I can't reinstall Windows Media Center

[Frank D]

Originally Posted by Remah

You can also update your WMC files manually by copying them from Windows disk cabinet (.CAB) files.
How to use Extract.exe to copy files from the cabinet files

The Windows image files (.ISO) that eyeb links to could be helpful as at least one SP1 included.

I searched the Win7 DVD (containing SP1) and the only .CAB file I can find is "E:\upgrade\netfx\netfx1.cab". Is this the right file? What would I be looking for in this file? I'm at a total loss as to what to do.

Frank

[Remah]

Frank_D,
I found the time to have a look at Windows Media Centre on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I uninstalled and installed WMC without any problems. I confirmed that turning the feature on and off does install and uninstall the folder and files for WMC.

I did manage to create a problem similar to yours but I found that turning WMC off and then on again fixed it.

I'd like to understand the current state of your system. Can you answer the questions in bold. The other text gives some detail.

When you turn the WMC feature off it removes a number of registry entries and removes the ehome folder which is in your Windows folder which is usually C:\Windows\ehome. Is there an ehome folder on your system after you turn WMC on?

WMC uses services "Media Center Extender Service", "Windows Media Center Receiver Service" and "Windows Media Center Scheduler Service". Do you have the WMC services installed? You can check if they are installed by running the Windows Task Manager and selecting the Services tab.

The Winsxs folder contains the Windows component store which is effectively the entire operating system broken down into packaged components. So whatever you do don't delete any files in the Winsxs folder. This store is used to install WMC. So how big is your C:\Windows\Winsxs folder? My Winsxs folder is about 16GB but the size depends how specific components have been handled: for example, there are backups of some updated components that can been be removed so the update becomes permanent and can't be uninstalled. Removing those files reduces the size to about 12GB.

If you search the Winsxs folder, how many files have "mediacenter" in their name? Mine has about 130 files.

[Frank D]

Remah,

Thanks for your follow-up.

When you turn the WMC feature off it removes a number of registry entries and removes the ehome folder which is in your Windows folder which is usually C:\Windows\ehome. Is there an ehome folder on your system after you turn WMC on?

I have four eHome folders: "C:\Program Data\Microsoft\eHome; "C:\Users\Frank\AppData\Local\Microsoft\ehome" ; "C:\Users\Frank\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\eHom e"; and "C:\Windows\ehome". Please keep in mind, though, that I am not able to turn WMC on, since it is not installed and I can't install it.

WMC uses services "Media Center Extender Service", "Windows Media Center Receiver Service" and "Windows Media Center Scheduler Service". Do you have the WMC services installed?

I have no Windows Media Center or Media Center services.

So how big is your C:\Windows\Winsxs folder?

It is 8.56 GB in size.

If you search the Winsxs folder, how many files have "mediacenter" in their name?

Mine has 20 folders with "mediacenter" in their name, and there are a total of 52 files within those folders.

To answer your other question: No, I did not delete any files from my Winsxs folder.

Frank

[Remah]

Originally Posted by Frank D

I have ... "C:\Windows\ehome". Please keep in mind, though, that I am not able to turn WMC on, since it is not installed and I can't install it.
...
I have no Windows Media Center or Media Center services.
...
Mine has 20 folders with "mediacenter" in their name, and there are a total of 52 files within those folders.

So it looks like you have an incomplete install:

• You have the WMC components in the store.
• You have the WMC program folder c:\windows\ehome. Mine is 112MB with 193 files and 20 folders.
• You don't have the WMC services installed.

Are you up-to-date with updates for Windows 7 and have Service Pack 1 installed?

I presume that there is no start menu item for WMC or is there?

What happens when you run WMC manually using c:\windows\ehome\ehshell.exe?

Try installing/registering the WMC services. I copied these commmands from a Microsoft Technet forum.

1. Click Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, then right-click Command Prompt, in the right click menu, please click Run as administrator.

2. Type the following commands, press Enter after each line.



regsvr32 atl.dll

cd C:\WINDOWS\eHome

ehSched /unregServer

ehSched /service

ehRecvr /unregServer

ehRecvr /service

ehRec.exe /unregServer

ehRec.exe /regserver

ehmsas.exe /unregServer

ehmsas.exe /regserver

I'm not sure if you'll get a message when unregistering the services which aren't installed. Check that the services are now installed by using Task Manager or running services.msc.

[Frank D]

Remah,

Are you up-to-date with updates for Windows 7 and have Service Pack 1 installed?

Absolutely. I just finished a big batch today, and when I rechecked I was told that Windows Update is up to date. And I do have SP1 installed (have had it since it came out).

I presume that there is no start menu item for WMC or is there?

You are correct that there is no start menu item for WMC. I checked with a friend (over the phone) and he reports that when typing "Windows Media Center" in the prompt area, the program shortcut pops right up, and when he clicks on it the Media Center appears.

What happens when you run WMC manually using c:\windows\ehome\ehshell.exe?

Time passes and nothing happens.

Try installing/registering the WMC services. <snip> I'm not sure if you'll get a message when unregistering the services which aren't installed. Check that the services are now installed by using Task Manager or running services.msc.

All the commands were accepted. I then opened the Services window and saw that the services are now there. However they would not start. This is a screenshot of the services and the error message I got for both of them.
http://gyazo.com/1946934fe82bce9ea67c0065e2341205
I manually set the services to Automatic. They were originally set to Manual. I then tried to run WMC but again nothing happened. I then tried using the Windows Features app again to turn WMC on, but got the same error message as in my original post, that "An error has occurred. (etc.)" and it failed.

I thought of copying the ehome folder from another computer, but there is none available to me that has the Win7 64-bit OS.

I appreciate your helping me through this problem.

Frank

[Remah]

OK, we now know the c:\windows\ehome folder is there and services are registered. It doesn't matter so much whether they all run because we don't have to use them all.

What I hoped to avoid is getting into the registry to work out what needs to be repaired. I don't have time to look at it for at least a few days.

So at this point, the easier path would be to get rid of the legacy device so you can update Windows in place.

I'll get back to you as soon as I can assemble some next steps.

[Frank D]

Remah,

at this point, the easier path would be to get rid of the legacy device so you can update Windows in place.

Unfortunately, I've tried that approach and failed, since I can't get rid of all the instances of the scanner in the registry. They refuse to be deleted.

Is there some way I can create a temporary "clean" registry, do the in-place reinstall, and then restore the real registry after the reinstall?

Frank

[J_L]

http://www.r@ymond.cc/blog/how-to-ed...ng-in-windows/ (replace @ with a, it's censored here for whatever reason)

That should take care of any registry entries. I wouldn't recommend the "clean" registry route, because that can easily create more problems than solve.

Lastly, next time take a look into this: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...g-software.htm

[Frank D]

Originally Posted by J_L

http://www.r@ymond.cc/blog/how-to-ed...ng-in-windows/ (replace @ with a, it's censored here for whatever reason)

That should take care of any registry entries. I wouldn't recommend the "clean" registry route, because that can easily create more problems than solve.

I've read the article and have chosen Method 3, which uses the Lazesoft Recovery Suite Home boot CD to boot the PC into the Windows PE environment and access the Registry Editor (regedit) while Windows is not running.

Lastly, next time take a look into this: http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...g-software.htm

I've been doing full system image backups for years and am using two such backup programs concurrently: AOMEI Backupper and Genie Timeline, and a third program, [edited]. The latter is a Windows System Restore replacement "on steroids," in that it takes recurrent snapshots (i.e., System Restore analogs) of everything on your hard disk, not just the selection that Windows normally decides upon. I've had occasion to use all three of them to do restores in the recent past, and I can say with confidence that they all work as advertised.

My particular problem stems from the fact that I didn't discover that I needed Windows Media Center until well after the time that I uninstalled it, so I was beyond the window of restorability of all these backup programs. (I limit them to one month each.) My reason for needing WMC at this point is so that I can use an add-in, TunerFreeMCE, for watching streaming internet TV programs on my PC. It provides support for the full Hulu catalogue of TV programs through the WMC interface. Without WMC I'm "marooned."

Thank you, JL, for your helpful information. I'll look forward to editing the registry again using the new tool, and then trying another in-place reinstall.

Frank

[Remah]

Originally Posted by Frank D;91435My particular problem stems from the fact that I didn't discover that I needed [I

Windows Media Center [/I]until well after the time that I uninstalled it, so I was beyond the window of restorability of all these backup programs. (I limit them to one month each.)

If you don't keep backups for longer than a month then consider using a Program Uninstaller. Some of the features that might have helped you:
backup of software before uninstalling
uninstall driver software
show registry entries for installed software