Yet another Compatibility Item(?) - Windows Media Center (Win 7)

[pmikep]

So, I spent a couple days trying to get the TV Guide (or perhaps "the Guide for TV") in Widows Media Center to connect to its server.

I am 99% certain that you need to keep the "Remote Access Service Client Tools" in order for WMC to connect. (There will be a folder called RAS in the ehome directory after WMC begins to update itself on first run.)

So I suggest another Compatibility item titled WMC. In addition to the expected items one needs to keep to get WMC to work, I suggest adding the Tool above. (I would offer a list of the other components that need to be kept. But I need a "reverse look-up" feature in NTLite to do that, that tells me what I didn't remove. More on that in a later Topic.)

I'm only 99% certain that this is necessary because the Guide server is a little wonky and I can't always update the Guide on a working WMC install. But I was never able to download the Guide without the Tool.

 

[pmikep]

Here's my (final) Preset for Win7 64 H.P. that got the WMC Guide for TV working. And also allowed Dragon Naturally Speaking to work.

As to the latter, I had to leave IE8 in during the upgrade. After running Dragon, I then used Windows' Features to 'remove' IE8.

ArcSoft's TotalMedia 3.5 crashes, especially when I call up the EPG. (Even with DEP set to OptOut.) I'm thinking that it needs Parental Controls (since that's a Setting within TotalMedia). But I had taken ParentalControls out of this Preset.

This build is a little over 4 GB installed, which is the typical size for me. Not as small as Clanger's BareBones, but still, half the size of a standard Win7 install.

For reference, my current Win7 is 23 GB. That's with Dragon, which puts speech files on C:, whether you want it to or not. And with some largish installers. (Nvida.) (In a new install, I have set the Installer Patch size to 1% of the HD space. Here, in this upgrade, it stayed at 10% So a new install wouldn't have as much wasted space there.) I used NTLite's Cleanup feature and Reuse Cache to free up 2 GB to get here.

I install all my apps on my D drive when installers give me a choice. So not much in /Program Files.

And there is some software distribution stuff that I won't be able to delete for another 29 days, since Windows has a 30 timer on these.

I don't understand why there is old assembly stuff, especially since I ran M$'s .NET Framework cleanup tool. Maybe I need to run it from the Administrator's Account.

 

[Clanger]

You got it all solved and working, GREAT.

I found something online to remove nvidia telemetry and some other crap, i didnt bookmark or save the web page, viggy been a bad monkey. I did keep the OP's screen grab. Extract the driver packagge with 7zip. Keep only the folders n stuff on the left hand side, the right hand side is the full extracted package.

 

[pmikep]

For Clanger's List of Interesting Tools:
https://github.com/lostindark/DriverStoreExplorer

This allows you to remove Driver Stores. Like when you install GPU drivers every month.

 

[Clanger]

What you have got to remember is Barebones is what is possible but not always usable for 99% of users. It was built for my needs and even then i cant run a barebone as it is, i need to keep .nets and a few bits and oieces here and there. You now have a workable os that is half the size of a bog standard install, good work. God forbid the day comes when you have to use windows 10 you will be able to use what you know to shrink that too.

 

[pmikep]

I have told myself that I will switch to Linux before opening myself up to M$ and Win10.

And even if M$ offered a no-spy version of Win10, I still think I would go to Linux before constantly fighting a changing OS like W10.

My understanding is that Blender works fine in Linux, with the new GPU hardware support. And Resolve works in some distro's of Linux. So I could still edit video in Linux.

 

[Clanger]

If i go fully to linux them i gotta learn how todo stuff on that etc. Besides, everything i have learnt for w7 and w10 will be for nothing. I dont want to learn, i wanna get sh*t done.

 

[nuhi]

Thanks Mike, let me know if you know 100% what is needed for what, so that I can add it to the component descriptions. Otherwise I would also need a non-working preset to compare and test for, plus the short test for the mentioned apps.
If you're happy, we can move on, as Win7 and WMC are ancient, not many people would benefit from such compatibilities.
I know telemetry is annoying, but we can remove it (is it ever all gone?) and even some Win7 KBs are putting it in Win7 so the point is the same.
And who knows since when is something like that in Win7 too.

 

[pmikep]

As above, I'm 99% sure that "Remote Access Service Client Tools" is needed for the TV Guide to update and get the Guide. As I said above, the Guide server is wonky and I don't always get the update the first time I try it. But I NEVER get the update when RAS Client Tools is not installed. I don't think it would hurt to add that text to that component. (You could word it like a lawyer and say "It has been reported that this component is needed for the Guide for WMC.")

I'll find the non-working Preset and attached it later.

 

[nuhi]

Thanks, I'll add the description as suggested.

 

[Clanger]

pmikep, I am considering removing Speech support on w7 because i need to know if speech support is widely used or not and this topic popped into my head. What is Dragon Naturally Speaking, why do people use it and how popular it is. Natural Language gives extra functionalities in Speech(and search) and the 2 combined are quite a space hog at around 800mb. Also do you know if Dragon uses any other windows components, windows sounds codecs etc?