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Which version of Windows Media Center am I running?
November 27, 2006

Click here to return to Media Center Home

Windows XP Media Center 2004 and 2005 are upgrades for the Media Center components of the system rather than a Windows version update. At the core your still running Windows XP Professional version 2002 with either the Media Center 2002, 2004 or 2005 components. System Properties displays the version of Windows so it is no use in ascertaining which Media Center (XP) version your running. The boot screen will also not give any indication of the edition year.

sysprops

Inside the Media Center UI you can check which version your are running by going to Settings > General > About Media Center. Media Center 2004 will show its version number and year edition on this screen. Media Center 2002 will display only a version number starting 5.1.2600.11**

On Media Center 2005 the location of this information is slightly different, Settings > General > About Media Center > Software Version.

Media Center Version Info
Jump to - Media Center 2002 - Media Center 2004 - Media Center 2005 - Media Center Vista

Media Center Extender Version Info
Jump to - Extender Manager Software - Extender Set-Top Devices

Windows XP Media Center Edition: 2002 Build Information Ident Tag
5.1.2600.1106
 First released version of Windows Media Center N/A
5.1.2600.1142
 Highest released build of Media Center 2002 (provided via Q815487) 1.5
Windows XP Media Center Edition: 2004 Build Information Ident Tag
5.1.2600.1217
 Release build of Windows Media Center 2004
(upgrade over previous MCE 2002 build). 		2.0
5.1.2600.1321
 December 2003 Hotfix for Media Center 2004 version (provided via Q830786) 2.7
5.1.2600.2096

Media Center Version included with Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 1. This version can be installed over a current MCE 2002 or 2004 using the Windows XP Service Pack 2 installer. If you have any build between 1322 and 2095 assume this to be a beta version.

2.8
5.1.2600.2149
 Media Center Version included with Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 . This version can be installed over a current MCE 2002 or 2004 using the Windows XP Service Pack 2 installer. If you have any build between 2097 and 2148 assume this to be a beta interim build. 2.8
5.1.2600.2180
 Media Center version included in the final version of Windows XP Service Pack 2. This version can be installed over a current MCE 2002 or 2004 using the Windows XP Service Pack 2 installer. Media Center 2004 and 2005 share the same build number, the MCE 2004 version of 2180 was compiled on the 4th August 2004. This information can be seen in ehshell.exe's properties. 2.8

Windows XP Media Center Edition: 2005 Build Information Ident Tag

5.1.2700.2180

 Release Build of Windows XP Media Center 2005 built on top of Windows XP SP2. Note: This version is not included with Service Pack 2 even though the minor build number is the same. Media Center 2004 and 2005 share the same build number, but the MCE 2005 version of 2180 was compiled on the 10th August 2004. This information can be seen in ehshell.exe's properties. 3.0
5.1.2700.2230
 Version of Media Center provided by 'Update Rollup 1 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005' which contains various updates for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 such as HDTV (ATSC) support for users in the United States, and Teletext fixes for the UK. This update is recommended for all Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 customers.
 3.1
5.1.2700.2231
(German Only)
Version of Media Center provided by the German vesion of Update Rollup 1 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005'. Specifically this corrects a German only string localization issue. German visitors to Windows Update will automatically get 2231 from rollup 1, all other languages 2230. 3.1
5.1.2710.2732
 Major update to Media Center 2005, this year’s release of Media Center is provided as an update rather than a whole separate edition. For more details see: Here 4.0
5.1.2715.2773
 Version of Media Center provided with KB908250 for Update Rollup 2. Mainly a fix for non USA DVB-T/Teletext issues, but also includes greater support for optical drives (Matsushita DVD RAM UJ-846s) and some interoperability improvements for some third party software 4.0
5.1.2715.2812
 January 2006 rollup patch for Media Center 2005 with rollup 2 (KB912067). This update corrects a number of issues including Media Center taking minutes to return from hibernation, video stutter after hibernation/stand by (S4/S3), Media Center might stop responding when Alt+Tab is pressed and Taiwan also gains the [supported] ability to use hybrid tuner cards (Digital/Analogue). 4.0
5.1.2715.2830
 Update for the Korean version of Media Center only to correct an issue with the Korean Input Method Editor and the HTMLInput ActiveX Control when hosted. More Details 4.0
5.1.2715.2883
 April 2006 Rollup Patch for Media Center 2005 Rollup 2 fixing a number of issues for ATSC/DVB-T, Teletext and DVD Creation. For a more detailed breakdown see here 4.0
5.1.2715.2941
 July 2006 Rollup Patch for Media Center 2005 Rollup 2. Mainly a stability update but also will downscale DVD playback to 480p. For a more detailed breakdown see here 4.0
new icon5.1.2715.3011
 October 2006 Rollup Patch for Media Center 2005 Rollup 2 (KB925766). Fixes Rome 810MHz Mux not found (DVB-T), incompatability with third party audio plugins and a content license issue which may happen after installing Windows Media Player 11. 4.0
Windows Vista Media Center Build Information Ident Tag
6.0.5384.4
 First public beta release of Media Center for Windows Vista. Also has an x64 Edition and builtin MPEG decoder 5.0
6.0.5536.16384
 Pre-RC1 build released to tech beta participants/MSDN Subscribers. A limited release of 100,000 copies was made to members of the public who activated the beta 2 release. 5.0
6.0.5600.16384
 Release Candidate 1 - tech beta/MSDN/Public release. Over Beta 2 contains multiple UI adjustments and a vast performance increase. 5.0
6.0.5744.16384
 Release Candidate 2 - tech beta release. Limited public release. 5.0
new icon6.0.6000.16384
 Release build on sale January 2007 5.0

You can also do a version lookup by comparing the version number of ehshell.exe in \Windows\ehome to the table above.

If you wish to read the version identitiy level you can use the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Ident key.

Starting from Ident 2.8 this information is appended to the HTTP request of a Media Center PC, for example Browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; Media Center PC x.x; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)

Media Center Extender Manager Build Information Version Location
(other than Help > About
in Media Center Extender Manager)

5.1.2700.2180

 First release for Media Center 2005 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
MediaCenterPeripheral\BuildVersion

6.1.2700.2214

 Update and Stand-alone release with Update Rollup 1 for Media Center Extender.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
MediaCenterPeripheral\BuildVersion

6.1.2715.2716

 Update and Stand-alone release as part of the Xbox 360 Media Setup. This version of the software supports Set Top Extenders, Media Center Extender for Xbox and Media Center Extender for Xbox 360.
 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
MediaCenterPeripheral\BuildVersion

Media Center Extender STB
(HP x5400/Linksys WMCE54AG) 		Build Information

2004.08.11.19.16.08
(11th Aug 2004 - 20:28)

First Release

2004.12.11.01.17.08
(10th Dec 2004 19:20)

Updated device image contained within Update Rollup 1 for Media Center Extender. This update allows the Extenders to play GGMS-A protected content, allows playback of some supported audio and video files which did not run correctly. It also prevents possible playback errors after resuming from standby, prevents glitching when playing back long videos over wifi and prevents a black screen appearing which sometimes happened when using the skip button.

Version numbers of the Media Center Extender device images can be seen on the 'Contacting/Connecting to the Media Center PC' Screen.

I hope this overview has been of use to you, if you have any comments or corrections for this article please send me feedback here.
 
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