Do i really need Cyberlink PowerDvD cd and few other questions.

According to UPS, i should recieve my new E1505 today! I plan on reformatting it and leaving the first partition. After I reinstall the OS, can I just install the drivers and then do the steps for media direct, or do i NEED the cyberlink powerdvd cd?

Also, must I burn the iso to a cd and then boot from that cd to get the MD to work? Is it possible to burn the iso to like a flash drive? Even if i have the drivers and apps cd, I have to download the the media direct repair and then burn it to a cd?

Lastly, if i use the drivers cd to install the drivers, how do i know if I have the updated drivers? Must i install all the drivers on the dell website too, to see if they are current?

Sorry for all the questions, I am a bit worried of reinstalling the OS and making MD work.
thanks! I cant wait!

 

good questions, I want to know too. I just reformatted on Saturday....

 

I think its part of Media Direct, so if you ever want to use the Media Direct fearure, then yeah you NEED it.

 

Actually, now that I remember it, I repaired Media direct and it booted successfully before I installed cyberlink DVD....but I don't know if it played DVD's....

 

MediaDirect will still play DVDs even if you don't have PowerDVD installed. You do need PowerDVD if you ever want to play a DVD under Windows, though.

You can boot off the Drivers CD to repair MediaDirect, so you don't necessarily need to burn a disc.

The drivers on the Drivers CD may not be the absolute latest versions, so if you care about that you will have to check the Dell website, yeah.

 

I don't think you'll get the lastest drivers form dell cd, better download them form the site. You'll need the power dvd to watch dvd in windows unless you buy another dvd decoder or find one for free ( i don't know of any of those).

 

Windows Media Player can play DVD's, so I guess you really dont NEED power DVD, but I would still keep it just for the codecs.

 

Windows Media Player won't play DVDs without the proper codecs, which you usually need to get from a commercial program like PowerDVD. If you just do a clean install of XP with nothing else, you won't be able to play DVDs.

 

You don't need the specific PowerDVD version from the Dell cd. I used my own newer copy of PowerDVD 7 after reformatting and installing Media Center 2005. Dell MediaDirect worked just fine afterward.

 

Yes, you do need cyberlink PowerDVD or at least it is recommended. You can chat with Dell's Tech Support and get this for free. If you want, you can pay for your own version also.

You can use your driver's disc, but i think there is a newer verson on Dell's site. Not 100% sure. Yes, if you choose to download it from the website, you'll need to follow the directions in the guide.

The Driver's disc is usually never current. To get the latest drivers, you'll need to download them. You only need to download the drivers that are for your system (whether you use the disc or website). Dell lists all of the drivers that are available for that particular model, so on the website & disc, you will have drivers that are not for your specfic laptop due to different hardware configurations.