This week I finally decided it was time to ditch the RC1 build of Windows 7 and move to the RTM build. I was a little hesitant because I was afraid all of my CableCARD recordings would not be watch-able because of DRM issues, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. As a backup plan, I did a manual backup via Windows Home Server. Read the rest of the story for screenshots of the process.
The first thing you need to do is hack the RTM install so it will do an upgrade rather than a full install. Doing this is pretty simple, and only involves changing one line of code in an .ini file. The first step is to extract the .iso with a tool like 7-Zip. Once that is completed, you are looking in the sources directory for a file named cversions.ini. In that file, you will need to update the MinClient value from its original value to 7000.0. That’s it! (A special thanks to Walden for this info)
cversion.ini
New MinClient Value
Next return to the root directory of where you extracted the iso and run Setup.EXE. Windows will do its normal thing and you will eventually be prompted to Upgrade or perform a fresh install. Select Upgrade. After the files are extracted, you will need to enter your new product key.
Next is where things got a little dicey. The first time I opened Media Center, I was prompted if I wanted to keep my previous TV settings to which I said yes.
Keep Previous TV Settings
Clicking next I was presented with a troubling screen. Media Center reported that I did not have a PC that was capable of utilizing a CableCARD.
Not digital cable ready
From there I closed out of Media Center and ran the OCUR BIOS check utility, which stated my BIOS was not OCUR compliant (even though it was previous to this upgrade). I ran the OSFR utility again, but this time I was present with more troubling screens shown below.
After hitting Continue several times, the utility finally completed. After a reboot, I ran the OCUR BIOS check utility again and this time it said I was good to go. I returned to Media Center and once again it asked if I would like to keep my previous settings. This time it accepted the CableCARD and asked for the PID to activate the card.
After doing so, Media Center started to import my previous TV Settings. It warned me that I may need to rescan for guide data, but this did not seem to be the case as my guide and series recordings stayed intact. I will warn you the last step of this process takes a very long time. About 15-20 minutes in my case. Finally the import of TV Settings completed and I was presented with the following screen.
Success
After completion of the upgrade I quickly checked that my extenders did not need to be re-initialized, which they did not, and that all my CableCARD recordings were intact, which they were.
Overall this process went about as smooth as it could for me fumbling my way through it. Now I just cant wait for the Netflix update to hit!
#1 by Chris on October 19, 2009 - 2:36 pm
Which CableCard are you using, I want to integrated the cable cards into my Win7 setup, but the local Time Warner Cable said they do not work with Win7, and they are only for TV’s, I am sure there is a work around
#2 by Dave on October 19, 2009 - 2:53 pm
I am using the Scientific Atlanta card. To be honest your cable company is giving you bad information. Ussually because they don’t understand the whole CableCARD concept. As far as I know, they don’t make a card that “only works in tvs”, they probably just don’t realize how it is used in a computer. I’d give it a shot. But to familiarize yourself, check out the Custom Integrator podcast on the digital lifestyle to get information on the ATI setup screens, cause chances are you are going to have to lead your installer through the process.
#3 by Arthur on January 11, 2010 - 12:15 am
Thanks for the info, you just saved me a lot of headache. I had no idea that you can hack the RC1 build to do and upgrade to RTM. If it works why does Microsoft not just make it a supported upgrade path. I guess I stopped asking questions a long time ago, who knows why they do what they do.