While using an older Dell system to test Windows 7MC (post coming soon), my wife came across and interesting problem last night.  One of the shows she has set up for series recording didn’t record yesterday.  The red light in my head went off.  You know, the one that start flashing and ringing a bell when WAF drops below a certain point in your home?  We all have one, and mine was going nuts.

Seems that I had lost all guide data, so of course, MCE didn’t know it was supposed to record anything.  I ran up to the unit itself and attempted to download updated info thinking this would fix the issue…no such luck.

This is where I get to say that I love Twitter.  I posted to Twitter last night and within just a few minutes, Richard Miller started asking questions in an attempt to help.  After answering a few simple questions about my signal, Richard was able to recommend setting my TV signal back up using an adjacent zip code.  I wasn’t able to try this until morning and sure enough, that took care of it.

I wanted to share this story not only to explain what to do should you lose all of your guide info, but also to illustrate how the Media Center enthusiast community is willing to help.  Not only enthusiasts but people related to MS are willing to help if you have an issue. 

Moral of the story is that if you’re thinking of getting into using Media Center, you’re not all by yourself as you maybe with other HTPC solutions.