Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled "Windows
Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no discs
other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in Windows,
SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.

I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that it
was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs that
would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as they
had never heard of such a problem.
I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD. A
suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and my
newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc I
put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as I
could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in sight,
as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
form my HTPC.

Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.

Thanks in advance,
MCE might not be for me

The Windows Service Pack 2 SP2 disc that it is asking for is the first disc
of your 2 cd set.

Start over fresh. It is likely that your installation is quite screwed up.

Sequence for install should roughly equal this

Boot off the first disc
Files get copied
System Reboots
System goes into setup
Enter MCE key
Region Setup
Network Setup
Insert Disc 2
Re-insert Disc 1 (when prompted for WinXP SP2 disc)
Completion

--
Gary Tsang
Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp


"MCE_might_not_be_for_me"
<MCE_might_not_be_for_me@discussions.microsoft.com > wrote in message
news:F2DF0E08-CD35-49DD-860D-B9D17636CA38@microsoft.com...
> Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
> I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
> computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
> were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
> until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled
> "Windows
> Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no
> discs
> other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
> skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in
> Windows,
> SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
> discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
> Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
>
> I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
> obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that
> it
> was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
> that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs
> that
> would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as
> they
> had never heard of such a problem.
> I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
> downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
> for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD.
> A
> suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
> center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and
> my
> newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc
> I
> put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
> various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as
> I
> could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
> still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in
> sight,
> as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
> with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
> the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
> form my HTPC.
>
> Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
> I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> MCE might not be for me
>

WoW, Thanks, That was fast!
It probably says SP2 on Disc one but the coppery hologram labels on the
discs are hard to read.... oh yea and I'm half blind... lol

thank you Gary.


"Gary Tsang" wrote:

> The Windows Service Pack 2 SP2 disc that it is asking for is the first disc
> of your 2 cd set.
>
> Start over fresh. It is likely that your installation is quite screwed up.
>
> Sequence for install should roughly equal this
>
> Boot off the first disc
> Files get copied
> System Reboots
> System goes into setup
> Enter MCE key
> Region Setup
> Network Setup
> Insert Disc 2
> Re-insert Disc 1 (when prompted for WinXP SP2 disc)
> Completion
>
> --
> Gary Tsang
> Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
> http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
>
>
> "MCE_might_not_be_for_me"
> <MCE_might_not_be_for_me@discussions.microsoft.com > wrote in message
> news:F2DF0E08-CD35-49DD-860D-B9D17636CA38@microsoft.com...
> > Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
> > I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
> > computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
> > were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
> > until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled
> > "Windows
> > Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no
> > discs
> > other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
> > skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in
> > Windows,
> > SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
> > discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
> > Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
> >
> > I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
> > obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that
> > it
> > was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
> > that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs
> > that
> > would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as
> > they
> > had never heard of such a problem.
> > I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
> > downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
> > for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD.
> > A
> > suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
> > center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and
> > my
> > newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc
> > I
> > put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
> > various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as
> > I
> > could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
> > still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in
> > sight,
> > as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
> > with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
> > the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
> > form my HTPC.
> >
> > Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
> > I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> > MCE might not be for me
> >
>
>
>

You're welcome.

If you have any more issues, feel free to post back here.

--
Gary Tsang
Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp


"MCE_might_not_be_for_me" <MCEmightnotbeforme@discussions.microsoft.com>
wrote in message news:A340E70F-F84E-4119-ACC6-9D94E1D9C30F@microsoft.com...
> WoW, Thanks, That was fast!
> It probably says SP2 on Disc one but the coppery hologram labels on the
> discs are hard to read.... oh yea and I'm half blind... lol
>
> thank you Gary.
>
>
> "Gary Tsang" wrote:
>
>> The Windows Service Pack 2 SP2 disc that it is asking for is the first
>> disc
>> of your 2 cd set.
>>
>> Start over fresh. It is likely that your installation is quite screwed
>> up.
>>
>> Sequence for install should roughly equal this
>>
>> Boot off the first disc
>> Files get copied
>> System Reboots
>> System goes into setup
>> Enter MCE key
>> Region Setup
>> Network Setup
>> Insert Disc 2
>> Re-insert Disc 1 (when prompted for WinXP SP2 disc)
>> Completion
>>
>> --
>> Gary Tsang
>> Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
>>
>>
>> "MCE_might_not_be_for_me"
>> <MCE_might_not_be_for_me@discussions.microsoft.com > wrote in message
>> news:F2DF0E08-CD35-49DD-860D-B9D17636CA38@microsoft.com...
>> > Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with
>> > it.
>> > I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my
>> > old
>> > computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs
>> > which
>> > were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install
>> > ok
>> > until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled
>> > "Windows
>> > Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no
>> > discs
>> > other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
>> > skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in
>> > Windows,
>> > SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
>> > discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and
>> > Outlook
>> > Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
>> >
>> > I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they
>> > had
>> > obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was
>> > that
>> > it
>> > was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told
>> > me
>> > that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs
>> > that
>> > would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as
>> > they
>> > had never heard of such a problem.
>> > I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
>> > downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found
>> > one
>> > for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto
>> > CD.
>> > A
>> > suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
>> > center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs
>> > and
>> > my
>> > newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2
>> > disc
>> > I
>> > put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations
>> > of
>> > various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these
>> > as
>> > I
>> > could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop
>> > is
>> > still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in
>> > sight,
>> > as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am
>> > left
>> > with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to
>> > mention
>> > the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE
>> > to
>> > form my HTPC.
>> >
>> > Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any
>> > suggestions?
>> > I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance,
>> > MCE might not be for me
>> >
>>
>>
>>

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:11:03 -0700, "MCE_might_not_be_for_me"
<MCE_might_not_be_for_me@discussions.microsoft.com > wrote:

>Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
>I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
>computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
>were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
>until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled "Windows
>Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no discs
>other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
>skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in Windows,
>SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
>discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
>Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
>
>I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
>obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that it
>was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
>that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs that
>would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as they
>had never heard of such a problem.
>I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
>downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
>for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD. A
>suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
>center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and my
>newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc I
>put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
>various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as I
>could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
>still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in sight,
>as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
>with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
>the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
>form my HTPC.
>
>Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
>I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
>
>Thanks in advance,
> MCE might not be for me

This is the commonest single problem reported in this newsgroup with regard to
installing MCE 2005. The installation dialogue is ambiguous. In fact when you
are requested for the Windows XP SP2 disk you should re-insert disk 1. Disk 1
_is_ Windows XP with SP2. By providing the SP2 disk you have actually screwed up
your installation. You will need to reformat & reinstall but after that you will
have no problems.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

hi Nigel,
Thanks for your comments, I have now reinstalled as per Gary's instruction
it worked fine. I would have thought the first disk would be full of Windows
CABs and the remainder of drivers and cabs on the second disk. as in you'd
think the room to put SP2 would be the second disk in which case they would
not even have to promt you to insert it. The only answer for this is the
order in which they install things and that constitutes breaking up the
drivers and cabs in such a way that the second disk is full.
The OEM manual is a few pages and has lots of info on the remote control for
windows media center but nothing on installation. It has been a long time
since I have had to have my hand held while installing Windows and thought I
was losing my mind.
Thanks guys!
My next question will probably be regarding my EVGA NVTV dual TV tuner..
when I run through the wizard in Win Media Center the program. I do all the
setup, it senses that I have a cable signal but when I TV box normally
displays. It reads "your tuner is not installed or maybe malfunctioning
please restart Media Center and/or Windows" .

I was reading an article after I purchased this tuner card which said it was
good but that it had conflicts with AMD processors with VIA chipsets. I have
an AMD Athlon 64 3700+ with an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium which has Nvidia N-Force
chipset The NVTV hardware tuner/encoder is Nvidia based as well as the BFG
7800GTX OC PCI-E video card I am running. you'd think they could all play
together. I am going to contact EVGA regarding possible compatability
issues. Any comments or solutions???

Thanks in advance

PS. I have MCE 2002 on my laptop and I love it. I have seen where there
could be improvements, so I am curious about MCE 2005.


"Nigel Barker" wrote:

> On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:11:03 -0700, "MCE_might_not_be_for_me"
> <MCE_might_not_be_for_me@discussions.microsoft.com > wrote:
>
> >Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
> >I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
> >computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
> >were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
> >until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled "Windows
> >Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no discs
> >other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
> >skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in Windows,
> >SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
> >discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
> >Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
> >
> >I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
> >obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that it
> >was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
> >that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs that
> >would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as they
> >had never heard of such a problem.
> >I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
> >downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
> >for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD. A
> >suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
> >center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and my
> >newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc I
> >put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
> >various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as I
> >could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
> >still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in sight,
> >as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
> >with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
> >the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
> >form my HTPC.
> >
> >Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
> >I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> > MCE might not be for me
>
> This is the commonest single problem reported in this newsgroup with regard to
> installing MCE 2005. The installation dialogue is ambiguous. In fact when you
> are requested for the Windows XP SP2 disk you should re-insert disk 1. Disk 1
> _is_ Windows XP with SP2. By providing the SP2 disk you have actually screwed up
> your installation. You will need to reformat & reinstall but after that you will
> have no problems.
>
> --
> Nigel Barker
> Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur
>

thanks this was what i was looking for

koen


"MCE_might_not_be_for_me" wrote:

> Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with it.
> I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my old
> computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
> were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install ok
> until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled "Windows
> Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no discs
> other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
> skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in Windows,
> SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
> discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and Outlook
> Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
>
> I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they had
> obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that it
> was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
> that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs that
> would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as they
> had never heard of such a problem.
> I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
> downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found one
> for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto CD. A
> suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
> center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs and my
> newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc I
> put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations of
> various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as I
> could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop is
> still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in sight,
> as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am left
> with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to mention
> the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
> form my HTPC.
>
> Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
> I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> MCE might not be for me
>

Not sure what you asking about, but if you are having the problem listed
below, don't follow the procedure the OP mentioned. You don't need any other
disc except the two that came with the OEM setup of MCE. You use the first
disc, then when prompted, put in the MCE disc, then go back to the first
disc. The instructions are a bit confusing, when it asks for the Windows SP2
disc, it means the first disc (which is Windows with SP2).
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL

"kenko" <kenko@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6A9B4A66-1D90-4E73-9374-66A43617ACB9@microsoft.com...
> thanks this was what i was looking for
>
> koen
>
>
> "MCE_might_not_be_for_me" wrote:
>
>> Recently I purchased a new custom built system, I bought MCE 2005 with
>> it.
>> I took the system home and put one of my old hard drives in it from my
>> old
>> computer. I then tried to install the MCE onto it from the 2 discs which
>> were in the sealed MCE 2005 OEM package. I getting through the install
>> ok
>> until the installer program requested that I insert the disc labeled
>> "Windows
>> Service Pack 2", well I searched through the package, and there were no
>> discs
>> other than the 2 MCE discs in the double pouch provied by Microsoft. I
>> skipped that since I did not have the disc, I figured that once in
>> Windows,
>> SP2 would update from Microsoft via the net. Well, once in Windows I
>> discovered that IE had not installed properly and did not work and
>> Outlook
>> Express was screwed. There was no way to update via the net.
>>
>> I emailed microsoft using my laptop requesting the SP2 Disc which they
>> had
>> obviously forgot to package in my MCE 2005 package. Their reply was that
>> it
>> was the OEMs problem and that they should deal with it.. The OEM told me
>> that they don't sell many of the MCE 2005 and don't have any SP2 discs
>> that
>> would come packaged with my MCE, they really didn't have any answer as
>> they
>> had never heard of such a problem.
>> I took things into my own hands and searched Microsoft's website for a
>> downloadable Service Pack 2 complete, and not the autoupdate. I found
>> one
>> for IT Profesionals and downloaded it expanded it then burned it onto
>> CD. A
>> suggestion that the "helpfull" person at Microsoft's impeckable support
>> center did not make. Well, I tried a fresh install with the MCE discs
>> and my
>> newly minted SP2 disc. When the installing proggy asked for the SP2 disc
>> I
>> put it in, it was fine for a bit then started asking for the locations
>> of
>> various CAB files and other files. I ended up skipping a few of these as
>> I
>> could not find them... My Windows MCE 2005 installed on my new desktop
>> is
>> still totally screwed up and it looks like there is no resolution in
>> sight,
>> as Microsoft and the OEM seem to have washed their hands of it. I am
>> left
>> with useless software which I paid more than $200 bucks for not to
>> mention
>> the MCE 2005 certified hardware video encoder I bought to use with MCE to
>> form my HTPC.
>>
>> Anyone else had a similar problem? How did you fix it? Any suggestions?
>> I don't see how this problem I am having could be my fault.
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>> MCE might not be for me
>>