can i install mce on an existing pro machine

[gil2]

hi everyone , i am realy interested in media centre and all it has to offer , but i have some questions , my machine at present is a 3.2 HT Intel with a gig of mem , winfast 6800 gt graphics card , pinnacle pctv tv card and just under a Tb storage space , BUT its running the xp pro version that was prior media centre

i now have a media centre edition pro disk set but i dont want to reformat or loose any settings on my pc , is there a way to install media centre with the accompanying pro version ?? maybe an install over the top of what i have or will that ruin all that is set up already , i like my pc the way it is but would love media centre on here as well

 

[evolution400]

2 options you can dual boot running XP and MCE but you will still have to install all your apps in your MCE install.
The other option is put all your apps in a folder on another hdd then wipe your system drive and install MCE only.
The only reason you would still need XP pro is if you use a network domain other than that take the plunge save all your apps and install MCE only thats what I would do.
You can't upgrade from XP > MCE only a clean install unfortunately.

 

[gil2]

thanks evo

this is the most frustrating thing , i totaly love technology i`m a techno nut where costs allow of course , and i dont wana get left behind in the htpc world , i wana gain experience with MCE and eventually port what i have learnt and eventualy bought to a media centre dedicated machine in my front room hooked up to a nice big plas and 6.1 surround sound or THX , i`d like to be able to put loads of films on the HTPC machine and just select what i want rather than swap dvd disks , for me this is just the beginning but its frustrating coz all i wana do is learn to start with , so having to do a clean install and loose all i have at the mo is a right royal pain , sounds simple , just move stuff and re-install but inreality its far from it , with nearly a TB of storage space , i have shortcuts and links tied in all over the place , especialy to my c drive

/me sits back and ponders some more

 

[JayList]

There are those moving programs , that copy from one to another. Not sure if they support MCE though.


You can only buy MCE with something else, so you have to buy a piece of hardware etc. No big deal really.

MCE is good an alsmost the same as XP. It shouldn't be too traumatic to change, or dual boot from them.

I took the opportunity to get a clean install with my MCE, rather than copy from XP.

And just copied the mounted data accross.

 

[Deleted member 39241]

If you just want to 'play with it' on your current pc, it would probably be simpler to install it on a new partition and set up dual booting. In fact I would recommend it, as MCE is the fussiest and flakiest bit of software I have ever used! Practising is a very good idea.

Once you have messed about with different drivers, codecs, settings etc and are ready to use it for real - a clean install is more or less a must (IMHO) and keep the pc as 'vanilla' as possible, only install what you really need.

Is that tv card MCE supported?

 

[DigitalKnave]

MCE is not something you can install like a program. Its another flavour of OS:

Windows XP Home
Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Media Center Edition

Dual boot would therefore be the best way to go if you want to keep you XP Pro.

 

[gil2]

well its a long story of mobo woes and hard disk issues . but i now have a 320 gig drive with MC freshly installed dont laugh but its dual boot and i have a total of 14 drives now ...again dont ask , maybe i hold the world record

what would u peeps suggest in the way of codecs ?? , or codec packs ?? also i`m not of to a flying start , i put a dvd in the drive ...it ran for about 6 secs and promptly dropped out to the xp desktop ....i minor set back prolly , i have vlc installed as well and that plays the dvd without breaking into a sweat , maybe i need to make my dvd drive multi region , and what a daft way to show folders when in media centre , couldnt they think of anything more inventive

another question ...sorry about this , some folders i dont want shown ...stupidly u can only pick drives ( unless i missed something ) if i select delete will it just delete the folder from being visible or will it delete it totaly , as yet i havent had the nerve to hit delete incase the worst occurs

 

[Deleted member 39241]

You need to install MCE compatible drivers for your graphics card and an mce supported dvd codec - recommend the nvidia purevideo one, I think there is still a free trial available... also get the my movies plug in... and do you have an mce supported tv card... how about roll up 2..?

 

[gil2]

i do ??? oh , well i have a winfast 6800gt graphics card i gues i better look on there web site for more deets on that then , and also at the supported dvd codec , again thats...... well , all of this MC is new to me

my movies plug in ?? i need that as well , blimey , i just thought that MC would happily play a dvd without add in`s and codecs , heheh live and learn , as for tv card ... i do have one but i dont think its supported its a pinnacle pctv card and tbh its only fed RF , used mainly for watchin a bit of footy now and again whilst i`m sat here so i`m not too fussed by that YET

and as for roll up 2 , think i`l deal with the other stuff first before i even go there

thanks deleted member