XPS M1330 - MediaDirect Partition Removal and Button Fix

Hi all,
Sorry first of all for asking about this again, I know there are threads about it but I still I can't find some of the answers to my questions.

I want to remove the MediaDirect Partition. I can do this two ways I guess.

1. Completely reformat and kill the 2 gig or so partition for the Media Direct.
2. I just read this. Do a quick format and just wipe the MediaDirect program from the 2 gig partition but not wipe the partition to make it a swap drive.

For now I want to just format that 2 gig partition and use it as a swap drive.

In either option it leads to the question, what happens to the functionality of the MediaDirect Button?

I posted before about it corrupting the OS by pressing it if there is no mediadirect software installed but I have been told otherwise.

I wouldn't mind at all if the button just loses all functionality as long as it doesn't blow up my computer. Are there people here in the forums who have removed all media direct software? I know there are people here who have done it with a downgrade to XP, but I actually want to keep Vista.

I have also read that I can remap the button to load other programs but that is only when the computer is turned on and windows is running. What will happen if I press it if its shutdown w/ no mediadirect software? Same question as above really. Thanks in advance.

 

You can reassign the button or disable it in your registry.

It is under Local Machine>System>ControlSet>Control>MobilePC>QuickStartButtons

You can have it activate any application or disable it.

You need to do it in both Control Sets

 

Will disabling it prevent it from working when the laptop is off as well? Or only when windows is on?

 

Whatever is in the Windows registry won't have any effect when Windows is not running.

 

After you've got Windows installed to your liking and removed the MediaDirect partition, insert the MediaDirect installation DVD and from a command prompt find the RMBR.EXE utility and run it as follows (assuming Windows is installed into partition number 1):

RMBR.EXE DELL 1 1

This will change your BIOS settings to make the MediaDirect button boot from your Windows partition. If you don't do this the MD button will brick your laptop.

Unfortunately, RMBR seems to also mess around with your MBR and/or boot block. So, next, boot from the Windows Vista installation DVD, activate the recovery console, start a command prompt and run BOOTREC/FIXBOOT and BOOTREC/FIXMBR.

That should sort it. (Note that after I did this, the *first* time I booted with the MediaDirect button I got an error message and had to power cycle, but after that it worked as I wanted.)

 

how do you find out which # # to put instead of 1 1? from disk managment?

 

From the thread here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=226251

I'm guessing if you leave the Dell Utilites partition as partition 1 then it would be
RMBR.EXE DELL 2 2

?????

 

See this is what I dont' get. People have this solution and the other solution to "Zero the drive" by using killdisk.

After using kill disk people are saying that only a splash screen will show when pressing the button when teh laptop is off.

 

See my post at http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3272840#post3272840 on how to easily fix an XPS M1330 broken by hitting the Media Direct button, (if XP has been installed and Media Direct removed).

 

Hi,

I have read lots of posts about this problem but can't find exactly what I need. I would like to get rid of mediadirect from my m1330. Most people I've seen start but wiping the drive and doing a clean install of Vista, XP or Ubuntu, I am a cautious sole so would like to keep the Dell recovery partition so I can always go back to the Dell OK'd installation. I would like to do the following:

1) Remove the Mediadirect partition
2) Make a new partition for user data
3) Make the mediadirect button open Vista (and not lunch the machine!)
4) Keep the Dell Recovery partition intact.

Can anyone give me an easy to follow guide of doing this?
Thanks,
Mark

 

Please do not revive old threads(6 months or older), better create a new one. Thank you.