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Download and Install Windows Media Center for Windows 10

ByUsman Khurshid August 31, 2022 5:53 PM PKT
62 Comments

Microsoft removed Windows Media Center from Windows 10. It is only available for Windows 8.1 or earlier. Windows…

Microsoft removed Windows Media Center from Windows 10. It is only available for Windows 8.1 or earlier. Windows 10 users can get Windows Media Center (WMC) from unofficial sources which we will describe in this article.

Table of contents

What is Windows Media Center?

Download Windows Media Center for Windows 10

Install Windows Media Center on Windows 10

What is Windows Media Center?

Windows Media Center is an all in one multimedia app for recording and playing videos and audio. One of the main benefit of Windows Media Center is that it can play streaming video onto the computer or the television from services like Netflix.

Technically, Windows Media Center is a media player just like Windows Media Player but with more functionality. Additional functionality includes playing TV through TV Tuner, recording, DVD Player, old MPEG-2 video support, etc.

You can learn more about Windows Media Center on Wikipedia.

Most of the times, WMC was used as a DVD player. That’s why Microsoft has replaced Windows Media Center with a DVD player app in Windows 10. The DVD player app can be installed through Windows Store.

Some people have extracted Windows Media Center files from earlier versions of Windows and created an installer to install Windows Media Center on Windows 10. You can download Windows Media Center from below:

Windows Media Center for Windows 10 (Version 8.8.4) (86.2 MiB, 35,318 hits)

Note: Please note that this is a custom installation and is not from Microsoft itself. I have scanned it for viruses and have not found anything. I have also installed the executable on multiple systems and encountered no issues. I have installed it on Windows 10 version 1809 and Windows 10 version 1903 without any issues.

Once you have downloaded the WHC set from above mentioned link, you can install it on your Windows 10 system. Here is how:

Extract the downloaded zip file to a folder and run the files as follows:

Run _TestRights.cmd with administrative privileges. This will open a new command prompt window.

Run InstallerBlue.cmd to install blue skin of WMC or InstallerGreen.cmd to install green skin of WMC.

Once the installation is complete, open Windows Media Center from the Start Menu.

Windows Media Center

Using Windows Media Center is the same as the original one. All functionality of WMC will be intact and you can use any feature for free.

If you want to uninstall Windows Media Center, just run Uninstaller.cmd from the extracted folder.

Do you like Windows Media Center? Or you use alternatives for WMC? Let us know in the comments below.

Also see:

Download iTunes Offline Installers [All Versions]

Download BlueStacks Offline Installers

Download Media Feature Pack For Windows 10 N/KN All Versions

How to Install Media Feature Pack in Windows 11 N/KN Editions

How To Download & Install New Media Player For Windows 11

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Post Tags: #Software Updates

Usman Khurshid

Usman Khurshid is a seasoned IT Pro with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. He has experience in everything from IT support, helpdesk, sysadmin, network admin, and cloud computing. He is also certified in Microsoft Technologies (MCTS and MCSA) and also Cisco Certified Professional in Routing and Switching.

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62 Comments

Md. Ruhul Amin Khan says:

at

I followed the instructions in the page on my Dell Inspiron N5110 with Windows 10 Pro version 21H2 build 19044.1706, but to my utter surprise I find that Windows DVD Player has been installed. What went wrong, expect your reply please.

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Anthony says:

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Doesn’t seem to work for Windows 10 21h1. Any advice? Thank you!

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Michael says:

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There’s a later version that works on 21H1 and 21H2. This should be the link.
https://archive.org/details/wmc-v-8.8.5
That link should be based on the version that I use. It’s on The Green Button website and that’s the version that works for me. I’m on Windows 21H2.
https://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13188
.

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hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh says:

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WHAT!?!?!?! THERE’S NOW A ERROR SAYS “Cannot open Windows Media Center”

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hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh says:

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It downloaded but in didin’t open WMC. Please fix this.

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David Bonin says:

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Is there an installer for 32 bit systems????

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Jesse Marshall says:

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I just installed version 8.8.5 on Windows 11 21H2. It runs without issue and worked great on last version of Windows 10 prior to upgrade to windows 11. If you have it installed prior to upgrade to Windows 11 you will have to reinstall it.

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EaglesFanDan says:

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Worked Great. Thank you for all you do to help your fellow computer users like myself. Its guys like your self that can really help when your in a bind or just looking to learn new stuff so thank you and good luck.

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wynford says:

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Does not work under Windows 10 20H2

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ninnin says:

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I have installed Windows Media Center version 8.8.4 on Windows 10 version 1909 without any problem.

Note: If your WMC v 8.8.4 stop working after Windows update, run Uninstaller.cmd (need reboot windows) and reinstall it again…

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Guest 6801 says:

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Hey! Can You Fix this problem. I cant open it and its still say error. Please Help! Thank you!

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Gilbert says:

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Does this work with the latest Windows 10 build (2004)? I just tried it and after install, clicking on the icon nothing happens

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Bengt says:

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I experienced the same thing when build 2004 came.

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Usman Khurshid says:

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I haven’t tried it on Windows 10 Version 2004 but my gut says that it should work as Versions 1909 and 2004 share the same kernel. Anyways, I’ll test it out and let you know about this.

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David says:

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My W10 was ‘automatically’ upgraded from v.1909 to v.2004 this morning and WMC v 8.8.4 stop working. It(W10) won’t launch the WMC.

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Usman Khurshid says:

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I’ll check this out on my upgraded PC and will let you know soon.

David says:

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Thank you, hope you will find the solution to this problem.

Trina says:

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Did you ever get a chance to test it out on Version 2004? I just tried installing it and it has installed but it won’t open. Did try a restart just to see if that would work but no go.

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tsd says:

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You need to install WMC version 8.8.5 and this works on 20H2. You can find it on the Green Button forum.

wynford says:

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WMC 8.8.5 does sort of work on Windows 10 build 20H2, but no matter which option I use, I can’t get any TV channels… we have all digital channels here. I get the same message as Juli gets… ‘All tv tuners are currently in use.’

Teza says:

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I can not get it to work on a fresh install of a new build machine. it will install but not load when you click the icon.

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Ted says:

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Hello
Same problem WMC is not working on Windows 2004. Tried ununstall and reinstall still not working. What did you find out?

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Juli says:

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Hi i installed on win 10 but I plugged the cable tv and get an error saying
All tv tuners are currently in use. To change the channel, seletc the program…. etc
How can i make it work

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SG Martin says:

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Usman, you wrote “Using Windows Media Center is the same as the original one. All functionality of WMC will be intact … I have tested it on Windows 10 Version 1903 and even on the latest Windows Insider build and it works absolutely fine.” The main “functionality” we use is to receive our Comcast cable service via HD Home Run tuners (which have a cable card validated by Comcast), and to record/play content we get with that service (basically a cable DVR, with our program guide purchased from EPG, since MS no longer provides that service). When you say “All functionality” works the same and has been tested, does this include 1) HD Home Run cable-card tuners and 2) DVR functionality? Thanks.

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SG Martin says:

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PS: From what I’ve seen and read, I don’t believe Windows 10 and WMC will ever co-exist for DRM use and that users like me will have to stick to Windows 7 and 8.1 until there’s a full replacement for WMC with DRM and that may never happen (unless one considers going to 100% on-demand streaming as a replacement; I do not).

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Thomas says:

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i can’t for the life of me connect it to my xbox 360. Can you please explain why? thanks

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Ena says:

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Hi! It says it’ll only run on 64-bit systems. There’s a 32-bit system version? Thanks in advance

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Flávio says:

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Hi I’m also having a problem, does anyone have a solution?

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Royseber says:

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I just installed it and I can get all the OTA channels as in WIN 7 but the video is all jerky and stuttery. Are my codecs out of wack?

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Royseberg says:

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Wait! I just launched it again and it’s fine. It must have been some momentary interference on my antenna

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Matt says:

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I can confirm that the WMC 8.8.4 build available from here
https://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/viewtopic.php?f=97&t=12314

works for me on Win 10 version 1909 with no additional configuration required.

As mentioned above, I have to swtich off “Retrieve CD album art, media information for DVDs…” in the Automatic Download Options to avoid having WMC crash when I enter the music library. My guess is that the service WMC talks to is probably no longer available and WMC hasn’t been coded to gracefully handle that.

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Usman Khurshid says:

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Hi Matt, thanks a lot for the update. I have updated the download link to direct it to the latest version which is 8.8.4.

Reply

Matt says:

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You’re welcome, thanks for the article ????

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RoySeberg says:

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It runs beautifully on my install but unfortunately it crashes catastrophically when clicking the exit button after playing a recorded TV program. Uninstalled and re-installed and the crash still occurs.

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Brendan says:

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I had a HTPC built in early 2015. This is mainly used for watching TV and recording TV. We do sometimes stream music from it, but use VLC media player for that. The HTPC came with Win 7 and media centre, and that has worked well for us. Now I hear that Microsoft will end support for Win & and that the program guide for media centre will also cease, so we will be unable to watch or record TV. This is just over 4 years since I purchased Win & and media centre. How can Microsoft justify taking my money then 4 years later render the product unusable?
I was advised to install something called Kodi. I did but it doesn’t work properly and we cannot watch TV with it. A waste of my time/
I feel utterly ripped off by Microsoft.

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Matt says:

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Yes, it’s a pest. Kodi is a fantastic product but none of the alternatives do the tv functionality (including configuration) in such an integrated way.

For Kodi you need to install a back end tv server. Media Portal is probably one of the best alternatives for tv functionality.

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RoySeberg says:

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Updated my Nvidia Graphic card drivers but WMC keeps crashing with the blue screen of death when exiting playback of a recorded TV. Anybody else experiencing this phenomena? (Windows 10 vers. 1903)

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giuseppe says:

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Good morning I installed the program windos media center but the moment to see the tv you can see the screen of the channel with the time but the transmission does not start, for a while turn the cursor and then close everything from what can depend?

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John M says:

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I have recently upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10. I downloaded and installed the WMC modification from this page. Everything looks good running the WMC, but, like some others, I cannot view any recordings or go to live tv from the guide. Has anyone got any suggestions?

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Freddy says:

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VLC player plays .wtv files. Try it.

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Mike says:

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I have installed WMC, apparently without incident but cannot get picture or sound from within the program. However, recordings to work correctly.

I believe that the configuration of the program is correct. Can you suggest any remedial action?

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Michael says:

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I have set up WMC but get no picture or sound. However, recordings do work.

I’m pretty sure the configuration is correct. Any ideas?

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Terry says:

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I have been running Windows Media Center using Xbox extender for 8 years. It is now time to upgrade my OS Win 7 to 10. I installed a fresh copy of Windows 10 on another computer to try and make sure it will work when I convert over to Win 10.

WMC is able to retrieve the recorded files,& play music, however, it stops running and give an error and asks if you want to run a debugger. I don’t have a debugger. I tried this on another Win 10 machine and it fails with a decoder error.

Please Help!

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Arthur Sisson says:

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I have an ASUS laptop with Win7 OS and a DTV card pre-installed.
I was confident in upgraded to Win10 knowing that your program WMC-V8.8.4
should keep DTV functioning.
Unfortunately I have having some issues in loading this program.
When I run the _TestRights.cmd file I get a blank black cmd box followed by a windows task box asking if I give permission for this program to make changes to Win10 OS. I select the ‘Yes’ box and then both the Windows task box and the blank cmd box disappear. I have tried to run the WMC program several but have the same result. I would appreciate your assistance

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Tom Phillips says:

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I have been hoping that someone would pick up on the program when micro soft ended it. It has been a mystery how it never caught on.

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Clutch says:

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I installed your version just after Windows updated my PC today to 1903. It installs nice. Luv seeing the little icon images back in the recorded listings. This time I installed the “Green”. Version. Problem is nothing plays? None of my recorded WMC nor any live “over the air” channels which I have around two dozen? Have no idea what the problem could be. I think I saw a WMCv8.8.4 version on a French website but can’t get the download link to work. I think it is trying to translate to English and is blanking out the whole webpage? Help!

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Mike says:

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Having just upgraded fron Windows 7, I really missed thw WMC and this superb to get it back
on Windows 10. Everybody I asked said there was no way to get WMC on Windows 10. This has just proved them all wrong. Setup was very easy and everything is working as it did in Windows 7
Can’t thank you enough for taking the time and trouble to bring this to Windows 10.
Once again thanks a million!!!!

Reply

Gerry B says:

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Installed fine but usin HD Homerun it does not find any tuners. Any ideas on what the oproblem is?

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john benedetto says:

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does the remote control still work

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Matt says:

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It’s such a pity that this application was withdrawn as the interface so well designed and integrated – particularly with the built-in tv tuner functionality. Microsoft concluded that there wasn’t enough demand to make it viable so haven’t sought to maintain it.

For those using it on Windows 10, I believe you need to install the LAV filters to enable playback of much of the content, but I also found the TV functionality seemed to be broken under the later builds of Windows 10 and this seems to still be the experience for most commentators here.

You can still buy it as an added feature under Windows 8.1 for $10 and it generally still works well aside from the possible need to untick the Retrieve CD album art, media information for DVDs…. setting as it causes Media Center to crash when you enter the Music section; (well at least it does for me and others). I’ve stuck with Windows 8.1 so I have the option of running it. I’d have stuck with Windows 7 if it would painlessly install on later hardware :)

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Stan says:

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Where can you “still buy it as an added feature under Windows 8.1 for $10”? I don’t think that’s correct, but I would love to be wrong!

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Matt says:

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In the control panel there was an “add features to windows” icon. I’m assuming it’s still there.

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Matt says:

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Re: Music. It appears to be an issue with the update service – perhaps the address has changed or something like that.

You’ll need to disable that function by unticking Retrieve CD album art, media information for DVDs… (Within Windows Media Center > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options) and instead use Windows Explorer and Windows Media Player to manage your library.

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Richard Flipp says:

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II installed 1903 and it appeared all was ok until I went to watch tv and it would jump to the desktop screen? I have a triple boot (8.1,10 and10)and all was good on 1809 It now is still good on 8.1 But on10 (1903) I had to roll back the driver to get sound.
I can watch a dvd, I get the guide but when I click on a channel it flashs back to the desktop. It was a fresh install of 1903

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Bill says:

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I have installed WMC in Windows 10 1903 and it seems to be working with the exception of the cursor. The cursor is not visible but movement seems to occur as things light up as the cursor passes over them..The mouse is USB and works fine with all the windows screens. Need advice.

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Emiliano says:

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Thanks a lot. But where did you put the file (.xml) where the scheduled recordings are written? It would be useful to know this during a system migration or a simple reinstallation of the program.

Reply

Mike says:

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Can’t Scan TV channels WMC gets stuck near the end of examining channels.
When I hit back or cancel it gets stuck with the spinning circle and I can’t close the program.

Tuners are Win tv quad HD and Win tv HVR-2255
I’ve tried for 3 days and nothing works. Using windows home single language
Version 1903 Build 18362.239
On windows 7 everything works fine

Reply

Matthew Goldsmith-Pollak says:

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Thanks for download but it crashes when I try to play a TV channel in Windows 1903

Reply

Willem Lievaart says:

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I have installed this WMC version on my PC but I when I want to update any library in WMC I get a notification that WMC is missing some files and must be restarted again. I have to close it down again and again so it won’t work for me,

Reply

Noku Tessoko says:

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My WMC always closes itself in the music menu. I can only reproduce them through the search, if I enter the menu with the location of my media files, it closes. Otherwise, the other functions work.

Reply

Rasa says:

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Thank You So Much .I Like lovely Widows Media Center.

Reply

Janet says:

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Thank you. Love Windows Media Center.

Reply

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