Media Direct Reinstall After Format

Media Direct not working?
Pressing the Media Direct button either load Windows or gives errors?
Did you format your hard drive to get rid of all the Dell bloatware?

I will explain now how to fix this issue as simply as possible. I am assuming anyone reading this either has or wishes to format their drive and still get Media Direct to work via pressing the button. My machine is an Inspiron E1505/6400, but I think this will work for any Inspiron with a Media Direct button.

Format the drive leaving only the 1st partition (-). This is the Dell Diagnostics partition which you shouldn't delete.
Create a C: partition for Windows while leaving around 2.0 GB (2048 MB) space UNPARTITIONED.
To do this, simply take the amount of space available (in MB) and subtract 2048 from that number. This will make your C: partition while leaving 2.0 GB unpartitioned for the Media Direct OS.
NOTE: You must leave this unpartitioned space or it will not work. You also must leave 2.0 GB / 2048 MB (1.5 GB may be enough, but why risk it?). Dell told me all I needed was 1308 MB, which was incorrect. I advise against listening to Dell, they gave me incorrect instructions on this matter for 3 weeks - I figured it out myself.

Install Windows and all your drivers. Right-click My Compter and select Manage. Click on Disk Management and confirm that you have around 2 GB unknown space. If you do - you are ready to install Media Direct.

Insert the Media Direct Reinstallation CD. You probably don't have this and will have to call Dell for it. You can also download an ISO for it an mount that on a virtual drive (I got the Dell CD, but it was super bad resolution - I used the ISO for best results).

Just run the installation and follow the instructions and the Media Direct button should work. This can be a simple fix if you follow my instructions, but has the potential to be a real nightmare. Some final suggestions:

Don't bother talking to Dell. Don't try to run the repair utility, you may ruin your hard drive. Use partition magic instead of reformating all the time. Good luck!