Can't reinstall Dell Media Direct.

Ben Cole · 6 Dec 2007 at 01:01

Had the laptop for a few hours. Pleased.

However I knew the bloatware and Dell "flavour" would annoy me so I decided to do a fresh install and reclaim my 10Gb that Dell kept for themselves (recovery partition).

Problem is that even though I follow the instructions to the letter the Media Direct will not install.

The drive is formatted and partitioned using the Dell tools but I keep getting the message "this system is not supported by this reinstallation dvd" when I try to do the final step after reinstalling the OS.

The software says it's for the Inspiron 1520 but I assumed this will work on the Vostro 1500 and that it's not a mistake.

Any advice/help is welcomed.

P.S. It's blisteringly fast after a fresh install compared to the bloatware install!

Ben Cole · 6 Dec 2007 at 02:14

After a bit of playing around not worrying about missing the Media Direct facility I found a much bigger problem.

If I turn on the PC with the media direct button it won't find the media direct files and the computer then becomes unbootable without using a windows DVD.

Big problem!!!!!!

Any ideas?

Ben Cole · 6 Dec 2007 at 09:30

I can't understand why everyone else who wiped the drive of their Vostro isn't getting the same problem? It's driving me nuts now, I need help!!!!

Johnnyboy · 6 Dec 2007 at 22:12

Looks like you have deleted the Media Direct partition, so the application can't be installed.

You need to create the MD partition before you install the OS. This is expalined in the Dell Manual. You might be able to create the partition using PartitionMagic or similar, but I'm not sure.

Search for the answer in this this forum. It is definately here somewhere, I have read it.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17769413&highlight=media+direct&page=7

Ben Cole · 7 Dec 2007 at 11:30

As I said above...

Ben Cole said:
The drive is formatted and partitioned using the Dell tools but I keep getting the message "this system is not supported by this reinstallation dvd" when I try to do the final step after reinstalling the OS.

I'm not really worried about media direct.De ll are sending me a new disk anyway, I'm just really surprised more people aren't discussing the media direct button which effectively becomes a self-destruct button if you don't have media direct installed.

Scream · 7 Dec 2007 at 12:41

What is the benefit of using media direct btw?

I have never used it on my dell laptops.

Johnnyboy · 7 Dec 2007 at 22:16

Scream said:
What is the benefit of using media direct btw?

I have never used it on my dell laptops.

You can boot your laptop to a special OS that plays media only. Supposed to be faster, less power etc. than Vista. There is a special button on the Vostro 1500/ 1700 to switch the laptop on in this mode (the one with the house symbol on).

DeadMan · 11 Dec 2007 at 20:03

To be honest the first thing I do when getting a new laptop which in the last few cases has been a dell, is wipe Media Direct.

Its a knock off media center clone.

Rudeboy · 12 Dec 2007 at 16:40

We use XPS M1330's at work and these come with a Media Direct partition. You are correct, once you re-install and try to boot to Media Direct it will blue screen.

What you need to do is after installation of the OS, install the Media Direct utility on the supplied CD and that will fix your problems. Once you have done this you can use Media Direct from within the OS or boot from it directly.