Media Center 2005 Installation.

[noxspert]

I'm new to the multi-media OS's. Is MC2005 a stand alone install or do you need to have an underlying OS of Xp installed prior to installing MC2005? I just purchased and oem of MC2005. I just put together a mini case Antec Aria with DFI k8m800-mlvf MB, AMD Athlon 64 3700 and gig of ram and WD 300gb sata1 hd. Any tips on the installation greatlyappreciated.

 

[wexsmith]

Windows MCE disc 1 is XP Pro and disc 2 is MCE. If you put an XP Pro key in the installation it'll install Pro without prompting you for the second disc. If you put in an MCE installation key it'll prompt you for the second disc and install MCE for you. With MCE you'll lose some functionality that Pro has, like being able to operate on a domain, but that's just how MCE operates. Don't be fooled into thinking that MCE is XP Pro through and through, there are some changes here an there. Many home users would never notice a difference though.

Have fun with MCE. Personally I love it.

 

[spyordie007]

With MCE you'll lose some functionality that Pro has, like being able to operate on a domain, but that's just how MCE operates. Don't be fooled into thinking that MCE is XP Pro through and through, there are some changes here an there. Many home users would never notice a difference though.

Actually you can join a domain with it; it just needs to be done during the install (cannot happen after it's already installed). Keep in mind that joining it to a domain means that you wont be able to use media center extenders (which require the fast user switching capability that gets disabled on domain members).

The only feature that I'm aware of that XP Pro has and XP MCE does not is cached credentials.

If you're feeling adventurous you'll also notice that the XP MCE installer can do an XP Pro upgrade, if you start the install from within your XP Pro install (though I generally recommend a clean install).

Regards,
Erik

 

[noxspert]

Thanks for the info. I loaded MC2005 and when it came up I had no internet, no networking and said it was missing a file. When I searched for the missing file it wasn't on any of the MC2005 cd's or on xp sp2 or on my xp pro cd's. I also have an ATI AIW 9200 video card and a friend told me that before "firing up" the ATI card to uninstall all previos video drivers and associated software.Then install the ATI card and associated software. Will MC2005 recognize the ATI AIW then? Or will I have to contend with software drivers for video that MS installed during the install of MC2005? And lastly, do I need to install all of the ATI AIW software before I install MC2005?

 

[spyordie007]

You'll want to update drivers and install software for your video and capture cards after installing MCE. And again I recommed a clean install.

 

[noxspert]

Thanks for the info. After building a full tower pc and then going to a mini pc what an experience. Appreciate the info. Am a newbie at building but this has turned into quite an experience. Used to cringe at formatting a HD and updating drivers, but this build is turning fear into a challenge. Thanks for your info - "as is" is fine.