Windows 7.

I received the memory I sent off for RMA replacement and finished getting an initial build of Windows 7 on what is now HTPC6.

The install was simple as can be and considering it’s somewhat older hardware, I didn’t need to go scavenging for any drivers (except that damn Realtek ALC850 audio which even Vista had iffy drivers for).  Although I hate codec packs, I downloaded and installed the Shark007 Windows 7 codecs, setup Media Center and installed Media Browser.  I configured and left Media Browser open over night so that it would get it’s caching completed but found a bluescreen when I checked on it before leaving for work this morning.  Apparently it’s a known issue dealing with TDX.sys and software making legacy SMB connections.  There is a hotfix available (KB967891) and I signed up and installed the downloaded file for it.  I don’t know if it has worked or not, but since it’s a specific issue, I’ll hope it does.

Right now I’m getting my HDHomeRun installed and set up and then I’ll install and configure Frontview for my Crystalfontz LCD.  Once that is complete, I’ll probably start exploring a little since I’ve never given Windows 7 a serious look.  I’ll also do a little fine-tuning and disabling of features that I know won’t be needed.  I’ll take every little bit of extra oomph that I can get.

I also found that Media Browser did not install a Start Menu entry point for me, so I had to create one.  If you have this problem, save the following registry information to a .reg file and run it to create an entry point:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterStart Menu]
“HideTV”=dword:00000000
“EnableRemoteMyTV”=dword:00000000
“EnableRemoteLiveTV”=dword:00000000
“EnableRemoteRecordedTV”=dword:00000000
“EnableRemoteTVGuide”=dword:00000000
“OEMLogoUri”=”"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterStart MenuApplications]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionMedia CenterStart MenuApplications{CE32C570-4BEC-4aeb-AD1D-CF47B91DE0B2}]
“Title”=”Media Browser”
“Category”=”ServicesMovies”
“OnStartMenu”=”True”
“TimeStamp”=dword:0c7e59de

UPDATE:

If you plan on using this registry fix, please download the pre-made registry fix here.  Copying from my site introduces a formatting issue with the quotation marks used above and it will not copy over to notepad correctly.

END UPDATE:

I’ve been reading about some issues with build 7000 and it has me a little worried, but I could not get my build 7048 disc to boot, so I’m not sure how long I’ll actually have this.  It’s for my kids, so I can’t afford to put them through much experimentation.

Anyway, I’m back off to my 7MC install.  I need to get this done so I can get it hooked up tonight.  I also want to get some more actor images done, which reminds me, I just joined the Google Code ImagesByName project.  Be sure to check it out.  We could use some help if you’re interested also.