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Greetings, This is a cross-post, my apologies to the moderators if it causes problems. I'm just not sure were I should post my question so . . . . A bit of history here. I recently built a new multimedia computer for a client with the following specs: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 65W Dual-Core Processor G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 1066 (PC2 8500) - 8GB RAM total EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card ZALMAN 750W Modular Heatpipe-Cooled Power Supply ASUS My Cinema-PHC3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/RC TV Tuner Card PCI Interface I have installed Vista Home Ultimate 64-bit on it and cannot get past the random blue screens caused by driver issues, all of the drivers are the most current that are available online. The system hardware has been extensively tested and there are no problems there. Everything should work except for the constant BSOD crashes. Needless to say my client is less than happy with his shiny new system and I am losing my butt on this one because of all of the time spent troubleshooting. I am ready to go back to the "tried and true" with Windows XP. What would be ideal is a Windows XP Pro 64-bit installation with MCE incorporated. The intent is to use it as a multimedia PC. If I go with the standard 32-bit MCE then all but 2.8 GB of RAM is wasted and if I go with Windows XP Pro 64-bit then there is no Media Center functionality. Is this possible? I did find a couple of posts regarding 64-bit XP with MCE integrated but the posts were several years old (2005-2006) and offered no useful information. I am certainly no stranger to slipstreaming Windows so any useful help at this point would be greatly appreciated! Peace, Gail

That was easy! Glad it ended well :-)

Hmm, if I were you I would backup your personal files and do a complete reformat and reinstall the system. In my experience trying to "fix" the aftermath of a mal-ware infestation is like chasing your tail, you may never get to the end of it.

Do you have the most current video drivers installed for your computer? Start with that and see if it helps. Also, you may want to use whatever video adjustment utility comes with the new driver instead of Windows desktop properties.

It sounds like you may not have the codecs for playing DVDs, maybe they were hosed with the update. If you still have the discs that came with the drives try reinstalling WinDVD, or Intervideo, or whatever player came with them. There are also some OpenSource solutions, try starting here: http://www.opensourcewindows.org/ or try http://softpedia.com to see about a DVD player. Windows Media Player, although it sets itself up as the default DVD player, is incapable of playing DVDs of there are no codecs for it installed on the system. Hope this info helps.

Greetings, I have many many times reinstalled Windows XP (Home/Pro/Pro with MCE integrated) from an OEM install disc onto a "branded" system. I use a boot utility disc to create a single partition of all space on the hard drive and then install from a slipstreamed OEM disc. Make sure to have a flash drive or a CD with all of the XP drivers on it from the manufacturers web site for finishing up hardware set up. It's really easy if you don't want to reinstall MCE since MCE is just Windows XP Pro with more multimedia bells and whistles. The only thing that you will need to do is telephone for activation because online activation will not work. When you call, the automated system will ask you if you've made any significant changes to your system such as a new hard drive or processor, say yes and the nice recorded voice will walk you through the steps to activate your system. That's it, there's nothing more to it and then you'll have a clean install without all of the "added value" software that clogs so many of these branded systems. And the clean install of WIndows XP will be legal to use with your license/key. Peace, Gail

Greetings, A bit of history here. I recently built a new multimedia computer for a client with the following specs: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 65W Dual-Core Processor G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM 1066 (PC2 8500) - 8GB RAM total EVGA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card ZALMAN 750W Modular Heatpipe-Cooled Power Supply ASUS My Cinema-PHC3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/RC TV Tuner Card PCI Interface I have installed Vista Home Ultimate 64-bit on it and cannot get past the random blue screens caused by driver issues, all of the drivers are the most current that are available online. The system hardware has been extensively tested and there are no problems there. Everything should work except for the constant BSOD crashes. Needless to say my client is less than happy with his shiny new system and I am losing my butt on this one because of all of the time spent troubleshooting. I am ready to go back to the "tried and true" with Windows XP. What would be ideal is a Windows XP Pro 64-bit installation with MCE incorporated. The intent is to use it as a multimedia PC. If I go with the standard 32-bit MCE then all but 2.8 GB of RAM is wasted and if I go with Windows XP Pro 64-bit then there is no Media Center functionality. Is this possible? I did find a couple of posts regarding 64-bit XP with MCE integrated but the posts were several years old (2005-2006) and offered no useful information. I am certainly no stranger to slipstreaming Windows so any useful help at this point would be greatly appreciated! Peace, Gail