How do I disable the Dell Media Direct hot button?

To the left of the power button. The one with the house on it.

It is supposed to boot to a 'mini xp' for simply playing media (mp3s, dvd's, etc) without bringing up the whole operating system.

For starters the machine came with Vista, not XP. It has been reformatted and reloaded with the recovery disk so there is no longer any trace of XP on it.

I have read elsewhere that this feature 'works' with ubuntu installed and further that it can corrupt the Master Boot Record.

Mosty I don't need or want it and there should be a way to disable the thing.

I would reccommend contacting dell directly about your issue. They will do all they can to help you      http://support.euro.dell.com/support/topics/topic.aspx/emea/shared/support/dellcare/en/contact_technical_support?c=uk&l=en&s=gen    This is the link to the free technical support.

I Would also recommend trying to post this topic in  the software folder

Well if can't be disabled then my wife who will be purchasing a new laptop in the near future will be buying a lenovo. I will no longer recommend Dell to anyone.  

This is not something I want or need and I should be able to easily turn it off.

im not sure if this is what you want, but you could change your quickset button. You may be able to manipulate the code so that it runs nothing.   http://forums.techguy.org/tech-tips-tricks/540776-change-dell-media-direct-button.html 

Unfortunately, i do not think it is possible to complete remove the button. But i only had a quick scout through google, and there is 1000's of results. Try searching for  " disable media direct button ""

 and search hard. Someone out there will probably have an answer.

No I want to disable the boot function.

I want it NOT TO BOOT THE MACHINE WHEN PRESSED WHILE IT IS POWERED OFF.

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@dgkpcon wrote:
not a stupid idea.

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it is if i have to reload the OS and the hidden partition is now gone.

it is if i don't want it installed in the first place.

it is if it hoses the master boot record and or blue screens when it tries to load.

if i wanted a media center PC i would have ordered a media center pc and been done with it.

i do not need it, want it, and it is breaking the machine.

i should be able to remove it and that is all there is to it.

it will still be about if i wipe the drive completely and load my favorite flavor of linux and will make things even worse if it tries to boot then.

i can save the data if things hosed again on the laptop but i really would rather not.

if dell thinks this is peachy keen to install on EVERY LAPTOP then i want some of what they are smoking. (even better lets install something that reqires XP on a machine running vista)

there is no technical reason to not have removal tool for this. aboslutely no reason whatsoever.

The 1721 is a media center,so you did order it.

You can remove it,as i said in first post delete,or uninstall media direct.Just don't hit the button after you have.

Where is it advertised as PC for hooking up and running movies, tv, music in the specs and that it is designed specifically for that? It says that you can use it as such. It does not say hey we hard wired a seperate power on key that can break your boot sector. Which is what I have right now.

If it is bothering you that much, why dont you just remove the cables for the button, and then when you press the button, nothing will happen.

You cant remove the cables from it as it is made onto the keyboard. But you can do like I did and when you get it booting back to normal just put a drop of super glue on the top cover at the home looking or media center button and bingo it want push down.