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Reload this Page MediaDirect 2.0 Overview


 
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MarkMcK
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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:55 AM 
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MediaDirect 2.0 Overview

The following posts are from another thread I started elsewhere. As some of you may not venture far from NBF, I thought I'd post them here as well...

btw.... I'll offer this to those that are just looking for info on how to avoid MediaDirect problems during a Windows reinstall -- do NOT delete the Dell Utility [~40MB] partition. Leave that in-place, install Windows, and then run MediaDirect Repair utility [See 'Short' Repair post].

NOTE!!!! This post/thread pertains to MediaDirect 2.0 and NOT the newer version [MediaDirect 3.0] recently installed by Dell. From the information available, it appears that the location, reinstallation and repair of MediaDirect 3.0 is substantially different.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________


As there is information on MediaDirect 2.0 spread all over the place, I thought it might be helpful to pull things 'together' into one place and provide a bit of a 'recap' of what is known about MediaDirect 2.0 in the newer Dell laptops.

I hope not to further confuse things, but if I do... I apologize. This information is the best I have been able to gather from observing what happens on my e1505 and reading thru the posts/experiences of others. Is it 100% complete/correct??? Probably not, so I ask for corrections to include omissions.

vr

Mark

------------------------------------------

1. MediaDirect Operation
From Windows XP MCE
a. Prerequisites????

For the Insprion 9300 ...'QuickSet... is necessary for Dell MediaDirect to function. Changing or disabling QuickSet’s default settings can limit Dell MediaDirect’s functionality.' It is unclear if this holds true for MediaDirect 2.0

Dell Media Experience [aka DMX] is NOT needed [However, see para 4.a. for XP Pro/Home]

b. 'Normal' Operation

With Power ON and complete boot to Windows XP MCE, momentarily depressing the MediaDirect button will launch Microsoft MediaCenter [Note: This is NOT Dell Media Experience]; Depending on which option you select when exiting the application, Microsoft MediaCenter will either 1) Close MediaCenter and resume Windows 2) Log Off 3) Shutdown the computer, 4) Restart the computer or 5) Place the computer in Stand By




------------------------------------------
From Power OFF
With Power OFF, momentarily depressing the MediaDirect button powers on the computer and causes the BIOS to display a momentary MediaDirect 'splash' screen. If present, the Dell boot code will then launch Dell-Cyberlink MediaDirect [On my system it was version 2.0.20060118c.CH756]. The first time MediaDirect is run you will be displayed a black and white 'progress' screen followed by a 'Welcome to Dell MediaDriect... Building your Dell MediaDirect files' screen. This takes about 30-45 sec or so. On subsequent starts, MediaDirect will load quite quickly.

Function Keys

F1 - Help
F7 - Toggles Speaker On/Off
F8 - Volume Down in 5% increments
F9 - Volume Up in 5% increments

Upon exit of MediaDirect, the computer will resume a Power OFF state.






E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 11-10-2006 at 08:24 AM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:55 AM 
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2. Where is it????

When the computer is delivered the hard drive will have four different 'areas/segments' defined. Each serves a special/unique purpose or function. In order they are... Dell Utility partition, Win XP MCE partition, Dell PC Restore partition and the Dell-Cyberlink MediaDirect host-protected area [HPA]. Each is accessed in a different way...
a. Dell Utility partition; ~39MB [F12 key at appearance of Dell logo splash screen] -- Following Pre-Boot Assessment performed by BIOS, launches Dell diagnostic utilities. On exit, system will reboot.

b. Win XP MCE partition ['Normal' boot process] --

c. Dell PC Restore partition ~4.8GB [Ctrl + F11 keys at appearance of www.dell.com 'blue bar' screen] -- Will restore PC to 'as-delivered' state; Following restore, computer will reboot and you'll be presented Dell EULA, Service Tag info etc

d. Dell-Cyberlink HPA ~1.5GB [Accessed by depressing MediaDirect button with Power OFF] -- Applies power to computer and launches Dell - Cyberlink MediaDirect application; Upon exit of application, computer will turn off.
The sizes and location of the three partitions can be confirmed by using Windows Disk Manager [Right click 'My Computer'; select 'Manage'; open 'Storage' tree and select 'Disk Management'].

However, the HPA used for MediaDirect cannot be viewed using conventional applications or utilities and is essentially a 'hidden' area of the hard drive. Its existence can be confirmed by comparing 'reported' hard drive capacities to those detailed in the hard drive specifications/documentation [Note: There are also specialized forensic tools that can confirm a hard drive is using an HPA]

Note: It has been reported that Dell has begun delivering some models with an additional, 4th partition which occupies ~25% of the overall hard drive space. This appears to be used to support a trial version of Norton Ghost 10.


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-26-2006 at 08:59 AM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:56 AM 
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3. How does it work?? [With 'Thanks' to Dan Goodell]

When you press the MediaDirect button from power OFF it is similar to pressing the normal power button in that it applies power to the laptop. However, when the BIOS 'sees' that MediaDirect button has been pressed, it displays a special MediaDirect 'splash' screen before it hands off the hard drive boot to the Dell boot code.

The Dell boot code also looks to see if the MediaDirect button has been pushed. If the code recognizes the MediaDirect button has been pushed, it does a couple of things...
1. 'Invokes' the hard drive's host-protected area [HPA] so it can be accessed

2. Modifys the Master Boot Record Partition Table by copying the partition values located in Row/Slot 4 and placing them in a storage location within the boot code. It then overwrites Row/Slot 4 with values associated with the HPA [These 'values' are read from within the boot code itself]

3. Sets Row/Slot 4 as the 'Active' partition

4. Continues with the boot into the MediaDirect [Windows XP Embedded] operating system
Upon exit of MediaDirect the application is closed and power is removed from the computer, but MediaDirect is not 'finished' reconfiguring back to the original state. A couple of additional 'steps' are required. These steps are performed upon any subsequent power ON and 'normal' boot to the hard drive...
1. At next power ON the hard drive controller 'rehides' the HPA

2. During the next 'normal' boot the Dell boot code will restore the original Row/Slot 4 values [using the data temporarily stored in the boot code] and change the 'Active' flag from Row/Slot 4 to Row/Slot 2.

You'll note that I did NOT say it would set the original active partition with the 'Active' flag. The Dell boot code does not perform that 'check' when it is run. It simply sets Row/Slot 2 active [hence the source for alot of the MediaDirect 'problems']
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Word of caution wrt MediaDirect....

When launching MediaDirect from Power OFF, changes are made to the computer's Partition Table. The Partition Table is not restored to its original condition until the computer is subsequently rebooted to Windows.

If for some reason you do not boot to Windows after using MediaDirect, but instead boot to DOS [using a CD for example], the Partition Table is STILL in a modified 'state'. Any operations you perform that would rely on an accurate Partition Table for proper operation [e.g. Windows reinstall, partition changes using a Boot Manager, or most other Partition utilities], may either fail or corrupt your system.

This can be avoided by FIRST rebooting to Windows, and then performing a reboot into DOS. Your Partition Table will then be 'restored' and partitioning operations can proceed.


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-25-2006 at 12:15 PM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:57 AM 
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An expanded discussion wrt the Partition Table and MediaDirect 2.0

1. As was mentioned previously, the Dell boot code has certain 'expectations' when it comes to the configuration of the Partition Table.

It does NOT expect the partition in row 1 to be set 'active' ['80' in the Boot column]. If it is an active partition, the boot code will not launch the MediaDirect application, but instead will direct a boot to the partition specified in row 1.

What you would see when you attempt to launch MediaDirect from Power OFF is that the computer will Power ON, boot to Windows and, if you have XP MCE, it will launch Microsoft MediaCenter.

2. If the partition in row 1 is not 'active', when you press the MediaDirect button from Power OFF, the boot code will launch MediaDirect. When the boot code is run, it always makes one VERY important change to the Partition Table. It will automatically set the partition in row 2 'active'. It does not check the Partition Table to see which row actually is set active. It makes the assumption that the partition in row 2 SHOULD be the active partition and makes the change. This is not a problem if the partition in row 2 is suppose to be the active partition, but it can create a mess if the partition in either row 3 or row 4 is the REAL active partition.

Let's say you were in DOS and made some changes to your system which resulted in the partition in row 3 to be the active partition. The very next time you reboot to the hard drive, the boot code will run and set the partition in row 2 active. If the partition in row 2 holds a system partition [e.g DOS with necessary system files, Win XP, Win 98SE, etc], the computer will complete the boot into partition 2. If there is not a system partition in row 2 of the Partition Table, you'll be presented with an 'error' message. You'll be sitting there wondering why your new active partition in row 3 isn't working. It's because the boot code changed the active partition to the partition in row 2.

3. FYI-- Using Windows 'Disk Management' to add/delete partitions will make very significant and potentially unintended changes to the partition table. It is highly likely that Disk Management will reconfigure the partition table so that MediaDirect will no longer function.

4. So if anyone would like a bottom line wrt the Partition Table and MediaDirect 2.0

Make sure...
a. Row 1 of the Partition Table is empty or, if not empty, that it does NOT have an active 'flag' [80]

b. Row 2 of the Partition Table holds your primary/active system partition
If you re-read this post with that in mind, you'll better understand the recommendations/steps involved...

hth

Mark


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-26-2006 at 09:00 AM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:57 AM 
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4. MediaDirect 2.0 related utilities....

NOTE: Be sure you use MediaDirect software/utilities for the E1505/6400 E1705/9400. MediaDirect for these models should be identified as Dell MediaDirect version 2.0. Utilites/Drivers for Inspiron 6000/9300 will NOT work [e.g. R95248, R107182, R113403]


a. MediaDirect 2.0 Reinstallation CD [DH371 or RJ262] --

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Note: The RJ262 media appears to be a newer version and more applicable to the recent Dell laptop systems. My attempt to use the 'older' DH371 CD failed, whereas the RJ262 did not. In particular....

After completing the Reinstall and attempting to run MediaDirect from Power OFF, was displayed MediaDirect 'splash' screen [generated by the BIOS] and then immediately got blue windows 'fail' screen

"A problem has been detected... windows has been shutdown... Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF9E4f528, 0xC0000034, ...)"

Had to use Power button to turn OFF computer as keyboard was disabled.

In comparing the two readme.txt files in the respective Program Files\Intel\INFInst folder...

DH371

* Product: Intel(R) Chipset Software Installation Utility
* Release: Production Version
* Version: 6.1.0.1008
* Target Chipset#: Mobile Intel(R) 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML
* Date: June 10, 2004

RJ262

* Product: Intel(R) Chipset Software Installation Utility
* Release: Production
* Version: 7.2.2.1006
* Target Chipset(s)#: 955X/XM/975X/945G/P/PL/GM/PM/GMS/940GML/E7230/E8501
* Date: October 13 2005

One identifying feature between the two versions is that DH371 has only a single XPEI.exe file in CD root directory whereas RJ262 has a XPEI1.exe and XPEI2.exe files

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

i. Used if/when you "... REPLACE your existing hard drive with a NEW drive."

ii. This utility will be needed because any 'NEW' hard drive you receive will not have... 1) the specialized 'Dell' MediaDirect boot code and 2) the MediaDirect HPA.

iii. By following the reinstallation instructions the utility will install the Dell code and also create a 'conventional' NTFS partition on your new hard drive and load MediaDirect in that location. Once complete, the MediaDirect function should perform just as if it had an HPA. The only difference will be that instead of looking for an HPA during boot, the computer will be directed toward a conventional partition on the hard drive. You should be able to see/confirm the existence of the MediaDirect partition by using Windows 'Disk Manager'. The MediaDirect partition will be approximately 1.4GB in size, located at the 'end' of the hard drive and have no label or drive letter.

iv. It has been pretty well confirmed that the instructions for the Reinstallation CD has an error. It says "... you must partition the hard drive so that 1308MB of space is left Unallocated and reserved for Dell MediaDirect". This has been shown to cause an installation 'hang' due to insufficient disk space.

When partitioning your new hard drive in preparation for reinstalling MediaDirect it is suggested that you leave 1500MB of Unallocated space at the END of the hard drive. This space must be Unallocated [Not Free Space which is Disk Management nomenclature for empty space within an Extended partition] and it must be located after all other partitions.

For example if you have a 10GB hard drive and create a single 8.5GB primary partition you have left 1.5GB of unallocated/unpartitioned space. What you would NOT want to do in this example is to set up your hard drive so that you have a 8.5GB partition followed by a 1.5GB partition. In that case, you haven't left any unallocated space for the utility and it will fail.

In another example, if you had a 7GB Windows partition, followed by 2GB of unallocated space, followed by a 1GB data partition, the MediaDirect Reinstallation would fail because even though you have the needed unallocated space, it is not in the correct location on the hard drive.

If you are using Windows reinstall CD/DVD to configure your partitions, when you are presented a list of existing partitions and unpartitioned space, this is where you can confirm you have the correct size/placement of the unallocated space. In the 'box' you should see a description of your hard drive [e.g. XXXXX MB Disk 0 at ID 0 on bus 0 ....] followed by a listing of the current partitions. There must be a LAST line which shows:

Unpartitioned space xxxx MB

The values for xxxx MB should be at least 1500 MB

Note: You should try to avoid using any extended partitions in conjunction with a MediaDirect Reinstall. The reinstall application is not able to properly account for the extended partition and will create an invalid boot.ini file in the MediaDirect partition. This will cause MediaDirect to fail [More than likely with a hal.dll error message].

This can however be repaired by properly editing the boot.ini file in the MediaDirect partition. A utility such as Editbini [which is run from DOS] can be used for this task.

v. As mentioned in preceding paragraphs, the Reinstallation Utility will use unallocated hard drive space and create a 'conventional' partition for MediDirect. The computer has provisions to support up to four primary partitions. The computer keeps tracks of its partitions in a Partition Table.

If you attempt to run the Reinstallation Utility and there is not a vacant 'slot' in the Partition Table [i.e. you already have four primary partitions on the hard drive]. Even though you have made provisions for the necessary unallocated disk space, the installation will fail due to a 'full' Partition Table. In planning for a reinstallation of MediaDirect I would suggest that in addition to leaving the needed 1.5GB of unallocated space, you limit yourself to a maximum of three primary partitions.

Note: If your MediaDirect Reinstallation 'hangs' at 10% after launching the utility, it is an indication that you either have a full Partition Table, you have insufficient unallocated space or the unallocated space is not located at the end of the hard drive.


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-25-2006 at 12:16 PM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:58 AM 
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4b. MediaDirect 2.0 Repair Utility

R113024 MediaDirect Repair rev A03; Inspiron MM061, MP061, MXC051; [Inspiron 9400/E1705, 6400/E1505, XPS/Inspiron M140/630m] via download; or MD2 folder on XF088 'Resource CD' --

Note: [6 May 06] There is a newer version R121517 MediaDirect_Repair A05; Inspiron E1405/640M, 9400/E1705, 6400/E1505, XPS/Inspiron M140/630m, XPS M1710. This thread may not accurately reflect this newer version

i. Used in situations where you have your ORIGINAL hard drive and are having difficulties with proper operation of MediaDirect. One of the more often seen symptoms is when you push the MediaDirect button from Power OFF there is a momentary display of a MediaDirect splash screen [generated by the BIOS] followed by the computer booting to Windows MCE and launching Microsoft Media Center. Another is that when pushing the MediaDirect button while in Windows you will be presented a prompt saying "Unable to launch Dell Media Experience. Please install the software and try again".

ii. MediaDirect [From Power OFF] can be 'broken' many ways. The most common causes for 'crippling' MediaDirect seems to be repartitioning of the hard drive; either thru deleting/moving partitions or creating new partitions.

iii. MediaDirect can also be broken by a straightforward reinstallation of Windows XP MCE [without having performed any repartitioning] and simply reinstalling XP in its original partition and leaving the other partitions [e.g. Dell Utility and Dell PC Restore] in-place and intact. This problem is created by the Windows reinstallation overwriting the Dell boot code needed for MediaDirect operation.

iv. The repair MUST BE DONE FROM DOS and the computer must be powered OFF when the repair is complete.


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-25-2006 at 12:16 PM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:59 AM 
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5. Miscellaneous

a. MediaDirect Operation from Windows XP Pro or XP Home
When the MediaDirect button is depressed while in XP Pro/Home the computer will attempt to launch Microsoft MediaCenter. Since it is not installed, it will fail with a message "... unable to launch Dell Media Experience". It appears that by loading Dell Media Experience [Note: Possible source is N7174 CD] on a Win XP Pro/Home OS, MediaDirect operation be modified so that when depressing the MediaDirect button while in Windows, the Dell Media Experience application will successfully launch.

If you intend to load Dell Media Experience [DMX] Dell suggests...

Quote:
DMX 3.0 -

It is recommended the following are installed before installing DMX:

DirectX 9.0c (or newer)
.NET framework 1.1
Windows Media Player 9 or 10
CyberLink PowerDVD 5.1 or 5.3

b. "I've used the MediaDirect 2.0 Reinstallation CD on my original hard drive. What should I do?"
I guess it depends on what type of individual you are... If it works, then you can just leave it alone. If it 'bugs' you to have a slightly 'abnormal' computer configuration you can attempt to clean things up and start over. In particular, you'd end up deleting the MediaDirect partition and performing the appropriate Long/Short MediaDirect Repair.
c. "I want to preserve the normal operation of MediaDirect. What steps would I follow to delete all the Dell partitions and then reinstall Win XP MCE on a single 'big' partition?"
You have three options....

1. Use the MediaDirect Reinstallation CD and 'abandon' the HPA files/applications

2. Reinstall Windows, but initially make a small partition as a 'place holder' in the Partition Table and then make your system partition. After Windows is installed you'd run the MediaDirect 'Short' Repair

3. Follow the respective MediaDirect 'Long Repair'


d. MediaDirect functions/limitations [Courtesy Garbuckle @ NBR Forums]
1) does not support Divx
2) supports USB mouse/keyboard (and of course USB storage devices)
3) does not support firewire
4) does not support DRM (DRM-WMA to be specific)
5) supports external monitors (it cloned my display onto my DVI monitor)
6) does not support external USB soundcard (reverts to onboard sound)

e. F8 Key during MediaDirect start - If you depress the F8 key during the startup of MediaDirect you will be presented a menu/prompt screen...
System restart has been paused:

Continue with system restart [Default]
Delete restoration data and proceed to system boot menu

If you continue with the default selection, there will be a brief display of a "Resuming Windows' progress screen and MediaDirect will launch.

It is unclear what impact option 2 will have on MediaDirect operation. It has been reported that this will restore ability to browse the system partition for multimedia files when that ability is somehow compromised.

f. Boot Managers
If you install a boot manager of some kind, there is a good likelyhood that MediaDirect 2.0 will no longer function. That is because most boot managers need to write their own unique boot code onto the hard drive.

This causes the same effect as when reinstalling Windows. Important sections of the Dell boot code are overwritten and MediaDirect can no longer be launched. Depending on which portion of the Dell code is overwritten, it may not be recoverable.



E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 07-04-2006 at 08:10 AM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 11:59 AM 
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MediaDirect 2.0 Repair 'Step by Step'

Overview

On Dell's more recent laptops [E1505/6400, E1705/9400] there is a new implementation of MediaDirect. This newer version 2.0 allows the user to launch the Dell/Cyberlink MediaDirect 2.0 application from a power OFF condition. The MediaDirect application itself resides in special 'reserved' space on the hard drive call a host-protected area [HPA]. The HPA is accessed by special Dell boot code which is run whenever the computer is powered-on and the hard disk is accessed.

Whenever Windows is reinstalled a critical portion of the Dell boot code is overwritten and replaced by Microsoft boot code. This is what effectively 'breaks' MediaDirect.

The steps you would follow to repair MediaDirect vary depending on what changes you may have made to the hard drive partitions during the Windows reinstallation.


E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-25-2006 at 12:38 PM.


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Posted on  06-25-2006, 12:00 PM 
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MediaDirect 2.0 Repair 'Step by Step'

'Short' Repair

If you...

Did NOT delete the ~40MB Dell Utility partition,
Did [or did not] delete the Dell System Restore partition,
Reinstalled Windows over the original system partition

You can use the MediaDirect 2.0 Repair Utility [R113024 MediaDirect_Repair_A03] from Dell Support (under Applications on Drivers and Downloads). The file you receive/extract will contain a CD iso image. You 'burn' this iso file to a blank CD [ISORecorder can be used for this task].

Another option is to contact Dell and request the Dell Resource CD [aka Drivers and Utility CD] for your specific model laptop. The MediaDirect 2.0 Repair utility should be on the Resource CD in the MD2 directory.

Note: [6 May 06] There is a newer version R121517 MediaDirect_Repair A05. This thread may not accurately reflect this newer version

The MediaDirect Repair utility will re-insert the Dell boot code back where it belongs on your hard drive.
- Launch Windows; place the MediaDirect Repair CD or Dell Resource CD in the tray; and then use the Start Menu to perform a system Restart

- At appearance of Dell logo 'splash' screen press F12 to do a 1-time boot

- Using the up/down arrows select the CD/DVD entry and press the Enter key

- The next screen will prompt you to....
"Press a key to start from the CD/DVD...."

Next screen will be... [Note- this screen will not appear if you're using the Repair download]

Choice.....Action
1............Run the 32 Bit Dell Diagnostics
Q...........Quit without any action (Return to DOS) key

Press the Q key
- At the prompt, type cd md2 and press Enter key

- Type Repair and press Enter key

- Use the left/right arrow key to select OK and press Enter key

- When the Done message appears, Remove the CD

- Press the Power button to turn OFF the computer



E1505; Dual Core T2300 1.66GHz; 512MB 533MHz; 6-cell battery; WSXGA+; 80GB Fujitsu SATA; Intel GMA950; NEC ND-6650A 8x DVD +-RW; Dell Wireless 1390; XP MCE
Last edited by MarkMcK : 06-26-2006 at 09:15 AM.


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