I pressed The Dell Media Direct Button & Now XP Won't Start ;-( - Page 3

Like many others I have signed up to add my comments to this forum and to thank all those who have posted solutions to what is the somewhat crazy situation of owning laptops with a virtual self-destruct button close to the start button.

In my case I have just repaired a Dell XPS M1530 which had developed a faulty hard drive. Basically I removed the Samsung drive and replaced it with a brand new WD drive. The drive was pre-formatted with a single 500GB partition so I simply installed the OS (Vista Home Premium 32bit) and drivers from the Dell CDs and then went through the lengthy process of updating everything before adding my backed up user data and various programmes. Several hours work all in all.

Only then did I notice a reinstall disk for Media Direct in my collection and, having read through the booklet that came with it, I realised that it was too late to install it now that everything else was in place. I had actually never used it anyway so I figured it was no big loss. In checking on line to see what Media Direct was all about, I soon came across numerous reports of problems, typically on systems where Media Direct had been crippled in one way or another. The main issue seeming to be that on these systems, pressing the MD button while the machine was turned off resulted in no longer being able to boot into the OS. While some were able to reverse this with a simple re-press of the MD button, others were saying that this did not work for them and either used a repair disk to rebuild the MBR or completely reinstalled the OS.

Having read these reports and in particular the ones in this forum I have to report that I have not yet pressed the MD button since carrying out the reinstall and have no intention of doing so. I do however realise that it could easily be pushed by accident and so have a few queries which i wonder if anyone out there can answer.

1) I understand that the trigger for Media Direct is in the BIOS and that this cannot be turned off but I have read reports of people saying that once all traces of MD and the MD partition have been removed from the system, the MD button simply brings up the splash screen and then boots into the OS as normal. Can anyone confirm this or does this happen only on systems with MD version 4 or higher?

2) Again as this is a new HDD with no trace of MD or its partition, would I still be likely to suffer the MBR rewrite if I pushed the button and would the quick fix of turning off, re-pressing the MD button and then rebooting work?

3) Why is it that the quick fix seems to work for many but not for all?

4) I have the latest BIOS for the M1530 which is version A12. Is it possible that Dell have fixed the MBR issue in this latest version?

I would welcome any wisdom or thoughts on this.

Hi qhn

No, as I said in my post I have not actually pressed the MD button since installing the new HD and clean OS. So my query is, am I likely to have the same problems as the others if I do accidentally push it even though my system has no trace of MD or its partition?

Really don't like the thought of having to do the reinstall from scratch again.That would be a real waste of many hours work.

Is it at all feasible that the MD bios reference alone could cause the corrupted MBR I didn't think that the BIOS alone could rewrite it.

There is indeed no Dell QuickSet on my machine any more due to the clean OS install. However I think I am right in saying that your instructions for disabling the MD button only apply when the machine is switched on. The real problem that people have been having is pressing the button with the computer switched off. What this appears to do is invoke a BIOS setting which in turn attempts to boot MD from a hidden partition. It would seem that in cases where the partition is no longer present, there have been varying problems (such as destruction of the MBR) as detailed throughout this thread.

What I am trying to get to the bottom of is whether problems can still occur with every trace of MD and its partition removed as in my case. No doubt the BIOS still has the setting which would still attempt to boot into the missing hidden partition. But does the BIOS alone have the ability to rewrite the MBR and bring about a non-booting system? In some cases people have reported that their partition table has been affected and they have lost the OS partition altogether, again could this happen on my machine with all MD traces removed?

That is very reassuring....but how do you then account for the many reports on the internet (several in this thread) of people losing the ability to boot into their normal OS as a result of mistakenly pressing the MD button after the MD partition has been removed? Sure there are others who say, as you do, that it just shows the splash screen and then boots the OS but many have not been so lucky. What is the official Dell take on this I wonder?

I have read a couple of reports from people who have physically disabled the button either with Super Glue or by placing a plastic collar round the internal switch which prevents it from being pressed. I hope you are right about the clean install. Mine is completely free of any Dell utilities whatsoever.

Try the following, from the blue screen press the power button until the computer switches off, Restart the computer by holding down FN and MD keys(not the power key) after a few seconds the computer will reboot to windows - Worked for me

I have a service desk account with Dell who were unable to fix this problem, as their final proposal was to reload the operating system which would mean the potential loss of all my data, with this prospect in mind i decided to do some research on the way the media function works. To boot back into windows the following is necessary, if the computer is on (usually showing blue screen) press the power button until  it shuts down, then restart the computer by holding down the MD button and FN button together (not the power button)until the system reboots to windows

Happened to me too. Just read the post to press the Media Direct button again and it started up! Saved a lot of headaches! Thank you so much.

GOT the same thing. NO MORE! :)

And it was simple:

Ok. First of all you need to take a deep breath and think: no panic.it will be easy.

That's because when you get in panic mode you don't think strait anymore and you think of the worst.

So...

1. Turn off the laptop.

2. Go get something that would relax you, take off the mind of the problem for a second [coffee, pop, cake, whatever]

3. Come back and hold down the "dell media direct button" until you see Windows starting.

Done.

Ok. The "until you see windows starting" was there because it sould work in 10 seconds, but because we are the emergency mode, we're rushing with the counting and so on.

Simple!

Mine is a DELL XPS M1730 with Windows7 Ultimate.

Remember:

Because I skipped some steps myself, I had to try it several times and I would get the blue screen error about the registry. So follow the steps.

If it works for you too, then I am happy I could help!

PS

I can't tell you how freaked out I was when it happen... I have no back up and a ton of video projects in this baby... So, again... patience rezolves it! :)

HAD the same thing...

NO MORE!

And it was simple :)

Ok.

What you need to do: first, you need to take a deep breath and think that this has a simple solution and don't panic. That's the bump. Once you get over that is simple. I know you are in emergency mode and readdy to do a lot of major things to get it done, but be patient and follow the steps:

1. Turn off the laptop. [hold power button down until it shuts off for good, no hybernation or anything else]

2. Go get something that would put you in a better mood [coffee, icecream, redbull, whatever] - that would take your mind off the problem for a second, make you walk away and come back with another mind set.

3. Hold down the "Dell MediaDirect Button" until you see Windows starting. Why "until you see Windows starting"? Because it suppose to work for a 10 second hold, but because we are in the emergency mode, we tend to count too fast, to not be patient, to not really hit the 10 seconds. I know I did that several times and it took me to the blue screen error about the registry. So, patience.

Done :)

Please: follow the steps and don't skip any... I specially did it this way to save you time and frustration... that I had for the last hour :)

PS

To make sure it doesn't happen again:

Turn it off... and then apply some crazy glue around the button [carefully to not damage the look of it] and you'll be sure that next time it wouldn't want to listen to you :)

I hope it works for you too and if it does, I am happy for you!

Mine is DELL XPS M1730 with Windows7 Ultimate