Media Center Desktop PCs

The JZA asked:


i’m pretty sure there’s a way to do it, but my OS didn’t come with instructions (yes, it was legitimately bought from tiger direct). i have an ATI all-in-wonder 9800 graphics card with a cable input, and i have plenty of hard drive space (100gb+). could anyone shed some light on this?

dwade3 asked:


Is it possible to run XP:MCE on a non Media Center Edition PC. I am wondering this because I want to use the media center functions on my Xbox 360. Will it work?

ccccccc asked:


I reallly want to be able to stream video thru my Xbox 360 but it seems I cannot without a Media Center PC. But since it is an operating system would I be able to buy the software and run it on my existing PC?

lateruls asked:


I have a Dual screen setup running Vista 64. Question is, can I run Media Center on my TV while still having access to my computer normally? Or will this require me to have 2 PCs, one dedicated to Media Center, and my current one?

Ultimately, I’d always like to have MC running on my TV while my PC is free to do other tasks.

ninja asked:


what is the best DVD decoder to use for windows media center? i have a hauppauge WinTV HVR 1600 tuner and i run on winXP with media center 2005. whats the best decoder to use?

jonpurkis asked:


I am planning on building a Media Center PC with some spare bits I have. I currently have a Celeron 2.8GHz processor and 512mb RAM to use, but may upgrade in the future.

The prices of XP MCE and Windows Vista Premium are similar when you buy the OEM version, so I can’t decide which to get. Does anyone know what extra features I will benefit from (specifically for Media Centers) if I go for Vista?

Thanks
Ok, I could purchase another 512mb of RAM, I’m more interested in what extra features I would benefit from in Vista.

BigDaddyRio™ asked:


I currently have a Dell Inspiron E1405 laptop pc, with Windows XP Media Center Edition Service Pack 2. Basically all I want to do is start over from the beginning, like it’s a brand new, fresh-out-of-the-box computer. But, here’s the thing – I don’t have any of the start-up or driver discs that originally came with my computer. Now, with the research I’ve done thus far, I know that it’s nearly impossible to do this without those discs unless buy a Windows Vista Upgrade, which right now I don’t want to do. If I could get some help with this it’d be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sunny asked:


After i formated my computer, i have 2 operating system to start when i turn on my PC:

Windows XP home and Windows XP media center(the one i have before).

Note, i did a fresh installed, and all the old data are removed. i don’t know why there still windows media on start. When i chose the Windows XP media, it said “windows could not start because the file is missing” the means i did remove all the old data, but why there are 2 operating system to start ?

Thanks for your help!

jim b asked:


i somehow lost/deleted the defragment tool on my windows xp media center pc. i searched for it but no luck, where can i get it back or should i buy a defrag software?
thanks
~~~jim b

That Guy asked:


I just bought “In the 1st Degree” from a seller on Amazon. Computer-wise, it is a bit old; the instructions have directions for installation on Windows 3.1 and 95, haha. I am running Windows XP Media Center on a Gateway laptop. The disc drive makes noise and the label changes from “DVD-RW” to “CD Drive,” however the information displays “0 bytes” and “0 files” and looks empty.

Any help/advice?