Installing MCE On a new system

Sounds like problems with the second disk...you should have two CDs. The
first will ask for the second, but when the second one wants the first one
back in, it asks for the Windows XP SP2 disk (you just have to know to put
disk 1 back in). Also, make sure you use a Media Center key - if you use an
XP Pro key, you'll get XP Pro instead of Media Center...

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

"Trent" <Trent.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B2AE1777-93C3-4EA5-8A96-4FEFDC209EE1@microsoft.com...
>I just built my new pc and while installing OEM version of media center,
> encounteres some problems..
>
> Firstly, internet explorer and help and support etc doesnt appear to be
> there
> secondly, when i try to use instal shield wizard it says
>
> The installShield Engine (iKernal.exe) could not be launched.
> The RPC server is unavailable.
>
> Is this a problem with my install or my settings?
> please any help would be appreciated
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system 

OMG, OMG, OMG I have been trying to install XP MCE for two weeks now and have
been banging my head against a wall. I have been having the exact problem
described below so hopefully this will solve it. There was no SP II disk
included with the three install disks that I got so I tried to download the
SP II install from Microsoft and burn it to a disk to use. All the files on
this disk I created are compressed though so the installer couldn't see them
when it asked for the SP II disk. How the heck does MS expect an ordinary
user to know to put Install Disk 1 back in when it asks for the SP II disk?
Even at the very beginning of the process I had problems by (logically?)
taking the first disk in the stack and trying to start the install off it.
Well that's the MCE updates disk; Install Disk 1 *was at the bottom of the
stack*. That makes perfect sense, huh? I'm sorry but as a longtime Mac user I
have gotten used to doing things that just make sense and this experience
with Windows has been very frustrating. Hopefully things will go smoothly
with Dana's advice or I'll be back with more questions. I would have
contacted MS customer support but one page I navigated to said XP MCE 2005 no
longer receives customer support because it has reached the end of its
product life cycle. *Then how come they're still selling it?* I bought it new
a few weeks ago. Oi!

"Dana Cline - MVP" wrote:

> Sounds like problems with the second disk...you should have two CDs. The
> first will ask for the second, but when the second one wants the first one
> back in, it asks for the Windows XP SP2 disk (you just have to know to put
> disk 1 back in). Also, make sure you use a Media Center key - if you use an
> XP Pro key, you'll get XP Pro instead of Media Center...
>
> Dana Cline - MCE MVP
>
> "Trent" <Trent DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B2AE1777-93C3-4EA5-8A96-4FEFDC209EE1@microsoft.com...
> >I just built my new pc and while installing OEM version of media center,
> > encounteres some problems..
> >
> > Firstly, internet explorer and help and support etc doesnt appear to be
> > there
> > secondly, when i try to use instal shield wizard it says
> >
> > The installShield Engine (iKernal.exe) could not be launched.
> > The RPC server is unavailable.
> >
> > Is this a problem with my install or my settings?
> > please any help would be appreciated
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system 

Yes, the disk 1, disk 2, disk 1 switch during install is poorly worded, but
MS didn't expect "an ordinary user" to figure it out. MCE was (and still is)
sold only as an OEM product, not as a retail operation system, so it was
never intended to be installed by user, only by system builders (in many
cases large system builders like Sony and Dell). The previous version were
basically only available preinstalled on a system.

In fact, in the past MCE was not even available very easily, with the 2005
version, they decided to sell it on an individual license basis, but still
as an OEM product intended for smaller mom & pop system builders. I suppose
MS, never saw the need to go back and recompile the setup to fix the
wording, because most people buying it were system builders who were doing
the installs frequently.

It also has never had tech support (other than paid) for this very same
reason, the support was supposed to come from the system vendor (Dell, HP,
Sony, etc.). That is pretty much the policy for any OEM products, you only
get the MS support with retail products.

As far as the order of the disks, to be honest, that's a kind of bizarre
mistake on your part -- to assume the disk that happened to get stuck in the
stack first is the install disk, even though another one says "Install
disk"?

BTW, I've taught both PC and Mac for many years and there are plenty of
bizarre and nonsensical things that seemed confuse the Mac students also.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL

"badamsfx" <badamsfx DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B86944AD-1CD4-4CB4-BF42-D56B313ACCA3@microsoft.com...
> OMG, OMG, OMG I have been trying to install XP MCE for two weeks now and
> have
> been banging my head against a wall. I have been having the exact problem
> described below so hopefully this will solve it. There was no SP II disk
> included with the three install disks that I got so I tried to download
> the
> SP II install from Microsoft and burn it to a disk to use. All the files
> on
> this disk I created are compressed though so the installer couldn't see
> them
> when it asked for the SP II disk. How the heck does MS expect an ordinary
> user to know to put Install Disk 1 back in when it asks for the SP II
> disk?
> Even at the very beginning of the process I had problems by (logically?)
> taking the first disk in the stack and trying to start the install off it.
> Well that's the MCE updates disk; Install Disk 1 *was at the bottom of the
> stack*. That makes perfect sense, huh? I'm sorry but as a longtime Mac
> user I
> have gotten used to doing things that just make sense and this experience
> with Windows has been very frustrating. Hopefully things will go smoothly
> with Dana's advice or I'll be back with more questions. I would have
> contacted MS customer support but one page I navigated to said XP MCE 2005
> no
> longer receives customer support because it has reached the end of its
> product life cycle. *Then how come they're still selling it?* I bought it
> new
> a few weeks ago. Oi!
>
> "Dana Cline - MVP" wrote:
>
>> Sounds like problems with the second disk...you should have two CDs. The
>> first will ask for the second, but when the second one wants the first
>> one
>> back in, it asks for the Windows XP SP2 disk (you just have to know to
>> put
>> disk 1 back in). Also, make sure you use a Media Center key - if you use
>> an
>> XP Pro key, you'll get XP Pro instead of Media Center...
>>
>> Dana Cline - MCE MVP
>>
>> "Trent" <Trent DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:B2AE1777-93C3-4EA5-8A96-4FEFDC209EE1@microsoft.com...
>> >I just built my new pc and while installing OEM version of media center,
>> > encounteres some problems..
>> >
>> > Firstly, internet explorer and help and support etc doesnt appear to be
>> > there
>> > secondly, when i try to use instal shield wizard it says
>> >
>> > The installShield Engine (iKernal.exe) could not be launched.
>> > The RPC server is unavailable.
>> >
>> > Is this a problem with my install or my settings?
>> > please any help would be appreciated
>
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system 

Thanks Dana, Jason, and Jaime,
Once I put "install disk one" back in everything went smoothly. Sorry
for my previous whineyness but I have spent many hours trying to figure this
out and had to vent. Thanks for the explanation about OEM disks and the lack
of tech support too Jaime. I ordered from Tigerdirect and on reviewing the
product description it does say OEM but I didn't know what that meant at the
time and they don't explain. I figured any software for sale would be
intended for consumers. Thanks for enlightening me. Yeah, I was kind of
embarrassed when I finally found the install disk one at the bottom of the
stack but the writing on the install disks is sort of etched holography
looking and very hard to read so I didn't even see that it said install disk
until I looked very carefully. The "update" disk had nice solid black writing
on it and looked a much more authoritarian. I have a design background and
these details are important. Not to harp on Mac vs PC but any Mac product I
have bought has always had everything laid out very carefully. Not a big deal
anyway. Thanks for taking the time to give a full explanation of all my
concerns. This shows the power of these user forums. Time magazine was right!
Now I have to figure out why I can't see the internet, but I'll put that in a
new post.

"Jaime" wrote:

> Yes, the disk 1, disk 2, disk 1 switch during install is poorly worded, but
> MS didn't expect "an ordinary user" to figure it out. MCE was (and still is)
> sold only as an OEM product, not as a retail operation system, so it was
> never intended to be installed by user, only by system builders (in many
> cases large system builders like Sony and Dell). The previous version were
> basically only available preinstalled on a system.
>
> In fact, in the past MCE was not even available very easily, with the 2005
> version, they decided to sell it on an individual license basis, but still
> as an OEM product intended for smaller mom & pop system builders. I suppose
> MS, never saw the need to go back and recompile the setup to fix the
> wording, because most people buying it were system builders who were doing
> the installs frequently.
>
> It also has never had tech support (other than paid) for this very same
> reason, the support was supposed to come from the system vendor (Dell, HP,
> Sony, etc.). That is pretty much the policy for any OEM products, you only
> get the MS support with retail products.
>
> As far as the order of the disks, to be honest, that's a kind of bizarre
> mistake on your part -- to assume the disk that happened to get stuck in the
> stack first is the install disk, even though another one says "Install
> disk"?
>
> BTW, I've taught both PC and Mac for many years and there are plenty of
> bizarre and nonsensical things that seemed confuse the Mac students also.
> --
> James
> Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL
>
> "badamsfx" <badamsfx.TakeThisOut@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:B86944AD-1CD4-4CB4-BF42-D56B313ACCA3@microsoft.com...
> > OMG, OMG, OMG I have been trying to install XP MCE for two weeks now and
> > have
> > been banging my head against a wall. I have been having the exact problem
> > described below so hopefully this will solve it.
-snip-

> >
> > "Dana Cline - MVP" wrote:
> >
> >> Sounds like problems with the second disk...you should have two CDs. The
> >> first will ask for the second, but when the second one wants the first
> >> one
> >> back in, it asks for the Windows XP SP2 disk (you just have to know to
> >> put
> >> disk 1 back in).
-snip-
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system 

No problem on the whininess, everyone needs to vent once in a while.

Part of the problem is the addition of the update (3rd) disk, MCE used to
just be the Setup and the MCE disks. It probably would make more sense when
vendors sell OEM, they explain what that really means in terms of support.

You're right, the problem you ran into is something that doesn't happen as
much in the Mac world, but Apple has the advantage of essentially total,
lockstep control over hardware and software as opposed to the "free market"
approach in the PC world. There are advantages to both -- I love being able
to pick and chose hardware and the OS and build the system, but for some
that don't have the desire (or the time), it just easier to let someone else
make the decisions for you and have it all nicely packaged.
--
James
Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida



"badamsfx" <badamsfx RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:837A50F7-11F4-458E-BA8F-62B045C3B164@microsoft.com...
> Thanks Dana, Jason, and Jaime,
> Once I put "install disk one" back in everything went smoothly. Sorry
> for my previous whineyness but I have spent many hours trying to figure
> this
> out and had to vent. Thanks for the explanation about OEM disks and the
> lack
> of tech support too Jaime. I ordered from Tigerdirect and on reviewing the
> product description it does say OEM but I didn't know what that meant at
> the
> time and they don't explain. I figured any software for sale would be
> intended for consumers. Thanks for enlightening me. Yeah, I was kind of
> embarrassed when I finally found the install disk one at the bottom of the
> stack but the writing on the install disks is sort of etched holography
> looking and very hard to read so I didn't even see that it said install
> disk
> until I looked very carefully. The "update" disk had nice solid black
> writing
> on it and looked a much more authoritarian. I have a design background
> and
> these details are important. Not to harp on Mac vs PC but any Mac product
> I
> have bought has always had everything laid out very carefully. Not a big
> deal
> anyway. Thanks for taking the time to give a full explanation of all my
> concerns. This shows the power of these user forums. Time magazine was
> right!
> Now I have to figure out why I can't see the internet, but I'll put that
> in a
> new post.
>
> "Jaime" wrote:
>
>> Yes, the disk 1, disk 2, disk 1 switch during install is poorly worded,
>> but
>> MS didn't expect "an ordinary user" to figure it out. MCE was (and still
>> is)
>> sold only as an OEM product, not as a retail operation system, so it was
>> never intended to be installed by user, only by system builders (in many
>> cases large system builders like Sony and Dell). The previous version
>> were
>> basically only available preinstalled on a system.
>>
>> In fact, in the past MCE was not even available very easily, with the
>> 2005
>> version, they decided to sell it on an individual license basis, but
>> still
>> as an OEM product intended for smaller mom & pop system builders. I
>> suppose
>> MS, never saw the need to go back and recompile the setup to fix the
>> wording, because most people buying it were system builders who were
>> doing
>> the installs frequently.
>>
>> It also has never had tech support (other than paid) for this very same
>> reason, the support was supposed to come from the system vendor (Dell,
>> HP,
>> Sony, etc.). That is pretty much the policy for any OEM products, you
>> only
>> get the MS support with retail products.
>>
>> As far as the order of the disks, to be honest, that's a kind of bizarre
>> mistake on your part -- to assume the disk that happened to get stuck in
>> the
>> stack first is the install disk, even though another one says "Install
>> disk"?
>>
>> BTW, I've taught both PC and Mac for many years and there are plenty of
>> bizarre and nonsensical things that seemed confuse the Mac students also.
>> --
>> James
>> Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), FL
>>
>> "badamsfx" <badamsfx RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:B86944AD-1CD4-4CB4-BF42-D56B313ACCA3@microsoft.com...
>> > OMG, OMG, OMG I have been trying to install XP MCE for two weeks now
>> > and
>> > have
>> > been banging my head against a wall. I have been having the exact
>> > problem
>> > described below so hopefully this will solve it.
> -snip-
>
>> >
>> > "Dana Cline - MVP" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Sounds like problems with the second disk...you should have two CDs.
>> >> The
>> >> first will ask for the second, but when the second one wants the first
>> >> one
>> >> back in, it asks for the Windows XP SP2 disk (you just have to know to
>> >> put
>> >> disk 1 back in).
> -snip-
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system 

This is the first system that I have built and except for the install problem
it has been a lot of fun. I started off thinking I'd build a cheap gaming pc
but kept upgrading everything as I got closer to purchase time. I have been a
Mac guy for years and years but this was kind of liberating getting to pick
all the parts. And just comparing specs my new system should stomp on a Mac
Pro, especially when I get a second 8800GTS card set up in SLI. Oh by the way
my internet connection showed up all of a sudden. I think I may not have
loaded the motherboard network driver before I tried to connect or something
like that. I have mucho to learn and mucho Halo to play! Thanks again for
your help.

Brian


"Jaime" wrote:

> No problem on the whininess, everyone needs to vent once in a while.
>
> Part of the problem is the addition of the update (3rd) disk, MCE used to
> just be the Setup and the MCE disks. It probably would make more sense when
> vendors sell OEM, they explain what that really means in terms of support.
>
> You're right, the problem you ran into is something that doesn't happen as
> much in the Mac world, but Apple has the advantage of essentially total,
> lockstep control over hardware and software as opposed to the "free market"
> approach in the PC world. There are advantages to both -- I love being able
> to pick and chose hardware and the OS and build the system, but for some
> that don't have the desire (or the time), it just easier to let someone else
> make the decisions for you and have it all nicely packaged.
> --
> James
> Orlando (Goofy says "Hey!"), Florida
>
>
>
> "badamsfx" <badamsfx.RemoveThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:837A50F7-11F4-458E-BA8F-62B045C3B164@microsoft.com...
> > Thanks Dana, Jason, and Jaime,
> > Once I put "install disk one" back in everything went smoothly. Sorry
> > for my previous whineyness but I have spent many hours trying to figure
> > this
> > out and had to vent. Thanks for the explanation about OEM disks and the
> > lack
> > of tech support too Jaime. I ordered from Tigerdirect and on reviewing the
> > product description it does say OEM but I didn't know what that meant at
> > the
> > time and they don't explain. I figured any software for sale would be
> > intended for consumers. Thanks for enlightening me. Yeah, I was kind of
> > embarrassed when I finally found the install disk one at the bottom of the
> > stack but the writing on the install disks is sort of etched holography
> > looking and very hard to read so I didn't even see that it said install
> > disk
> > until I looked very carefully. The "update" disk had nice solid black
> > writing
> > on it and looked a much more authoritarian. I have a design background
> > and
> > these details are important. Not to harp on Mac vs PC but any Mac product
> > I
> > have bought has always had everything laid out very carefully. Not a big
> > deal
> > anyway. Thanks for taking the time to give a full explanation of all my
> > concerns. This shows the power of these user forums. Time magazine was
> > right!
> > Now I have to figure out why I can't see the internet, but I'll put that
> > in a
> > new post.
 >> Stay informed about: Installing MCE On a new system