windows 05

[mr.farenheit]

anybody else have the chance to play with xp media center edition? if so please post comments. hopefully somebody else shares the negativity.

[DrMega]

I made the mistake of buying it. The ONLY good thing I can say about it is that I have XP MCE to thank for me switching to Ubuntu.

Where can I start:
* It crashes frequently
* It uses a slightly different kernel version to XP home or pro, so some hardware drivers become flaky on it.
* It starts loads of unnecessary services by default, so performance is poor.
* If you add a TV tuner (as I did) XP MCE basically locks it for exclusive use, even if it can't actually use that particular card. You have to mess about stopping services to get a third party TV app to work.
* The TV out setup wizard is a farce. I recall one bit where it said "Click next to setup your TV geometry", so I clicked next, and it said something like "Now using you're TV's remote control, set up your TV geometry".
* Above all, it is still Windows.

[cardinals_fan]

It came with my Gateway box - and was unspeakably hideous. The bloat was large enough to grind my brand new computer to a halt. Crashes were an hourly occurrance. On the plus side, it was what drove me to Linux in the first place.

[Midwest-Linux]

I have Windows Media XP on my Gateway Model GM5076E, it crashes often. If I need to delete some files in the trash bin I sometimes get errors on that too. "Windows has encountered a problem and needs to close." Errors with deleting files is a bad sign no matter how you cut it.

The Video recorder function crashes often, I tried to record programs off the satellite box into the Gateway. There was no way to use this as a functional DVR, which is why I bought the Gateway in the first place. Impossible to manually label the videos you want to record, in MCE. No manual was included with the computer either.

The Audio card, whether it is the card itself or a "feature" of MCE . It is impossible to record audio from the sound card using my sound card recorder. Unless of course you connect a wire from the speaker output into the line in. My other less expensive computers do not have this issue.

The TV output is "supposed" to work when connected to a TV, well it doesn't...unless you disconnect the computer monitor. At over $1200, this Gateway with 2 GB Ram, 500 GB Hard drive, 3.2 GHz Pentium D , XP 2005 MCE is a piece of spit. .

Normally you will hear me say that Windows XP is the best OS that Microsoft has ever made. that is true with Windows XP SP2 Home and Windows XP SP2 Pro.

But Windows XP 2005 Media is among the worst Windows OS ever made, at least with this "machine" . This machine is likely Vista Ultimate ready, except I wouldn't install that on this machine....LOL It probably would work better..

My other computer (which cost less than half of the Gateway)...a E machine with XP Home 1 GB Ram with 3200 AMD Athlon 64 with 80 GB Hard drive runs circles around this POS Gateway.

So Expensive does not always mean better in both computers and software. Windows XP 2005 Media Center Edition sucks. It gives Windows XP a black eye....


Great Post!.... this really belongs in the Windows Forum however....

[SunnyRabbiera]

Someone i know had a mixed experience with it, it was a off and on kinda deal

[inversekinetix]

does noone test software or read reviews before buying, id say blame the user for not doing their homework first.

[marsmissionaries]

I've never had any issues with it.

[Midwest-Linux]

does noone test software or read reviews before buying, id say blame the user for not doing their homework first.


I read some posts on how people were using their computers as DVR's , recording their favorite TV programs and movies. I even went to several stores asking about the DVR functions in the MCE. Got a "great deal" on a closeout Gateway.

Having very little problems with XP in the past, and the machine had excellent specs with a "good" name brand and reputation...well I still ended up with a lemon. My next step is to wipe MCE off this machine for good.

Since that "lesson" I been on many forums, thought about buying a Vista machine until I did much research into Vista and found out about the DRM, long start up times, incompatibility of software, high hardware requirements, hair trigger WGA (one simply adding RAM or adding a new video card would trigger WGA and a new key would be needed from MS), driver issues, file transfer problems, resistance from the IT professionals and U.S Government toward Vista, and... more importantly, poor performance compared to XP. If the IT pros and the government have issues with Vista...maybe they are trying to say something...lol

Now having done homework..I saved myself from the all too many issues of Vista. Wanted to buy a XP machine in March 2007, none of the box stores had any, did more homework and forum searching and found out about Ubuntu and and the Linux variants. So it was Vista and the issues with MCE XP that I eventually ended up here. I am running Freespire 2.0, Linux Mint 3.0 and Ubuntu 7.04 on my other computers around the house.

So what do I use to record my favorite TV shows and movies? That relic from the past...the VCR...$ 50 U.S., no crashes, no complicated menus, no expensive media, no issues with video output and no MCE. Sometimes, the older technology works better than the new technology...as in the case of the VCR, Windows XP Home and Pro.

[DrMega]

does noone test software or read reviews before buying, id say blame the user for not doing their homework first.

I can't really argue with that. In my case, I paid a computer shop to build me a media centre. I gave them a minimum spec, a maximum price, and a list of requirements. Other than that I left them to it. They put MCE on, and it is horrendous.

As far as I'm concerned, the guys in the shop staked their reputation on the choice of hardware and software when I commissioned them to build me a machine. Choosing XP MCE was a bad decision.

[init1]

Someone I know has it on their computer. I've had to wipe the system once, and it boots up extremely slowly. It takes around 3 minutes to completely finish loading. I get it booted in about 30 seconds with a Linux live USB or CD.

[raycosm]

Came with my old Dell. Never had any problems with it, ever, although I never used any of its special features besides Xbox 360 connectivity.