Windows Media Center EPG Data issues - UPDATE 7/27

Rick,

I too do NOT have #4 in my Vista 32-bit, and even worse, I don't have exactly the same path Jon gives on #3 (he says "...In the left tree, expand Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, Windows, Media Center). I have to follow this path: Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Task Scheduler/Task Scheduler Library/Media Center but then something even stranger happens.

When I open "Media Center", I start getting this series of pop-up messages with the name "Task Scheduler":

"The selected task 'UpdateRecordPath' no longer exists.  To see the current tasks, click Refresh."

"The selected task 'OCURDiscovery' no longer exists.  To see the current tasks, click Refresh.""The selected task 'OCURActivate' no longer exists.  To see the current tasks, click Refresh."

"The selected task 'mcupdate' no longer exists.  To see the current tasks, click Refresh."

"The selected task 'ehDRMInit' no longer exists.  To see the current tasks, click Refresh."

(Clicking Refresh doesn't bring up any current tasks.)  Is anyone else on this board getting any of these messages?

All these "selected tasks" appear one at a time in the pop-up windows and only have an "OK" button which, when clicked, makes that window disappear and the next window message pops up, with the next "selected task no longer exists" message.  Once I click through those five messages, no more pop up under "Media Center" until I repeat the process of going through the tree path to get to the Task Scheduler Library/Media Center.

It's evident that the tips, fixes, suggestions, etc. on this and other boards do not apply to this early version of Vista because some of the tools or paths suggested don't exist on our system ("ObjectStoreRecoveryTask", for instance).

I am convinced more than ever that no one at Microsoft is looking for any fix for those of us with the "early" Vista 32-bit OS with factory installed WMC and tuner, and probably none of the MS "trusted experts" on the Community forums are either.  It seems we are being overlooked, ignored, or at best, put last just because we are not willing to upgrade every time MS thinks we should and as someone else on this board said, some of us can't afford it.  WMC wasn't broke and didn't need fixing and not everyone in this world uses WMC just to watch DVDs and cable.

Hi everyone:

I want to give a quick update on where we are since my post earlier this month. My team continues to work on this issue, and we greatly appreciate the help and support of the community in reporting issues and sharing info.

Since my last update, we’ve been updating the data feeds and cleaning up issues you have been reporting via the Connect site. Thanks for the reports – as I mentioned earlier, we won’t be able to respond to each Connect report directly, but we are gathering and working through the issues as they come in. I've gotten some other reports via PM as well, and those get added to the list as well.

We’ve also been investigating the problem is not getting any new EPG data at all, which is still a problem for some of you. We’ve tried repro’ing the problem in our lab with limited success - in fact, during our initial testing before the rollout, we never saw this issue. As folks on this forum have pointed out, some people with multiple WMC installs will see this problem on one install but not another, which indicates it's a transient issue, very difficult to reproduce and root cause. We're focusing on recovery methods - steps you can take to help get EPG data flowing again.

There have been troubleshooting steps given in this and other forums that have had some success. We took a look at them, did our own verification, and the team is confident in endorsing them as recommended ways to help resolve the problem.

1. RECOMMENDED: Clearing the DNS cache.

This is a simple step and seems to be effective in some cases. To do this, open an elevated Command Prompt and enter ipconfig /flushdns. This removes old DNS entries from the cache and forces the machine to reacquire the proper IP’s for our download URL’s. 2. RECOMMENDED: Trying different ZIP codes.

This has been effective for some users, and also returns usable results. You can see if your ZIP code, city, or other nearby areas, are available at http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/tv-listings - enter your ZIP code or city name to see the providers for that area. 3. PARTIALLY RECOMMENDED: Run the ObjectStoreRecoveryTask in Task Scheduler.

This step is a little more involved, and should be undertaken by advanced users only. This can clear older EPG data from your WMC installation, allowing a restarted WMC to pick up the new data feed. Effectiveness is unknown, which is why it’s only partially recommended – it won’t damage your install, but requires some experience to make it work.

For this method, follow these steps: 1. Close WMC 2. Open Task Scheduler, by opening Control Panel, System and Security, Administrative Tools, Schedule Tasks 3. In the left tree, expand Task Scheduler Library, Microsoft, Windows, Media Center 4. In the right pane, under name, right-click ObjectStoreRecoveryTask, and click Run (let it run for 2+ mins) 5. Close Task Scheduler 6. Restart WMC

We're working on some other, more involved methods, and I hope to have some more concrete recommendations from the team within the next week or so. Until then, please keep reporting issues at the Connect site (https://connect.microsoft.com/site1145), and thanks again for your help.

--Jon, MSFT

I have no #4 in Vista-32bit.

WinTV8 works the same as WinTV7.  If you stop a recording then try to start again it starts from the beginning and fast forward and reverse is still the same.  That is why I still want to use Media Center, it can resume your playback and I can drag the time line to get through commercials.  I still think this whole EPG problem is to get us to quit using Media Center so we will go to Windows 10 then use WinTV.  I think that is there way around the fact they are no longer going to have Media Center in Windows 10.  As long as they do not have a working Media Center in Windows 10 I will not upgrade..

Looks pretty much the same as WinTV7 other than inclusion of a signal strength indicator.  I was able to download one of those as a separate gadget from Hauppauge.  Can you fast forward or reverse?  On mine the directional buttons only work to jump ahead 30 seconds or 60 seconds or reverse 10 seconds or 60 seconds. When you restart a program you had been watching, there is no option to resume from where you left off.   You have to click randomly on the green bar trying to get to the right place.  Seems like a real oversight but perhaps has been fixed in versions newer than mine.

Silverwire I use my computer and watch television similarly to what you detail. I bought my Dell computer in January of 2008 so possibly I have the later version of Vista you mention. Dell included the reinstallation cd's for the OS, Drivers and Utilities, and I have had to make use of them several times.  The WinTV application (as I currently have it) allows reducing the screen size to small, medium, or full screen, but doesn't always re-size infinitely by dragging the corner as does WMC. It can be docked where you like.  You can also use the Picture-in-Picture feature to keep an eye on a different channel (if you have a dual tuner) or watch a video file you have elsewhere on your computer, albeit without sound. I don't know if you have the Aero visual package, but I believe that is the feature that will provide a postage stamp sized view of television or video you have minimized to the task bar when you hover your cursor there. How well the captioning works I guess depends on the program.  With WinTV the sound is not automatically cut when you select captions, nor do captions automatically start when you press mute. I haven't posted at the Green Button but I did make a report of the epg problem at Microsoft Connects. I am of the opinion that Microsoft owes us a patch for this EPG problem, as our operating systems are supposedly still supported. I think it is unfortunate that Microsoft won't support its products more than a few years.  Many people do not have the income or even any desire, to be buying everything new every few years.