If you bought your Media Center PC before September 30, 2003, it came with the initial version of the Media Center software. That date marked the introduction of the first major upgrade to the Windows XP Media Center Edition operation system. Even if you bought your PC in the months following that introduction, remember that it can take several weeks for PCs built before that time to filter down through the retail sales channels of stores and mail-order distributors , and so on. caution
If you're not sure whether you have the latest version, called Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, you can check by following these steps:
How to UpgradeIf you don't have the latest version of Media Center, the best way to get it is by contacting the company that manufactured your Media Center PC and asking them to provide you with an update disc. How to UpdateIn addition to making sure you have the most current version of your operating system, you need to stay on top of updates that seem to be trickling out from Microsoft with increasing frequency. The best and easiest way is to put Windows XP in charge of keeping itself updated by using the Automatic Update features described in the section "Check For and Install Software Updates," in Chapter 3, "Getting Started and Taking the Tour." If at any time you want to manually update your Microsoft OS software, you can do so by launching Internet Explorer and visiting www.windowsupdate.com. When the page comes up, click on the Scan for Updates button, as shown in the center of Figure 24.2. Figure 24.2. The Windows Update Web site will automatically analyze your system software and recommend upgrades.
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