Dell MediaDirect is a feature available on Dell laptop computers. MediaDirect provides quick access to multimedia and other content. MediaDirect provides "instant on" access to multimedia and other items, including:

• Video
• Music
• Photo slide shows
• The Instant Office feature, which provides access to Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations, Microsoft Outlook® contacts, and Microsoft Outlook Express contacts and calendars

To use MediaDirect, press the MediaDirect button located on the hinge cover or on the front panel of the Dell laptop computer (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

Figure 1: MediaDirect Button on the Hinge Cover

Figure 2: MediaDirect Button on the Front Panel

When you press the MediaDirect button, a media program starts. After the media program starts, choose what to do (play a DVD movie, listen to music, view photos). You can do any of these things without having to start the operating system on the computer.

The media program that starts depends on whether the computer is on or off when you press the MediaDirect button.

Using MediaDirect When Computer Is On or on Standby

If you press the MediaDirect button when the computer is on or when it is on standby, one of the following media programs starts, depending on which program is installed on the computer (Figure 3 and Figure 4):

• Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Manager
• Dell Media Experience

If both programs are installed on the computer, Windows XP Media Center Manager starts.

 
Figure 3: Windows XP Media Center Manager Screen

Figure 4: Dell Media Experience Screen

Using MediaDirect When Computer Is Off or in Hibernation

If you press the MediaDirect button when the computer is off or when it is in hibernation, the MediaDirect media program starts (Figure 5).

Figure 5: MediaDirect 3.x Screen

The time that it takes for the media program to start when you press the MediaDirect button depends on the computer and its particular configuration.

Logging on is required when using MediaDirect if one or more of the conditions below are true.

• More than one user account is set up on the computer.
• The user account is set up to use a password.

MediaDirect does not bypass these settings. In this way, it helps maintain the security settings that are set up on the computer. If you do not need multiple user accounts on the computer or if you do not need a password for the user account, use the User Accounts item in the Control Panel. In User Accounts, you can remove the user account from the computer, or to remove the password from the user account.

For more information about how to remove a user account in Windows XP, refer to the Dell KB Article: "Deleting User Accounts in Microsoft® Windows® XP" Article ID: 148337. 

For more information about how to remove a password from a user account in Windows XP, refer to the Microsoft KB Article: "How to automatically log on to a user account in Windows XP"Article ID: 282866 

To use MediaDirect, Dell QuickSet and MediaDirect must be installed on the computer.

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