[DISCUSSION] Patch WMC to run on Windows 10 final & possible alternatives

Discussion in 'Windows 10' started by ricktendo64, May 8, 2015.

  1. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    The latest version available is the 8.8.12 package you can find in my previous post. It includes all the bug fixes necessary to use WMC on the most recent Windows 11 builds + some QoL improvements like per-monitor High-DPI support for WMC.
    I used to recommend Gary's .msi-based installer to beginners but with the latest installer improvements (e.g the ability to backup and update WMC using a single script), the .zip-based package is now the most flexible option for everyone, IMHO.

    Nice catch! I must admit I've never noticed it (and yeah, it was introduced a long time ago, way before I started maintaining that branch :rofl:).
    We all have our pet peeves so I'll make sure it's fixed in the next release:sailor:
     
  2. Cali4niaWK

    Cali4niaWK MDL Member

    Feb 13, 2010
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    I've actually noticed it for a very long time, but just always modified the bin file myself, I keep up with the updates now and noticed it wasn't fixed and since you update it all the time I figured I would pop in and ask about it. Thanks again for your continued work on this.
     
  3. Delphiwizard

    Delphiwizard MDL Novice

    Sep 12, 2015
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    Thanks! Not really a "beginner" though, been using Mediacenter since it was included in that special Windows XP release and i am a experience developer ;)
    Does the problem i described ring a bell to you?
     
  4. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    Not really, TBH. What's the exact symptom? Do you see an error?
    Have you tried installing a recent WMC package to see if it makes any difference?
     
  5. Delphiwizard

    Delphiwizard MDL Novice

    Sep 12, 2015
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    Here's the problem i'm having during recordings.

     
  6. Delphiwizard

    Delphiwizard MDL Novice

    Sep 12, 2015
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    i'll remove again and try with the latest 8.8.2 first.
     
  7. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    I saw your message, but "i cannot record from a protected belgian channel on astra 3 and watch another channel from astra 3" is a bit vague: what happens concretely? Is there an error message somewhere?

    8.8.2 was released 8 years ago and is completely outdated.
     
  8. Delphiwizard

    Delphiwizard MDL Novice

    Sep 12, 2015
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    Oh right, thanks, i was seeing it as 2 being short for '20' and thus bigger then 12, different way of versioning, all good, thanks Kevin i'll give 8.8.12 a go
    The error...WMC then says it can't get a signal on the channel.
    Anyway let's try the newer version first.
     
  9. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    Don't forget to make a WMC backup (and a system backup, ideally). Just in case :roflmao:
     
  10. Minalic

    Minalic MDL Novice

    Apr 15, 2026
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    Hi everyone, are there any way to install Windows 10 build 10143 Media Center on modern windows, It's the final version has WMC.
     
  11. Prsa01

    Prsa01 MDL Novice

    Dec 8, 2019
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    #10971 Prsa01, Apr 20, 2026
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2026
    Quick question, Kevin - If I want to switch from the Windows msi to your batch version do I need to do anything more (or less) than:

    ?? Backup wmc DB (epg123 or other)
    Create restore point + Macrium image
    Windows App uninstall WMC
    Install your latest batch version ?(or use the new update option)?
    ??Restore WMC DB (epg123 or other)

    Do I have to go back thru the initial setup (tuners, channels, etc)?
    Is DB retained or reset?

    Other considerations I'm missing?

    Thanks much!

    ***Update***

    Turned out my "live" system was running a (probably) very old version of the batch file install so I went ahead and did "update.cmd" from 8.8.12. Observations (note, these may all be as expected/designed)

    FYI only
    o Did not appear to retain existing mini-mods settings (e.g. "start windowed")
    o Did not appear to retain wmc guide tweaks (rows per page, etc) initially set using epg123Client

    After reinstalling and running the most recent mini-mods install the "start wmc windowed" was back
     
  12. Prsa01

    Prsa01 MDL Novice

    Dec 8, 2019
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    On a similar note to the above, for installing windows updates, is it sufficient to

    0) do requisite restore point/backups/disk image

    1) Install windows updates
    2) If issues
    -----2a) execute update (or uninstall/reinstall)

    Or is this necessary

    1) Uninstall wmc
    2) Install windows updates (reboots, etc)
    3) Reinstall (?or update?) wmc

    Thanks
     
  13. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    #10973 Kévin Chalet, Apr 20, 2026
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2026
    Your migration plan is great, but I'd strongly recommend using the BackupSettings.cmd script to back up the WMC registry/database/event logs. Last time I checked, the backup done by epg123 was extremely limited so I wouldn't recommend using it for that.

    Yeah, it's pretty much by design: the Update.cmd script eventually calls Install.cmd, which restores the original .dlls (that are part of the installer package) in the ehome folder. While the backup+restore steps will preserve the WMC mini-mods settings in the registry, the modded .dlls aren't restored, hence the need to re-execute the WMC mini-mods patcher after updating.

    Note: I'm considering shipping WMC mini-mods directly as part of the .zip-installer branch in future versions - possibly with a new/distinct name (what about "WMC with mini-mods installer" 1.0? :boxing:) - which should simplify things a lot by making this step unnecessary.

    Regarding the update strategy, I'm personally using the first approach you mentioned on all my machines: I used to disable automatic updates on my Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 HTPCs just in case, but I haven't seen a regression in a long time and I've re-enabled automatic updates a few months ago.
     
  14. jns6221

    jns6221 MDL Novice

    Apr 18, 2026
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    Hi kevin any way to port wmcchannels program to vista ? Ive been looking on it , has diffrent set of dlls than 7 wmc
     
  15. Kévin Chalet

    Kévin Chalet MDL Member

    Apr 11, 2019
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    Hey,

    Likely not impossible, but not exactly trivial: you'll first need to tweak the code to use a different JSON serializer (System.Text.Json is fairly recent and even the oldest versions require at least .NET Framework 4.6.1, which is, IIRC, not compatible with Vista... at least officially). Once done, you'll need to re-target the app to .NET Framework 4.6 (instead of 4.8). If there are missing APIs in the Vista flavor of WMC, you'll also need to rewrite the code to avoid using them.

    Any particular reason for not using Windows 7 or 10/11?

    Cheers.
     
  16. jns6221

    jns6221 MDL Novice

    Apr 18, 2026
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    well i was only looking into it for nostalgic reasons. otherwise i use on windows 7. also i just want to say i just got 1 channel using real dvb frequency to tune up through scanning in windows 11 wmc. in which the total of 4 channels the rest didnt scan up. it was weird i was just curious and it streamed the channel in hdhr proxy for 20 secs then i saw the channel in the found list. this thing might come in handy in bypassing the program on vista to tune directly. well i will try it. anyway thanks