After Windows crashed and I used System Restore to restore to an earlier instance my Windows media Center no longer worked. So I tried to go through the Windows Media Center setup again and it failed at installing the Microsoft play ready process which is a digital rights management process that protects content providers from illegal copying.

I tried repairing Windows all the way back to a new state by running setup from my USB drive. That failed.

I looked on the web, and started doing to suggestions from various help sites.

Trial 1: (Not recommended)

Install the PlayReady runtime manually. It is available at

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=8198BE69-7109-4308-8AD6-369897B923D1&displaylang=en

I downloaded and installed the above file.

I rebooted the machine, and then went into Windows media Center to run TV set up again. This time it did not even go to the play ready screen.   So, far, so good?   No, it hung up on downloading TV setup data.  Time to try something else.

Trial 2: Disabling Windows Media Center and Then Re-enabling It (Recommended)

Open Windows Control Panel, open programs and features, and scroll down to media features. Expand media features, and deselect Windows media center.  You will be prompted to restart your computer. After restarting your computer, enable Windows media center.

This time Windows Media Center set up correctly.

© copyright 2013 Mark W Smith, all rights reserved.