Media Center Studio Workaround - Page 2

I have a dedicated server that I'd be willing to offer up to this cause.

Additionally, if anyone can contact the original programmer that worked on Media center studio, I'd be willing to buy his source code and site, if they are willing to sell it.

Seems like there's lot of interest (mine included) in this formerly great product.

Hit me on a pm to move forward.

Best,

cguy

Seems somebody over in the Australian Media Center Community may have a line on the developer. You might try posting your request over there.

http://www.pcmediacenter.com.au/foru...to-back-it-up/

Best of luck to you sir!

I have created a simple script to extract and create a shortcut to your desktop. You would just need 2 additional programs (one to extract the zip, and one to make the shortcut).

I have used 7-Zip (www(dot)7-zip(dot)org), and a tool called XXMkLink (www(dot)xxcopy(dot)com/xxcopy38.htm).

To use:
-make a folder
-put zip in folder
-from 7-zip copy the 7z.exe file (from the installed 7-zip program, typically c:\\program files\\7-zip)
-put the xxmklink.exe into the same folder

open notepad, paste the following:
Save the file to something like install.cmd (change the dropdown in notepad to all files for the file type)

Double click the batch file.

You now will have it installed to your user folder & a shortcut on your desktop.


Contents of the folder:
- 7z.exe
- Assassin's MCS Directory
- install.cmd
- xxmklink.exe

(I know I am too lazy to make it an AutoIT script, or a self-extracting zip, sorry) It's still better then doing it by hand if you need to install it on multiple machines, like myself.

Also, sorry for the URL's but I wanted to help and new to the site.

I don't have an .../apps or /2.0 folder either. Should I create these folders and then place the zip files?

Also, can someone please clarify if the MCSfix is required? Assassin did not list it in the OP, but some people mentioned installing both...

This is for a fresh install of WM7 not currently running MCS.

Thanks

MCSfix is reccommended if you want to edit your menus. Otherwise you will have to manually rename some .dll files to make you menu changes "stick". To simply change your theme/background it is not needed. As far as the rest goes, I'm not sure as I have not yet attempted this workaround on a fresh install.

As an alternative, you might want to try the MCE 7 Reset Toolbox mentioned earlier in this thread. A much more powerful tool that is being actively supported by its developer. It's not free but if I recall correctly there is a trial period and the price is quite reasonable.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the info Josh. I do want to change the menus, so I'll DL the fix.

Anyone else able to explain the missing folders in the appdata directory. Should I manually add them?

Hey guys. Anyone know what to do if the app and 2.0 folders are not listed in the appdata folder?

Basically, trying to install MCS and MCSfix on a fresh install of Win7 and want to know what steps are best to follow.

Thanks

TTT to see if someone can help. Thanks

Hey assasin do any changes made to wmc on pc also happen on the extenders?

same for me. I get up to appdata/local then nothing else listed in the instructions. No Apps folder within "Local".

Ok everyone, check out this post at the mediabrowser forums. A couple posts down, daspannerman has created an installer available for download. Best of luck to you all!

Unfortunately, MCE 7 Reset Toolbox does not seem nearly as intuitive, nor as capable at manipulating WMC's menu structure, as Media Center Studio was.

The installer file seems to have worked for me... Still messing around with it. Is there a link of pictures somewhere that shows all the various themes? And is there a tutorial on how to use this program to it's full potential?

Reference the links in post #2. They should provide some decent walkthroughs.

Also, FYI for those of you that didn't have the apps/2.0 folders...I just decided to create the folders manually. I then installed the MCSFix and setup the task manager to run the MCSFix after it runs the standard Media Center updates.

So far, I've been able to completely change the default menu structure and the changes have stuck.

The wife is finally happy that she doesn't have to see two "movie" libraries on the MC homepage. I changed the default Movie strip to Netflix and deleted all the other movie strip contents, so the only thing that shows in Netflix.

Hi Guys

First off many thanks to those responsible for resurecting this program.
I used it all the time but just done a reinstall and was devistated when my original loader didnt work

still cant get this ti work though

i run the 'installer' prog and everything looks fine but making any changes then causes MCE to crash on loading!

also i do not have:
C:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\eHome\\Packages\\MCEClientUX

no 'packages' inside the 'ehome' folder

Cheers

I wasn't able to get the installer to work, so I just dowloaded the zip file that Assassin posted and manually placed the zipped folder into the app/2.0 folder.

You will still need to edit the .dll files manually or instal the MCSFix to edit the menus.

Try this method and see if it works.

still no joy
only half the thread existed as for as 'Appdata' so i manually created the rest
also as said the same had to be done for the fix

program runs but as soon as you make any changes MCE then crashes on load

I use MCSFix when my menu resets, and it fixes the menu ok. But, each time I run it, it leaves a shortcut to "MCFSix" (yes it's spelled wrong) in my startup menu. The result is, the next time the pc boots, I will get an error and error log popping up because this is an invalid shortcut. Anyone know what is going on there and how to stop it? thanks

assasin, i followed your instructions after downloading your zip file however when i run "Media Center Studio.exe" i get a media center studio has stopped working error message. it doesnt actually manage to open.

i have tried running as admin, running in compatibility mode, i also tried the installer you linked which also didnt work.

just for reference, this is the full location: "C:\\Users\\myusername\\AppData\\Local\\Apps\\2.0\\mcst..tion _e7ba95bf63da1a4e_0000.0000_8295f17bcae6f0ac\\Media Center Studio.exe"

any help would be apreciated.

Joel

I'd go so far as to say even the latest v3.9.7 release of MCE7 Reset Toolbox is the most buggy pile of crap I've ever tried to use. Quality-wise it's an internal test version. Utter crap. Crashes way too often losing your changes.

Waste of time until it gets more stable. I'm on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and have tried the last 3 versions of MCE7 Reset Toolbox, with the latest version after a system wipe and fresh Windows installation.

Still, it's perfectly named. It's for MCE7 and it does indeed reset/crash often. Don't waste your money on this crap.

I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one confused with that program.

Also glad to see that Media Center Studio is working again.

I want more people to develop themes though, I haven't seen anything new for a long, long time.

Can this be used on Windows 7? The reason I ask is because I don't have the following file path:

Now move the unzipped directory to C:\\users\\*your_user_name*\\Appdata\\local\\Apps\\2.0\\mcst ..tion_ e7ba95bf63da1a4e_0000.0000_8295f17bcae6f0ac where "mcst..tion_e7ba95bf63da1a4e_0000.0000_8295f17bcae6f0ac" is the name of the directory that you just unzipped and pasted into that folder.

I can get to the local folder in that path but there is no 'Apps' folder within that. I do have the option to show hidden files enabled.

If someone can help me get this installed I can remove a lot of the bloat on WMC to make it easier for my wife to navigate since we only use a couple features on the home screen.

Thanks!

The "Apps" folder is hidden by default. Show hidden files and it will be there.

As I stated, I did that already. It's not there.

Make it.

Hey sievers, I was having the same problem and I came up with a quick fix for this quick fix. First, delete anything related to this from your Startup folder (the ErrorLog, mcsfix, mcfsix). If you don't have the original EXE, you'll need to either copy it out of your Startup before deleting or just redownload it. Put that anywhere in your system that's not in the Startup folder, like your User folder perhaps.

You're going to want to make a BAT file, so open Notepad. Put in the following lines:
@echo off
"[Location you just put it in]\\MCSFix.exe"
erase "C:\\Users\\[Username]\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup\\mcfsix.exe"

Change the location on the second line to the appropriate location and put your username in the third line. Save this as a .bat file and then either put this file or a shortcut to this file in your shortcut file. All it does is run the program, which creates the misspelled Startup entry. It then deletes that file immediately, so conflicts never come up, so that error never exists. It's not pretty, but it works. Without the source code or just remaking this fix, this is about the best I can do.

What is everyone using these days ? Still doing the work around ???

Someone made an installable version again.

where is that ???