windows xp media center on Dell Inspiron reinstall

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blitzen
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Blitzen

Hi,

I just got a new Dell Inspiron E1505 (I'm told it is also called the
Inspiron 6400) with built-in wireless NIC and Bluetooth. It came with
Windows XP Media Center pre-installed, with all its zillions of bells and
whistles. I re-partitioned the hard drive (eliminating the volume at the end
meant for system restoration, as I desire that extra 10% HDD space more),
with another OS on the first half, and using the CD to re-install XP Media
Center fresh on the 2nd half. I then used the "Utilities and Drivers" CD
provided by Dell to try and get it restored to the way it was before;
however, I must have skipped something, as a number of issues remain
incomplete:

1. The desktop now has no icons except for the "Media Center" shortcut and
the Recycle Bin. No "My Computer", "Network Neighborhood" or any other
shortcuts. The start menu, however, does have all the basic stuff in it.
Still, there used to be like 50 programs (some were trials and ads, others
were utilities like CD burners and jukeboxes) before the reinstall.

2. Most devices are still not recognized, and the CD only has other Inspiron
models listed under "System Models". The closest one to mine is the Inspiron
6000, which I tried installing the network stuff for, but still no dice. I
suppose if I could just get the NIC or Wireless NIC working, I could get
online and download the chipset along with the bells and whistles from Dell,
but I'd need to get that far first.

3. The C:\ drive is now seen as F:\ . This is not really a show-stopper,
but you have to change the drive letter in everything you install now. I
wonder if this is related to the re-partitioning that confuses Windows drive
assignment?

Thanks,
 
Hi

In response to your questions:

1) This is the standard view you get when doing a fresh install of Windows
XP. These icons can be restored as follows:

Right Click on your desktop
Click Properties
Click Desktop
Click Customize Desktop
Tick the required desktop icons click OK
Click OK on the Display Properties screen
You should now have the missing Windows icons back

2) On the underside of your Dell there should be a service tag number, go
to http://support.dell.com, enter this number in the service tag field and
then under select a tool select what you want to download.

Hope this helps.
 
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