Plan on reformatting soon.

I recently just asked for all the reinstalling CDs from Dell. They gave me everything I needed except for the Drivers disc. My dad just received his laptop, the same model as mine, and his computer came with the drivers disc. What I want to know is, will I be able to use the CD that came with his notebook, work on my notebook for reinstalling the drivers after I format. I have been told that I should download all the drivers I need from the website and make my own CD, but that isn't very practical in my situation whereas I only have access to Dial-Up internet.
Also, I do not beleive they sent me anything for Media Direct. I beleive they told me to also download that image from the internet. However, is this neccesary? I have not used Media Direct much since I got it, and I find it quite useless. I currently have Media Direct 2. I suppose if I could upgrade to Media Direct 3 it would be worth saving. But is keeping Media Direct 2 after a reformat needed? Thanks in advance.

 

You should be able to use your Dad's CD, however, I really would recommend getting the drivers on the internet--do you have a friend/library/coffee shoip with highspeed internet nearby? The Drivers CD can be very outdated & sometimes does not have the right drivers. I would just leave MD alone,it doesn't take up TOO much space, and can be kind of a pain to reinstall if you ever decide to sell and the buyer wants the notebook in out-of-the-box condition.

 

I noticed on the Dell Downloads site that for the display there is about 10 different drivers. How would I figure out which is mine. And where do I go to find that Media Direct Reinstalling download. Will it be possible to get 3.0? Thanks

 

The Dell website is actually pretty simple to use. It will help if you have your invoice with you. It should be located inside the box or taped on the outside. Just match the hardware with the description on the support.dell.com website and you would be fine.

About the 3.0, I think that should be in teh "software" cd that they gave you. Pretty much that thing is useless, but if you really want it, I believe it it is in the software cd. I do not think you can dl that off the website.

 

Would the media direct be under the "Multimedia Software" thats listed on the front of that disc. Also, will it be Media Direct 3.0 or 2.0? My Computer came with 2.0.

 

The driver disc that my dad has says at the very bottom "November 2006". Does this mean that the drivers are pretty up-to-date or still old?

 

should be up to date, but i say go to dells website. also, do you have the same specs as you other laptop? if not, then those drivers might not even be what you need

 

Its mostly the same thing, he has a 1.60 ghz core duo processor, 2 gb ram, wxga display, integrated graphics (but i have omega drivers on a disc for my ati card) and thats pretty much all thats different. The disc says that its a drivers disc for "Reinstalling Dell Inspiron Computer Software".

 

I wouldn't use the driver disc, but I would use the software disc. All the drivers you can dl off the website and get the most updated version too.

 

The drivers disc contains all of the drivers for your particular model. Just the same as the website, but the website is more uptodate. Plus the disc is a bit misleading. It will say some of the drivers are needed yet it turns out that it doesn't match your laptop. I always suggest to get them from the web so you'll have the latest drivers.

As for MediaDirect, you have to request the disc from Dell or at least you had to. With MediaDirect 3.0, you must use the disc before formatting.

 

I asked Dell for a Media Direct disc and they said the same thing that they said about the Drivers disc I requested, they wouldn't send me it and said that I could download it off from the internet. What my main question is, I currently have 2.0 installed. Is it possible for me to get 3.0? If I can't download the disc, I won't even bother asking for it because Media Direct isn't that important to me.

 

Yeah, you can install MD 3.0. We have a thread running around here that has links to some files that a user uploaded.

With MD 2.0, all you need to do is repair it which is on the driver's disc.

 

If I install MD3 I won't have MD 2 anymore and therefor wont need to repair it anymore correct? Is there any reason not to install 3.0? I'm not even sure if my MD 2 is running right, It doesn't seem to find any of my music, just the 90 original files that came on the computer. I have over 2 gb worth of music and it wont find any of it. So I havn't used it any. Anyways, should I try to install 3.0? And how would I go about this for when I reformat, should I put 3.0 files on a CD and reinstall afterwards?

Also, I noticed in your formatting thread that you said there are a few partitions. Are these partitions visible through My Computer? All that shows in My Computer is C:. Thanks

 

No the partitions do not show up in "My computer". They are hidden.

Yes, if you put MD 3.0 on there, you won't need to repair it. Problem with MD 2.0 is that it is on a hidden part of your drive, so you'll have to get special software to delete it. It doesn't show up as a regular partition.

As for the problems with MD 2.0, try this. Turn your laptop off and press the MD button. As soon as it begins to load, press F8 (i believe it is F8) several times. It should come up with a menu, asking you to continue or to delete restoration data and exit. Choose the second option. Think of it as XP Hibernation. If you want to clear out the hibernation file, you have to delete it when you reboot. It is the same theory with MD 2.0. Turn your laptop off and then press the MD button again. It should load up and detect all of your music.

 

If I erased the MD partition when I reformated would that get rid of it? Or not? What would you recomend I do? Stick with MD2 or upgrade to 3.0?

 

Its not that simple. MD 2.0 is not a partition. When you format, you won't see it in the partiton area. You have to download some software and try to delete it that way, but I haven't known too many successful users with it

It really depends on how much you like MD. If you really enjoy using MD, then it will probably be in your best interest to upgrade to version 3.0 if you use outlook. If you only use it occasionally, then I would jsut stick with 2.0

Personally, I'm not a big fan of MD so I'm probably the wrong person to ask that.

 

I don't know what I need to do then. Is there a disc that clearly states "reinstallation disc for media direct 2.0" or is it included in a applications cd or something. I kinda want to keep it for the functionality and everything, but if its too much of a hassle for me to request ANOTHER disc from dell I don't want to bother with it.