MediaDirect Resintallation CD for E1705?

Hermit, same old problem with DELL

They sent me the right CD with the third shipment

And all of the time I told them to ship me

Item #: DH371 Kit,Software,Dell Media Direct,REPAIR,West

Something very strange and unusual is going on there

 

I realize that misery loves company, but I'd just as soon Dell got it right the first time.

Clearly, Dell is not training these people. Dell is simply telling them how to be polite, and they're learning as they go. These are clearly bright people, but clueless because of inadequate product specific training.

In my mind, Dell is expecting too much to have every tech solve every problem. There ought to be a front end branch to forward questions to the most likely specific tech. The body of knowledge is just too great to expect every tech to know it all.

On my 2nd call, the CSR told me my question was software related, that I was to call a 800#. So at this 800# I was informed it was a minimum $99 to have someone talk to me, and at $239 such a deal. Give me a break!!!

Hermit

 

Just resurrecting this thread to find out if the install CD's fixed the problem. This thread has been quiet for a while.

 

Still waiting for the MediaDirect 2.0 Resintallation CD. Good luck if you need one.

Just had another chat, the tech was supposed to have it sent last week, s/he is still sitting on their hands.

Hermit

 

Rob_K, the installation fixed the problem in some cases.

For instance, the problem was fixed with the M140/630M.

As explained before, with the M140/630M we just left the unpartitioned space of 1308Mb, just followed the paper instructions that came with the MediaDirect installation and everything was fine without damaging the XP Media Edition 2005. Therefore, super easy.

Now, in other case, such as 9400 etc. you should just read the whole thread.

 

Good News, Bad News

Finally the correct CD is on the way. According to a trackable order number I received, this item is on the way: KIT,SW,MDRT,REPAIR,WEST

Unfortunately, it didn't ship until today, Monday, and the current status is: In Transit to Local Carrier, whatever that means.

Hermit

 

I thought I should share my experience with my new e1505 reinstall.

Basically, I didn't have much problem at all getting Media Direct to work. I burned the repair cd and deleted every partition except a 48mb partition with winxp install cd, then quick format to ntfs. I went through installing windows and all the drivers(probably most time consuming here for me). Then I booted with the repair cd and did "repair" command. After that, I booted into windows and shut down. I pressed the direct media button. I didn't even have to do the "delete" process a lot of people had to do and it worked perfectly.

One thing to note is that, I only booted into media direct once before I deleted the partition, that might have made things easier.

I hope this helps for those afraid to reinstall. Dell bloat ware is pretty horrible.. Questions are welcomed if needed.

Neb

 

Nebbie,

I also just ordered a E1505 and I plan to put Windows XP Professional on, I think I'll attempt your steps and see if it works. Let me recapture what you did, please correct or comment if I miss anything

E1505's procedure for getting DirectMedia back

1) Boot into Media Direct couple times BEFORE attempting anything (can't confirm if it helps but doesn't hurt to do)
2) Boot from the Windows XP Pro (or MCP etc) cd
3) Leave the *first* ~50mbs partitional untouched, the rest can be deleted, created new partition and quick format with NTFS
4) continue with the XP's default installation process. Install drivers & softwares whatever you wish.
5) Restart and boot with the Direct Media repair CD. And use the *repair* command. Could you elaborate a bit more on this step ? Just type the 'repair' command when boot from Direct Media ? Others have been using different commands m2(?)
6) After that boot into windows, and shut down (is this step neccessary ?)
7 ) Press Direct Media and it should operates as normal

 

I'll try to comment on the each # you used here.

1) I only booted into Media Direct ONCE before I reinstall + repair MD, the first boot into Media Direct, it does a lot of background installation work. You will notice it takes longer to boot Media Direct.

2-4) these steps are pretty self explanatory to those who have installed winXP before. Note: And yes, your steps are perfect.

5) Ok, assuming you burned the MD repair image file(it is bootable by nature of the image, no special work here). You basically do the same thing as your winXP cd, just stick it in and boot with it. It will run a series of commands via a batch file(don't worry about it, all automatic). Then it will stop you at the DOS prompt. You don't really need to know much about DOS to do this step. Just type "cd\md2" enter then type "repair" enter. It just take no time and it'll say "done" or something(i forget). Reboot computer after that.

6) This step, I personally feel is absolutely unnecessary but I did it anyways because nobody knows how Media Direct actually works. It might be a superstition to even do this step, it's up to you.

7) If everything goes well, you can boot into Media Direct perfectly with the MD button(when your laptop is off).

Note: Some people reported that you should(need to) run through the 2 options process at this step to completely fix MD. But I personally didn't need to do this. The process is to keeping tapping F8 button after you pressed the MD button to turn on your laptop. It will open up a menu that give you two options, restart pc or delete something. Choose the delete option. I'm only telling you through the research I did prior, you may or may not need to do this. Hopefully not.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Neb

 

Hello. I wasn't sure if this deserved its own thread but it revolves around restoring media direct which this thread seems to be primarily about.

I recently bought an e1505 with the minimum harddrive option with the intent on upgrading it on a later date for cheap. I bought the MCE os disk for $10 extra and have already reformatted. Luckily I did not delete anything other than the C: partition durring the setup and dell is sending me the burning/dvd decoding software in the mail... so I was able to get media direct working again with the repair disk and the trial version of power dvd until I receive the full version.

My question is this: If I intend to replace the hard drive eventually, what would be the best method of ensuring Media Direct will still work? I keep reading about a Media Direct reinstallation disk but I have no such disk and after searching up and down the internet for a few hours the onlly downloadable iso I can find is for the repair disc which is totally different...

Would purchasing a drive imaging program such as Norton Ghost work for this small partition and be the least hassle? (<--- Has experienced Dell support enough times for a while and judging from 21st Hermit, getting the reinstall cd could end up being a real hassle.) If so, this would also save me from reinstalling a lot of my apps some day in the future when I need to do an additional reformat. Are there any free/opensource software projects that are comparable and can do what I'm asking? Thanks for any input.

 

Yes... you'll need a MediaDirect 2.0 Reinstallation CD. Try requesting one from Dell. I have found two part numbers for the disk. The most common one is DH371. Another [which I believe will also work, but don't know for a fact] is RJ262. Someone [aibal on NBF] has uploaded an iso file which can be download here. Use that one at your own risk....

No... AFAIK there isn't any 'over-the-counter' ghost/image/partitioning software that can 'capture' the MediaDirect data area [located in a host-protected area on the hard drive].

Cheers

Mark

 

Hi all, I recently got my Inspiron 1505 and here is the steps I did to repair the Direct Media after installing Windows XP to it.


1. I boot up to Windows Media Center just to see how it looks like at first, then turn off, press the Media Direct button to start on again just to see if it works properly. The first time it intializes some files and take a few minutes.
2. Then I proceed with installing XP Pro. There are 3 partions by default (~50 mb part (this is where Media Direct resides) , the main partition (mine is about 100 gigs) , and a 5 gig part for backup.
3. I delete the other 2 parts and leave the first alone (this is very important, do NOT delete th 50 mb partition or else you will have to 'reinstall' it).
4. Once XP pro is installed, I turned it off, put in the Direct Media Repair (this was created from the ISO file from Dell) then press F12 to boot from CD. Then at the prompt, I went to md2 dir then run repair. And turn the computer. Press Media Direct again, and everything works as normal.

 

There is a ridiculous amount of misinformation in this thread. I caution anyone reading this to ignore the majority of the other posts. Even posts by moderators are pretty bad in terms of misinformation.

The MediaDirect issue is quite simple. It is located on a HPA section of the hard drive, from the factory. HPA = Hidden Protected Area (generally known as Host Protected Area), which the BIOS, in essence, protects. You can google this term for more information. In a nutshell, when you boot to MediaDirect, the BIOS allows this portion of the drive to be addressed (seen). Booting any other way, the BIOS effectively hides this area by lying (basically) as to the addressable range of the disk - so that another OS or even Disk tools won't see the HPA as the BIOS hides its existance.

IBM laptops have used this method for years.

MediaDirect is NOT located in the restore partition, nor is it located in the Diagnostics/Utility partition.

HOWEVER, for reasons mentioned belowed, MediaDirect (upon boot), checks for the presence of a NON ACTIVE partition 1. The Utility/Diagnostic partition is in fact on partition 1 and is set to not active and therefore fulfills this requirement. However, ANY non-active partition 1 would suffice, it doesn't have to be the Utility/Diagnostics.

It appears that this check is to prevent someone (when they first get their laptop out of the box) from going straight for the MediaDirect button. In its as-delivered state, the Dell Utility partition is set active. When you power-on the system for the first time, the Utility partition presents you all the Dell EULA and Service Tag info. Once that is complete, the boot code switches the active partition to Partition 2 and then initiates a boot to the active partition.

The MediaDirect reinstallation CD is used ONLY on new hard drives which lack the HPA section of the disk. If you are using the factory hard disk, it has an HPA section which only requires the repair cd to get working again (via MBR update). You have no need to have the reinstallation CD unless you put in a new hard disk. Well, you could use it, but you'd end up with 2 copies of MediaDirect (one created in unallocated space by the Reinstallation CD, and the prexisting one in the HPA area). Judging from the response of people who have done this, it tends to only lead to problems (or at the very minimum, a waste of disk space). This form of installation (on a new drive) most likely does not require a non-active 1st partition. Said partition is only necessary on the factory disk.

In short, if you want to reload your system on the factory installed hard disk:

- Blow away the biggest partition and the next largest partition (OS/Recovery respectively), but leave the Utilities/Diagnostics partition. You need a non-active 1st partition anyhow, might as well keep something useful on it (you never know when you'll need the diags, and it's only 40mb).
- Reload Windows
- Run MediaDirect repair CD to update MBR.

In the event you already blew away all the partitions (including the Utilities/Diagnostic), simply create a small empty partition at the beginning of the drive and make sure it's set to not active. That should do the trick. Though, if you have to have this partition, you might as well load it with the Utilities/Diagnostics!

You're done. It's quite simple really.

-DJS

 

Just to provide a few 'minor' corrections to an otherwise very useful post...

The HPA is short for "Host Protected Area". You can Google with that or just use a combination of keywords HPA, partition, hard disk

The BIOS is kind of a 'dupe' in all of this. It believes what it is told by the hard drive controller. It's really the hard drive that is reporting a 'bogus' value for the maximum sector.

The MBR Boot code is complicit in this whole matter and is 'in-the-know' about the HPA. When MediaDirect is launched from Power OFF, it runs the special MBR Boot code and opens/closes the HPA.

For the moment what appears to be the best 'interim' solution is to follow DJS 'bottom line' suggestions.

vr

Mark

ps... Here is a link to some more MediaDirect 2.0 information..

 

How do i create a small empty partition at the beginning of the drive and make sure it's set to not active?

How big does it have to be and what file system?

I have an E1505 with XP PRO and I deleted all 3 partitions and formatted the drive. I am currently sitting at the windows setup screen again with no partition.

Thanks in advance.

 

UPDATE:

I did what Rob said here and everything is working fine.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1298414&postcount=234

In step 9, I DID NOT have to put in the Dell Media Direct RE-INSTALL CD.
I also DID NOT have to do step 10 or 11.

 

Would anyone know if and where I can access the DH371 MediaDirect program online? Although the new MD reinstallation CD is online at another forum (and this newer version didn't work for me), I'd appreciate it if anyone knows where I can have access to the DH371 version...thanks

 

Hey Tommy. Did you end up with another drive (partition) in My Computer that was active(shown)? How did you hide it?

Also, did you have to install Dell Media Experience Software (if you are NOT running Windows MCE) to access DirectMedia from Windows? Or did that automatically got fixed? Thanks for your time.

 

Dell Quickset

How does this play in this reinstallation? I see it is a seperate option right under Media Direct on Dell's website...

Is it needed? Wanted? What's it for?

 

ok, so far I have seen only scenarios that involve starting installation of windows from scratch. with your last paragraph it seems possible to get mediadirect back just by adding a non-active partition at the beginning of anything else that is already on the drive? I have dual boot of two XPPro. I also have Acronis boot manager installed for other reasons. Once I have a non-active partition at the beginning do I need to run the media direct repair? Will this screw up my MBR if I run the repair?

thanks for the clarifying post

ok, just did a couple things. I added a non-active empty partition at the beginning. I then uninstalled (or disabled) Acronis boot manager and my system is set to boot from the first partition that comes after the newly created dummy partition. When I press the media direct button I get a media direct boot screen, but right after that it boots normally into the windows xp boot loader. No media direct. I assume that answers my question and I do have to do a repair? I am very hesitant though. I don't want to mess anything up.
Any help or suggestions are very much appreciated.

thanks

 

Anyone? Have an Idea?

 

From what i believe it controls the media buttons at the front and ive also read its need for media direct to work but not sure. It also can tweak your power settings and icons and internet explorer scaling.

i use it, works a charm.

 

Couple of things.... The 'non-active' partition needs to be 'first' [Slot 1] in the Partition Table. Doesn't matter where it is physcially on the drive. Actually doesn' t even need to be a partition in Slot/Row 1 it can be empty [all zeros]. You just can't have an 'active' partition there [e.g. Your system partition].

wrt Your boot manager.... You may find that the Dell boot code and your boot manager may want to occupy the same space on your hard drive resulting in one or the other not working. Without the Dell Boot code MediaDirect won't work...

And yes.... at some point you'll need to run the MediaDirect 2.0 REPAIR utility. That will be how you get the Dell Boot Code back on your system. It won't necessarily 'mess' with the Partition Table, but if the Partition Table isn't configured correctly, your system may fail to boot.

You can 'buy' some life insurance by saving your track0 data [essentially a backup of your boot code and partition table]. I'll try to find the post that speaks to how to use it....

hth

Mark

ps Here's the thread I mentioned. It is addressing Dell Restore, but the basics still apply in terms of saving/restoring track0

 

thanks a lot

 

this is what i did to Finally get MediaDirect button to work..Reinstalling windows xp, deduct 2000mb from your main partition you will be installing XP..leave a 2000mb un partioned space after your main partions and install XP..after installing install Quickset....then run the MediaDirect Re-instalation CD...i think at 10% it creates its own partiion pauseswith the leftover partion space you left when you originally installed Xp at 10% and slowly works up to 100% ..that is where i was having my problem at 10% i wasnt setting up the partion correctly..anyways after you get MediaDirect working again proceed to install all the drivers from the dell website!!

 

I did what Rob said in his step-by-step post and everything is working great. Initially I deleted all particitions and after doing a simple reinstall could run DirectMedia. Attempting to use CD to fix DirectMedia messed up my Main Boot Registry so I was forced to reinstall. I also didn't have to use Dell Media Direct Re-Install CD or do step 10 or 11. Great procedure, Rob. I didn't need to reallocate/leave unpartitioned 1308MB for MediaDirect. Only did 8MB in the front of main drive. Simple and easy!

To Mark, when I tried to use PTEDIT32 - my row 1 and 2 both had data (slightly different), therefore I was unable to fix it using your procedure. Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread. Saved me a lot of time.

 

Would be curious to know your present Partition Table configuration....

Thanks

Mark

 

Guys,
Maybe someone can help me out here. I repartitioned and reformatted the HDD on the weekend and somehow having issues getting MediaDirect to function again. I followed the instructions as per Southern Gal's guide, but i cant seem to get the MediaDirect button to boot.

This is what i did:
- Dell partitioned my HDD into 3 logical partitions. I left the 40MB partition alone, but deleted the 2 other partitions on the HDD, ie: winXP and Dell Restore.
- Recreated the other 2 partitions into a 10G partition as C drive, and D drive with the remainder,ie: 80G
- Reformated to NTFS on the 2 partitions and reinstalled WinXP OEM from Dell, the operation was faultless.
- Reinstalled the drivers, chipset, utilities, in the exact order as per the guide etc.. everything was ok.
- Created an iso image of the Dell MediaDirect restore to fix the Master Boot record on a CD. Booted into command prompt and ran the Repair.bat batch file and it was ok.
- After that, i rebooted and tried to get MediaDirect to work, but it doesnt boot to the MediaDirect software. I presume that the software is still intact and therefore i dont need to reinstall the MediaDirect software.

Any ideas on how i can get that working again?

cheers

 

May be worth looking at your Partition Table to be sure...

What you'll need....

• PTEDIT32.zip
• VFD_Folders.exe

1. Run the VFD_Folders.exe [which is a self-extracting archive]. Change the default path and extract the files to a folder of your choice [e.g. C:\Part_Chk]

2. Unzip the PTEdit32.zip file and place PtEdit32.exe in the C:\Part_Chk\VFD folder

3. Now simply double click on PtEdit32.exe and that should launch "PowerQuest Partition Table Editor"

You will see four rows numbered 1-4 and multiple columns. Note what the values are in the Partition Type Column. Post back with what you see or post a screen shot. btw.... Don't accidentally change anything while you 'look'

I must admit I am surprised by your problem as you did all the 'right' things...

Did you by any chance run MediaDirect from Power OFF, and then immediately follow by a boot to DOS for the repair???

Did you make your partitions during the Windows Reinstall or some other method?

vr

Mark

 

Thanks for the help Mark..
Yes i did create the partitions during the windows XP reinstall process. What i did specifically was rebooted with the XP cd, drilled through the XP reinstall process where i opted to delete the partitions and then recreated the partitions and formatted it to NTFS and reinstalled XP. Is this where i went wrong? If so which method should i be doing instead?

 

As you said in a previous post that you left the Dell Utility partition [~40MB], you should be 'working'....

Anything to share from looking at the Partition Table???

What happens when you try to run MediaDirect from Power OFF????

Some of that info might help sort this out....

Mark

 

Mark,

I burnt the MediaDirect repair iso from onto another cd. I redid the repair steps and rebooted. Did a manual shut down and pressed the MediaDirect button and it works. Bizzare..i cant seem to think that i must have done something wrong in the previous steps but it works now. Thanks for your help Mark.

 

You've got to wonder sometimes.... I suppose it could have been anything.

Glad you got everything squared away....

vr

Mark

 

here is my problem, i have not deleted the 40m partition, i installed linux (which i done in the past) this distro used diskdruid not too intuitive, anyway after that i was able to see the hidden dell uitility partition when on XP, i tried the media direct repair cd, but when i press the button it shows the media direct screen but after a few seconds it boots into xp, i hided the utility partition so i no longer see it and it is not active, the info is there as i looked at it, any suggestions, thanks

 

Hi
Mine have problem with MD. There is message:" Dummy Mixer Callback Window: PCM2.exe Application Error". This happen only with watch Photo.
I did reinstall WINDOW 4 Time and It just work the first time run, the second time the message appear again...Too tired and I'm waitting the CD media Direct come from Dell. But i don't know how does reinstall it? Is it the same way as Window?

 

On post #261 of this thread, can some one please verify which version of Media Direct this is for download?

 

GOT IT TO WORK AND IT WAS EASY!!!!!!

First off let me say I have a E1705 and the link above is the current version

1) I did a complete reformat leaving a unpartitioned space of 1.5gig
2) Reinstalled Windows and installed all drivers
3) Downloaded the ISO from link above.
4) Installed Media Direct from within Windows
5) Powered off the lappy and hit the Media Direct button and BAMN!!! Working again.

Many Thanks goes to MarkMcK for all the kind help. You rock man!!!

 

there is a easy way i found out to doing this...takes 2 minutes

only con is, you need the dell diagnostics cd (that comes with the computer)

if this is the way your doing it, then sorry

if not, i could explain more

 

The link to download the iso file did not work for me.


Is it possible to just use the mediadirect button as a hard disk boot partition selector?

I want to install windows MCE with all softwares on partition 1 (full boot up takes around 70 secs), then install just the windows MCE with the drivers, but no softwares making it be able to book quickly as possilble (still would take around 40 secs). If this is possible, one thing good about this is that I would be able to play divx on the mediacenter from partition 2.

I do want the mediadirect button to work properly (booting up from a nother partition OS), but I do not want the Dell mediadirect software running. Right now, when power is off, if I press the mediadirect button, it shows the mediadirect logo on the screen, and just boots up to partition 1.


Current partitions on my hard:

Primary 1: windows xp mce (active)
Primary 2: Dos boot for ghost (hidden)
Extended/Logical 1: Backup (Fat32, has data, music, and documents here)
unpartitioned: 4.64 GB (used to be dell restore partition)

 

For people installing some other flavor of Windows other then MCE, you can grab Dell's Media Experience from Cyberlink's store. The link is:

http://www.cyberlink.com/english/Extras/learn-index.jsp

I believe the basic(free) one is what Dell ships.

Regards,

Adam

 

This thread helped me. Thanks guys. I thought I'd post a link to another site that does a good job at explaining the partitions on the mediadirect systems.

http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/mediadirect.htm

 

Hi guys...

Saw the posts here.. i have bit prob here while installing media direct on my xps 1210,

1) I have formated my hard drive and created 29 GB partition for c:\
2) i formated the second partition from the disk management which is 40 gb
3) remaining i have assigned 3.29 i have not given any drive letter as well as i have not formated. the partition keep it as it is and just created a logical drive.

Now i am installign dell mediadirect reinstallation cd. it stops at 10% and says " installation stopped due to failure copying files"

can u plz guys help me out in this regds , as its driving me crazy now..


Regds,
Rankit

 

If you can post a screen shot we can see for sure...

vr

Mark

 

hi everyone,

anyone out there have any idea for me to get quickly dell's mediadirect 2.0 software installer for my Inspiron 6400/E1505 2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo, coz here's my story......I bought my laptop without any OS installed just blank and a DOS cd comes with it,so no problem I have an OS cd anyway,so my problem comes to the mediadirect which i dont have the installer in the first place,so my question is how can i get a reinstallation cd or can i download it from somewhere(which i doubt it,coz ive search all of the internet sites n forums but cant find it anywhere), even if im outside the U.S.,where should i go and does this cost a lot?and one more thing how come dell did not include it in their packaging regrdless the packaging does not have an OS in it,it should have been there coz how the hell can u use the media direct button if they did not provide the installation cd right???it's like for example the bluetooth is built-in but they did not provide the software for it,you get my point?
anyways anyone can help me and enlighten me up will be pretty much appreciated

thanks a lot

 

Hi there,

Like a lot of other people I too have been strugling with reinstalling Media Direct. I've reading up on this thread and the goodells articles but I still have a few questions. My situation is this:

After I got my 640m I reformated and repartitioned my HD 'cause I wanted an English version of XP on my system. I have a C: partition with XP and a D: for all my data.

It's a 120 GB harddisk but it shows as 110 GB which makes me believe the HPA is still intact. Since MD resides in that partition would restoring the MBR be enough to get things up and running again?

 

Man It seems like too much trouble to deal with. I think I will reformat the drive, eliminate Ghost and MD "partitions" create visable partitions and boot into XP when I want to play a disc.

 

Hehe, that's what I do now

However you somehow waste the almost 10GB of space by letting the HPA go un-used...

Unless there is a way to claim that space... Is there?

 

Can't speak from personal experience, but some have reported success with Seagate's DiscWizard [DOS version]

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/drivers/discwiz.html

hth

Mark

 

I'm afraid that won't work with my disk since that is a Samsung.

Perhaps I'll look for a Samsung later but I would like to use MD IF I can get it working....

 

I deleted all partitions except for C and merged the free space with C. Then created my data partitions. I connected an external drive and pressed the MediaDirect button just to see what would happen and it booted to XP and it created a 7.8GB inavtive partition at the beginning of my external drive. That was freaky. (is this a dream?) It took more time than usual to delete this partition. My E1705 came with the MediaDireact 3 installation disk should I decide to reinstal to the original configuration.

I agree it is too much trouble to reinstall MediaDirect. I'd rarely use that feature.

Just curious if the os can be reinstalled with the Dell re-instalation disk without the restore partition? If I ever sell the notebook I want to be able to put everything back like it came from factory.

I was mistaken, MediaDirect DID NOT create the 7.8GB at the beginning of the external drive. The partitioning program created it. Don't know how i missed that one..

Sorry for the incorrect information.