Frequently asked questions about the product support options and known issues of Windows XP Media Center Edition (327158)

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Windows XP Media Center Edition technical support

Question: How can I obtain product support for Windows XP Media Center Edition?

Answer: Because Windows XP Media Center Edition was included with your hardware device or with your system, the hardware manufacturer provides technical support and assistance for this software. Your computer manufacturer may have customized the installation with unique components, such as specific device drivers and optional settings to maximize performance on its hardware. If you want technical help with Windows XP Media Center Edition, contact your manufacturer directly. The manufacturer is best-qualified to support the software that it preinstalled on its hardware products.

Readme for Media Center October 2002

Question: What are the known issues for Media Center?

Answer: This Readme file provides late-breaking news and other information that supplements the documentation for Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Setup

• If you cannot find a working IR code set for your set-top box while the Setup program is running, visit the following Media Center Web site to find the most recent information about configuring your set-top box with Media Center:

  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/using/reporting/stb.asp

• Media Center cannot automatically connect to the Internet through a dial-up connection or detect when you are connected to the Internet to obtain current guide data. If you use a dial-up connection as your primary Internet connection, you must periodically download the program guide while you are connected to the Internet to obtain current data. We recommend that you connect to the Internet and initiate a download of guide data in Media Center every two to three days.

General use

• Media Center becomes unstable when system memory is low. For example, if Media Center is recording TV while you are running high-stress programs that use lots of system memory (such as 3-D games), the recording may be disrupted. Quit any unused programs if you experience this problem.
• Media Center does not support multiple-monitor scenarios.
• To successfully download the EPG data, the Standards and formats and the Location settings under Regional and Language Options must match. For example, if you are located in the United States, Standards and formats must be set to English (United States) and Location must be set to United States.
• Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound may not work correctly if the incorrect audio drivers are installed on your system.
• A Help window may become blank when you resize it while Media Center Edition is in windowed mode. The contents of the Help window are viewable again when you finish resizing the help window.
• Media Center may stop responding when you press ALT+TAB.
• Occasionally, when you resume from hibernation or standby, you may receive the following error message:
  Cannot Load Files
  To work around this issue when it occurs, quit, and then restart Media Center.

My TV

• You cannot watch live TV if your available hard-disk space drops too low.
• Media Center cannot record TV on drives that drive compression is activated on.
• You can record a TV program only from live TV. If you are watching TV within the pause buffer, and then you press RECORD, Media Center begins recording the live broadcast signal of the program that you are tuned to (not the playback segment of the program that you are watching in the pause buffer). To record exactly what you are watching, first press LIVE TV, and then press RECORD.
• Media Center does not immediately display an error when you schedule a recording that requires more than the currently available hard-disk space. A low disk space warning appears as the scheduled recording approaches. If Media Center cannot create sufficient disk space at that time, the recording operation will not occur.
• The Media Center computer may exhibit the following behavior when it resumes from standby to record a TV program:
  • If you were watching TV on Media Center before you put the computer in standby, Media Center uses the last channel viewed after the computer resumes to record the scheduled program. Therefore, both the monitor and audio are turned on. Additionally, Media Center does not return to standby when it finishes a recording, because the live video stream overrides the system power settings that shut down a computer after a prolonged period of non-use.
  • In any other case, when Media Center resumes from standby to record a program, the monitor turns on, but no audio plays. When Media Center finishes a recording, it operates according to your default system power settings.
    
    To work around this issue, configure your system power settings to enter standby after 15 to 30 minutes of non-use.
  • If you right-click Recording in the notification area (at the far right of the taskbar) and then click Stop current Recording, Media Center stops recording without a warning message.
  • Media Center and the set-top box may become out of synch with each other. This behavior occurs if Media Center navigates to a channel that is not included in your subscription. To avoid recording errors and channel navigation errors with your set-top box, customize the guide in Media Center.

Video

• When you watch video in Media Center, the playback may skip or pause when you switch to full-screen mode or away from full-screen mode.
• Video does not play if the Recorded TV folder is deleted, moved, or renamed in the system folders. To re-create the Recorded TV folder, shut down and then restart your computer. A new Recorded TV folder is created during startup if one does not already exist.
• When a sound card or its driver is disabled or is not installed, video does not work for My TV, My Videos, and DVD. Media Center does not display an error message in this scenario.
• Your computer manufacturer may install unique components, such as specific device drivers to maximize the performance of Media Center on its hardware. If you upgrade or install different drivers than the default drivers provided by the computer manufacturer, this may cause DVD playback distortion in Media Center.

Radio

• When you listen to radio in Media Center, you may hear a skip, a pause, or a repeat in the sound when you change channels, when you switch to full-screen mode, or when you switch away from full-screen mode.
• When you change radio channels, you may briefly see a frozen screen from a previously watched TV program.
• Saved radio preset stations are no longer available when you open Media Center. This problem may occur if you rapidly and repeatedly switched to full-screen mode and away from full-screen mode in a previous Media Center Edition session.

DVD

• When you rewind or fast-forward through a DVD at the maximum speed in Media Center, the progress indicator timeline may behave erratically.

My Music

• Fast-forward and rewind do not work in My Music.
• If you make changes to a play list in Windows Media Player, or if you add music to the My Music folder while Media Center is open, these changes do not appear in My Music. You must close and reopen Media Center to see the changes.

My Photos

• If you rotate a photo in another program while that photo is open in My Photos in Media Center, it is not immediately displayed as rotated. You must move away from, and then back to, My Photos in Media Center to see the changes.

Question: Where can I find additional information about Windows XP Media Center Edition?

Answer: For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Question: Are there any Microsoft Support WebCasts that explain how to configure Windows XP Media Center Edition and perform general troubleshooting steps?

Answer: A live Support WebCast about Windows XP Media Center Edition was presented on November 6, 2002, at 10:00 A.M. Pacific time. To view this Support WebCast, visit the following Microsoft Web site: The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Question: I am using Windows XP Media Center Edition in one of the following languages:

• Spanish
• Swedish
• Norwegian
• Danish
• Finnish
• Portuguese
• Traditional Chinese

I notice that some parts of the user interface are in English. Is this correct?

Answer: These languages are localized (translated) using the Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI) system. The MUI system is not designed to translate every part of the operating system. Areas of the user interface that will appear in English include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Device Manager.
• Computer Management, Services and Event Viewer.
• Windows Tour.
• Control Panel Power Options.
• Various dialog boxes that include those for Windows Paint and system Hibernate.
• Windows Messenger tooltips.
• The Regional Options default is set to English.
• By default, the Windows Automatic Update page is in English.

Technical support for Media Center

Because Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition was included with your hardware device or system, the hardware manufacturer provides technical support and assistance for this software. Your manufacturer may have customized the installation with unique components such as specific device drivers and optional settings to maximize the performance of that manufacturer's hardware. If you require technical help with Windows XP Media Center Edition, contact your manufacturer directly because the manufacturer is best qualified to support the software that the manufacturer has installed on the hardware.

You can also visit the Windows XP Media Center Edition product information Web site at the following Microsoft Web site: