way that i can just install all of them at once?

thanks in advance
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post #20 of 37
3/4/06 at 3:13pm

error

I did just as you described using the recover utitliy to recover MCE. NOw my laptop doesn't even boot to the OS, it goes to the dell screen and tells me
Loading PBR descriptor done
[xldr] ! ata_
with a blinking cusor
What is the deal with this
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