OEM Windows XP MCE Version 2005 -- MCE glitches

[BonzaiDuck]

I have the OEM installation of Win XP MCE version 2005 on my Q6600 system with the nVidia 680i chipset.

All of the Event Viewer logs are "in the blue." Anything one would want corrected with XP Pro is corrected and working perfectly in XP MCE.

For various reasons, I didn't get around to installing the Tuner-Capture card -- an AverMedia M780 -- until after I'd tweaked the system in various ways -- stabilized over-clock settings, and got all the networking and other bugs ironed out.

I had discovered that MCE doesn't recognized my Hauppauge PVR-250 card, so hoping to free up a PCI slot and use the PCI-E x1 slot on the mobo, I obtained the white-box version of the Avermedia M780 tuner-capture card. But it turns out that MCE won't recognize it either.

Both the tuner cards came with their own drivers and software, and the software functions perfectly under XP for either one. But when I open Media Center, it tells me that the hardware is either not installed or malfunctioning or something's wrong with the driver.

I let this shortcoming go, since I can use the hardware and its software fine without using Media Center.

I then had to choose capture software that was compatible with the M780 card. Although my experiences could be due to other factors, Roxio wins and Intervideo loses. Intervideo won't "make nice" with the M780 card, so I dumped the Intervideo software. Then, attempting to test capturing news programs or other video samples, I discovered that I needed to depart from the choice of an "MP10-compatible" video decoder -- none other than the Intervideo decoder, and I discovered the only way to use the Roxio capture and manipulation software was to make the default decoder the Roxio MPEG2 decoder.

So -- fine -- that all works, and Windows Media Player -- contrary to the report from the Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility -- seems to play captured video just fine with the Roxio decoder set as default, even though the checkup utility warns of "possible problems" with MP10 synchronization features.

I now discover that while I can play videos captured with either decoder set to default in Media Center, simple actions like pausing or stopping the video result in an error message that suggests that "some components of Media Center may not have been properly installed, or are corrupted." An error report gets sent to Microsoft, and the OS handles the program termination well -- I don't have to reboot or anything.

This OEM version of XP MCE shows it as version 2002, but I checked with the MS knowledgebase and this is normal -- the "version 2005" designation shows up in other control panel screens.

My Control-Panel "Add or Remove Programs" shows that I've installed a "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 KB925766" and an "update rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005."

Media Center plays music, and otherwise behaves well with everything, other than the problems I've experienced with tuner recognition or playing MPEG2 files.

Should I attempt to uninstall and then reinstall these components?

Or, as with previous versions of Windows Os's and service pack updates, can I simply reinstall those components over the existing installations -- without uninstalling first?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Pardon my persistence, but I need to continue trolling for some suggestions.

I installed my AverMedia M780 tuner-capture card after installing the Windows XP-MCE-2005 OS on my system.

The MCE extensions, or the program known as "Media Center," continues to fail recognizing the tuner card or its drivers. All software for the tuner-card and other hardware that works independently in XP seems to function perfectly.

All Event-Viewer information for Application log and System log is "in the blue." That is, I have ironed out all red and yellow errors and warnings. Errors within "Media Center" terminate leaving XP stable, and at most show up as a blue "application popup" or application failure error in the event-viewer logs.

How can I resolve this problem with Media Center? I do not want to completely reinstall the OS. I have downloaded the XP MCE Update Rollup 2 for reinstallation. I am inclined to simply install the Update Rollup over its existing installation. Any advice? Any insights?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Again -- pardon my persistence on this question. I'm moving slowly and deliberately toward a fix.

From the MS forums, I discover that other (individuals -- not OEMs) have had the same sorts of problems with Media Center that I have, but error messages overlap with multiple causes. MC keeps telling me (1) tuner card malfunction or driver corrupt (when it's all fine), (2) some components failed to register (message appears when trying to stop or pause a movie. The only thing in MC that seems to work reliably is audio file playing and control.

The others on the MS forums noted an initial installation problem which I, too, experienced. It derives from "bad labeling" or inaccurate message box during the installation process. Disk #2 pauses and asks for "Windows Service Pack 2 disk," and many of us reached for our service pack 2 CD. But actually, the installation MEANS for you to insert Disk #1. I believe this caused some components in MC to fail in registration.

I suspect I need to go back and do a reinstallation. If anyone knows a way I can shortcut this without completely reinstalling XP, let me know. There may be a "repair" option in the installation sequence, but I cannot reliably determine if this will (a) fix the problem, or (b) complete itself without asking for backed up registry files or a "repair disk." If the latter, then I'll only wind up with the same incomplete installation of Media Center as I have now.

thank you all very much.