Vista Media Centre users will find that their EPG will become corrupted over time without attending to critical hotfixes currently only available via manual patch updates. Users will also be affected by channels changing their digital signs (e.g. SBS altered its digital signage 4/6/07 resulting in loss of its EPG data and necessary rescans. Free-EPG reassigned names to the SBS channels). Microsoft has made available Hotfixes to stop certain registry keys being over-ridden affecting the EPG discovery integrity and a second fix to suppress opportunistic scanning which was corrupting set EPG channels (e.g. adding or renaming channels which in turn corrupted existing EPG listings and scheduled recordings). So, since it may be some time before Microsoft bring out an auto-update for regular 'Mum and Dad' users, as well as the "Unknown Discovery Service Error 14" message people may encounter if they have used a combination of Free-EPG / IceTV (where certain registry keys stick and fail to update), I provide the following proactive steps in one set of instructions.
New-comers to Vista Media Centre will also find the following procedures useful for implementing a Free working EPG from scratch.
These instructions should see Australian's through to the point where Microsoft release their auto 'Mum and Dad' updates.
1. Log on as Administrator. Disable mcupdate in the scheduled tasks if you have not already done so. Go to Control panel > System & Maintenance > Admin Tools> Task Scheduler. From the Task Scheduler Library pane, select Media Centre>mcupdate and click disable in the Actions pane. Restart your computer.
2. Uninstall any Keyguard service you may already have (e.g. Simuant which was available from
http://www.simuants.com/download/ant...ny_1_00_00.zip or Keep Key. It's no longer needed now that MS have released the Hotfix. Restart your computer. People with new VMCs will most probably not have either of these anyway, unless their rig builder put it on. Consult your supplier if you are unsure incase they have a ready made fix or have already performed step 2.
3. Obtain the Microsoft Hotfixes by ringing Australia's Microsoft Suport (or see below) on 132058 (Hit 1 for Tech Support and then 4 for Other Enquiries, and if you want to wait 5 mins hearing all the Terms and Conditions you'll hit 1!) Be prepared to give your name, phone number and email address. Ask for the Vista Media Centre EPG hotfixes
KB935685 and
KB938927. Instructions on downloading the hotfixes will be emailed. They will be download links, the files are zipped and the passwords (time controlled - so don't leave it for a couple of weeks to do!) are suppied in the emails. Once you download the files, make sure you unzip them first or you may end up with an error if it fails to extract on its own automatically. Later you will run the unzipped files, so remember where you put each one. Remember to ensure the registry fixes are set as the updates will not work otherwise.
If you wish to bypass contacting Microsoft directly, GlenR produced two excellent ready made download and auto-registry fixes for both:
Discovery Service Update Fix
KB935685
32 bit Version can be downloaded
here.
64 bit version can be downloaded
here.
Guide Corruption Fix
KB938927
32 bit Version can be downloaded
here.
64 bit version can be downloaded
here.
Double-click the .msu files to run each fix and when finished, double-click the .reg files to add the registry keys needed to activate each patch.
4. Register with FREE-EPG if you have not already done so. Go to
http://www.epgstream.net/FreeEPG/tabid/54/Default.aspx and click Register. They will email you your Username details and a verification code. You need to use the verification code when you log into their website and complete the Register/Setup process. Re-start your computer.
5. Once you have successfully registered with FREE-EPG, install the free EPG grabber. Go to
http://www.epgstream.net/FreeEPG/XPM...6/Default.aspx and download the Free-EPG Setup and run the Setup. You must ensure you have Internet Explorer for it to work. Use your registered name and activation code to complete the install. Close Media Centre and start it again.
6. Make sure your VMC is connected to the internet. In Media Centre, set up your guide by going to Tasks>Settings>TV>Guide>Setup Guide Listings. Enter the postcode of the major transmission city that services your area. If you get the "Unknown Discovery Service Error 14" message, see below. Otherwise, services will be downloaded and you should then be given several guide selections (e.g. Oztivo, Free-EPG, IceTV...). Select Free-EPG or Oztivo (I consider Oztivo to be the best free guide for program detail and usually having 4 to 7 days of programs at any one time). VMC will then scan for services and compile the channels in a list as it detects them. After it completes, close Media Centre, restart Media Centre and check to see how the channels and guide look. If it failed to scan all your services (e.g. in Adelaide there should be at least 25 services), or if you see channels missing from the scanned list, restart VMC and run through step 5 again.
7. Assign guide listings to channels by going to Tasks>Settings>TV>Guide>Add Listings to Channels. I had to force assign guide data to channel 1 (for ten listings) and channel 2 (for ABVTV listings). A word of warning, it has been noted by other users that rearranging channel order and renaming channels has caused conflict under certain conditions when the guide is updated so I advise not to reconfigure the default scanned channels beyond reassigning guide data. Go to Live TV and check your guide to see if it has set properly.
8. At this step, your guide will update automatically, however if you wish, you can manually download latest guide listings by going to Tasks>Settings>TV>Guide>Get Latest Guide Listings. Check to see if any change to the guide. There will probably be no change, but this action will confirm whether you were successful in maintaining a guide setup. I have noticed that Oztivo generally supplies a week's worth of data, updating around Friday/Saturday of each week. This community run operation does a magnificent job and if you would like to assist them, go to
http://minnie.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome .
9. This last step is optional. If you like the online content updating, turn mcupdate back on in the scheduled tasks by following step 1 above, restart your computer and check media Centre and its guide.
10. Finally, if the guide isn't updating automatically, check settings\general\automatic download options\Select Download method for guide and other windows media centre options - don't have it set to "Manual download"
Probable Cause and Fix where "Unknown Discovery Service Error 14" May Happen:
I spent several hours trying different combinations installing the above and noticed that the discovery error tended to appear when registry keys were left behind by another EPG service previously installed (e.g. BRP, IceTV, Free-EPG/Oztivo...). Hopefully, the order in which I have supplied above will account for people who only ever had one previously installed, however I did previously try out IceTV's 30 day trial earlier this year.
In the case of lingering IceTV settings, I had to reinstall their PIMP client and then uninstall it at step 5, restart the computer then repair the Free-EPG client by running the Free-EPG install again. After that, you must do step 5 again - hopefully it will now present you with Free-EPG's EPG offerings and then you can rescan for services.
If you STILL get the "Unknown Discovery Service Error 14", uninstall Free-EPG, restart your computer, reinstall Free-EPG and then perform Step 5 again.
Finally, if you discover your EPG suddenly missing channel(s) as the weeks go on - due to possible underlying bugs not yet discovered relating to the above hotfixes, first try "Scanning for More Services" rather than rescanning fully. I have found (but not all people reporting errors) that the EPG will recover the lost service(s) in the services list after a basic Settings>TV>Scan for More Services.
