W8 Media Center Pack - Reinstall After W8 Reinstall?

tprothro1

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i've decided to go ahead and reinstall w8pro given my extensive messing around with it has finally caused some quirky, unexpected results - it's a relatively new installation, so it shouldn't be too much of a hassle, didn't get a chance to install a lot of third party programs and such. the thing is, i did purchase and install the w8 media center pack - how do i go about getting this back? do i have to contact ms? i'm fairly certain that i don't have an activation number for the pack, if i recall i just paid for it online and then was allowed to download it and install it.

also, i thought i would go ahead and do a clean install all over again as opposed to a reset or refresh given i want to make certain that i'm starting from scratch again... or do you think a reset or refresh might be the better option (i'm not concerned about keeping any personal settings or files intact). any advice would be appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    hp z1
    CPU
    xeon 1245
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 675m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    several: ssd, hybrid, ide, etc.
    Case
    aio
    Browser
    maxthon
    Antivirus
    defender/ mbam pro
They will have given you a Product Key for it - Just reinstall Windows 8 and then get Media Center again using the same Product Key, it's yours now. After you install it, the Media Center Key will be your new OS key.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
A clean install is your best and quickest bet. Realizing Windows Media Center is a handy way to play DVD's in Windows 8, however, it's another 'shadow' library and is a terrible resource hog but, if you paid 10 bucks for it, you may as well use it. VLC Media Player is an efficient alternative. Keep both product keys if you have them.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion
  • PC2
    Tablet - Windows 10 Home
Windows 8 made it easy to recover from mistakes and bad tweaking..

go to (SETTINGS) then choose (CHANGE PC SETTINGS) on the bottom right

goto (GENERAL)

find (REFRESH YOUR PC WITHOUT AFFECTING YOUR FILES)

or choose (REMOVE EVERYTHING AND REINSTALL WINDOWS)

Ive never tried this so im curious to know if its easier or faster than a format and clean install.

The first option claims only the programs you installed and settings changes you made will be removed. Docs & settings should stay intact..

But backup what you want, dont rely on other's opinions..

Brooklyn!




 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 & Windows 7 Dual Boot
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP G60
    CPU
    AMD Turion RM-70 Dual Core 2.0 GHZ
    Memory
    3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8200M G
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Mouse
    MS Intellipoint 5 button (love it!)
    Browser
    Chrome and Chromium
    Antivirus
    Avast Free & Malwarebytes
geez, finally located my purchase confirmation email that included the product key, wasn't able to find it first because the email search terms i was using were, as it turns out, actually jpegs in the email, not text, go figure... anyway, prior to locating it, i used belrac, it returned the same product key that i found in the email. tried jelly bean before belrac, which always worked for my windows installations in the past, but it couldn't come up with it.

re wmc - the reason i'm most interested in it is because of its live tv interface, which i like, much nicer than hauppauge's wintv ui imo, which feels circa late '90s. i would really like to use elgato's ui, it appears to be a very elegant solution, but it apparently requires substantial tweaking in order to get it to work with hauppauge hardware.

re vlc, have used it for years, just a great, unobtrusive player. but recently i have started using splayer, which i really like so far, lightweight, plays everything, superfast... allplayer looks interesting as well.

re install, thanks for seconding a clean install, was a tad on the fence but, like i said, i don't have a ton of programs installed, and i put most everything on my non-os drive, so might as well, shouldn't be very taxing.

quick question - i recently happened across what appeared to be a windows 8 start menu add-on, that also allows you to open modern apps in separate windows, the webiste home page features a video at the top of the page which shows it in action. it's not the usual suspects, ie. start8 (with modernmix), retroui, classic menu, etc., it appeared to be a new entry. anyway it looked very slick but for the life of me i can't find it again, thought i had committed it to memory so i didn't bookmark the page, any ideas what this program might be?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    hp z1
    CPU
    xeon 1245
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 675m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    several: ssd, hybrid, ide, etc.
    Case
    aio
    Browser
    maxthon
    Antivirus
    defender/ mbam pro
I've done a reinstall through 'Metro' PC Settings; took 6 hours! Apparently MS 'wipes' your partition(s) and resets everything. (and that was only for a 650GB HD)
Windows 8 made it easy to recover from mistakes and bad tweaking..

go to (SETTINGS) then choose (CHANGE PC SETTINGS) on the bottom right

goto (GENERAL)

find (REFRESH YOUR PC WITHOUT AFFECTING YOUR FILES)

or choose (REMOVE EVERYTHING AND REINSTALL WINDOWS)

Ive never tried this so im curious to know if its easier or faster than a format and clean install.

The first option claims only the programs you installed and settings changes you made will be removed. Docs & settings should stay intact..

But backup what you want, dont rely on other's opinions..

Brooklyn!




 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion
  • PC2
    Tablet - Windows 10 Home
I've done a reinstall through 'Metro' PC Settings; took 6 hours! Apparently MS 'wipes' your partition(s) and resets everything. (and that was only for a 650GB HD)
Windows 8 made it easy to recover from mistakes and bad tweaking..

go to (SETTINGS) then choose (CHANGE PC SETTINGS) on the bottom right

goto (GENERAL)

find (REFRESH YOUR PC WITHOUT AFFECTING YOUR FILES)

or choose (REMOVE EVERYTHING AND REINSTALL WINDOWS)

Ive never tried this so im curious to know if its easier or faster than a format and clean install.

The first option claims only the programs you installed and settings changes you made will be removed. Docs & settings should stay intact..

But backup what you want, dont rely on other's opinions..

Brooklyn!




yes, a quick a google returns plenty of horror stories about users who have done "simple" resets or refreshes and wish they hadn't... anyway, my first install was so quick, no need to test the reset or refresh waters this time around.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    hp z1
    CPU
    xeon 1245
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 675m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    several: ssd, hybrid, ide, etc.
    Case
    aio
    Browser
    maxthon
    Antivirus
    defender/ mbam pro
I don't tell people to do something unless I've done it myself, or I'll tell them that I've heard about it but have not done it myself...
And even if I did do it, still backup what you want to keep...

Was that start menu button called Stardock Start 8?

Youre gonna have to google Windows 8 start button add-on, and muddle through til you find it..

Ive been putting my data on a separate drive since i had a seagate 277-R ( thats MFM-RLL) Pre-IDE died on me, and took many hours to manually recover each file after a platter swap.. The good ole days! lol

Brooklyn!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 & Windows 7 Dual Boot
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP G60
    CPU
    AMD Turion RM-70 Dual Core 2.0 GHZ
    Memory
    3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8200M G
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Mouse
    MS Intellipoint 5 button (love it!)
    Browser
    Chrome and Chromium
    Antivirus
    Avast Free & Malwarebytes
no, as i mentioned, it wasn't start8 or the other usual suspects - in fact, it wasn't any of these frequently referenced start menu add-ons:

9 Windows Start menus for Windows 8 | Microsoft Windows - InfoWorld

i'm under the impression that it's a new entry to the game and that's why it's so hard to find, because the other usual suspects dominate search results, very hard to get past them. anyway, was hoping that my vague description of their website might ring a bell or two, a long shot i know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    hp z1
    CPU
    xeon 1245
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    gtx 675m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    several: ssd, hybrid, ide, etc.
    Case
    aio
    Browser
    maxthon
    Antivirus
    defender/ mbam pro
If Jellybean will no longer dredge up your full product key from Windows, use Aida64, which used to be Everest. They have a trial version, I don't know if the trial has the ability to look up your full key.

It will be under "Operating System"

aida64.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
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