Hacked Dell Media Direct 3 including Internet :)

Hi all,

Just thought i'd share a quick way to hack Dell MD3.

First in Powerpoint create a presentation with a somoe text that is a hyperlink to C:\Windows\Explorer.exe

You'll now be in Windows Explorer behind MD3, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\ and rename taskman.ex_ to taskman.exe.

In future whenever you boot MD3 you will simply be able to CTRL+DEL and boot explorer by using the Run command in the file menu

If like me you have a Inspiron 1720 you need to download the relevant XP Wireless drivers onto a USB Stick or other media (it can load CD's). In my case I installed the Intel Wireless 3945ABG driver (file size about 70MB). Now install this and shut down your PC.

Once rebooted it should detect your Wireless Network, simply input your appropriate password and using Windows explorer, you can now navigate to any www. address you want (I'm using MD3 to post this now ). I chose to download and install Firefox.

Finally goto Kelly's Korner ( http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/) and look for various .reg files that will re-enable the start menu, desktop and themes. I now have a fully operational XP PC that boots into MD3 first. All I need to do is press the Windows key or ALT+TAB and i'm in my Windows XP environment.

I'm still playing with some of the features on it but it seems almost fully functional, I wouldn't personally update the drivers as it is after all XP Embedded and not XP that you would use at home and things could still go wrong.

Anyway, sorry if this is a little brief. I can elaborate further/give screenshots if anyone is interested.

Enjoy! Chris.

 

That's pretty cool, I always thought MediaDirect was a bit useless. Maybe not anymore, though .

But, what are the advantages of using this instead of your regular Windows boot? Does it save batteries? Is it faster? Does it boot in less time? I might go for this if there's advantages in doing so.

 

mediadirect, i believe its Windows XP Embeded.... cut down on unused resources, boots faster

i still wont use it, who knows what dell did to mediadirect.... bugs/no updates/viruses?

 

Cool find! Will try it out when I get my XPS. Thanks!

 

Hack Media Direct 4 so we can use it for our XPS M1530s please. ^_^

 

if you got Blue Ray....you will appreciate Media Direct.

it plays Blue Ray Movie which others (media player, vista media center, etc.) can't play. It save you $100 instead of buying powerDVD or winDVD.

if you dont have media direct....dump it

 

Is MD4 available for any Dell Laptop or just the XPS series.

To update you all now...I have a fully functional XP

The good thing about this is the loading time or should I say lack of loading time. I can boot into XP by pressing the MD button in about 10 seconds and go straight into firefox/youtube etc. The main problem is the HDD is only 3GB so you would need a USB HDD plugged in like I have and then you can just stream DivX files in either WMP or VLC like I am using. Much quicker than Vista.

The reset button reboots the Laptop to the BIOS bit however and as you know the Vista Bootloader than takes over, so in effect resetting doesn't work. You need to shut down and the press the MD button again if you want it to reboot after say an update that requires a reboot.

Also until you add a lot of the reg hacks from Kelly's Korner, things like the Start Menu Options in the Control Panel won't work.

What i've noticed more than anything however is that it's pretty much just XP but because of the lack of links in the registry files don't work or associate, if you use kelly's korner a lot you can correct 90% of the missing reg links and have XP on MD button and Vista on the other with MD3 still intact

Chris.

 

Here is a quick Spreadsheet I made that you put in your Documents folder. Simply extract it from the .zip and run it and follow the instructions and then the rest of my very basic guide. Don't forget to get the relevant XP Intel/AmD Network Wireless Drivers for Laptop as you will need them otherwise the internet won't work. Oh and if you rename c:\windows\system32\taskman.ex_ to taskman.exe and you won't need the spreadsheet again as you can CTRL+DEL and just run explorer.exe from the file menu of Task Manager.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11658&d=1193224951

This may work on MD4 but this is untested, it definately works on MD2/3

 

I use MD to watch movies and nothing more. If it is based off XP and you use it on the Web your asking for a bad infection. Besides media direct is only for viewing media without having to do a full boot, and nothing more. But all in all neat little hack there, always fun to find a way to do things a little different.

 

Isn't the whole idea of using a strip down version of WinXP for MD is to reduce booting time? One can always set up XP/Vista dual boot if other functions are needed.

 

The whole point of MD is to have an instant on media solution. Pressing it allows me to view media without having to wait for a full OS boot. But I think the purpose of this thread, although being old, is to show what hack he found.

 

Hope you can hack the Windows Firewall on too

 

Nice....wish I had found this thread before I spent hours trying to get MD 3.5 working on my E1505. I ended up using the reinstall cd and used

e:\dellkit\md3utils.exe /MAPMD3=X:
cd x:
cd WINDOWS\system32
ren taskmgr.ex_ taskmgr.exe
cd e:
copy ATI video drivers onto root of X
e:\dellkit\md3utils.exe /UNMAPMD3=X:

reboot into media direct

ctrl-alt-delete

File->New Task (Run...) devmgmt.msc
Update the unknown video driver and point it to the ATI INF directory
File->New Task (Run...) desk.cpl
Select the new resolution, for me 1680x1050

enjoy!

 

Hi Hellfire18,

This is great and I see it very useful and important. Just to make sure, when you say to rename
c:\windows\system32\taskman.ex_ to taskman.exe you meant taskmgr.exe?