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Preparing to format my m1330.

post #1 of 3
2/28/08 at 11:14pm
Thread Starter 
Eventually, my ordered m1330 will arrive. I have a lot of PC knowledge, but I don't know anything about Vista - or that 'Media Direct' stuff, is it?

I ordered the 200GB 7200RPM drive w/ Windows Vista Ultimate.

I assume the HDD will be formatted into partitions. If so, what are they each? Is any partition holding (I assume yes) the Media Direct/Instant Office software? What happens if that's not there when I try to access it, out of curiousity? What happens if I install XP - can I still have instant office (I'd rather give Vista a fighting chance, tho).

Basically, when I get my 1330 in all it's bloatware glory, but keeping in mind I would like to keep the 'not booting into windows' functionality - what am I looking to whipe clean and how does everything else work?
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post #2 of 3
3/17/08 at 11:51pm
curious to
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post #3 of 3
3/18/08 at 1:36pm
Media Direct is a Dell-customized feature. Basically, when you hit the Media Direct button on the laptop, it boots into a special light-weight copy of your OS, where all you can do is watch movies, listen to music, and view photos. The "light-weight copy" of the OS is stored on a separate partition on your HD.

If you repartition your hard drive, and try to access Media Direct, you will BSOD on boot-up, and possibly corrupt your main OS install. Don't do it.

I have not heard of anybody reformatting to WinXP, and still retaining the Media Direct functioanlity. The entire point of reformatting to Windows XP is to remove the bloated crap that comes pre-installed with a computer, and to get rid of the bloated garbage OS that is Windows Vista. You'd be much better off reclaiming 100% of the hard drive for a single partition, install winXP on it, and keeping it as clean as possible.
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