Media Center 7/8 DRM Reset Success

ViperBoy

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Media Center 7/8 DRM Reset Success

#1

Post by ViperBoy » Sun Dec 09, 2012 1:35 am

This is for anyone getting the dreaded "Video playback device does not support playback of protected content" on Windows 7 or Windows 8 Media Center. One way to determine if your problem is a common DRM incompatibility is if that message appears, but you can minimize and then maximize Media Center to make the TV play, then this should work for you.

After hours of searching and trying every possible combination or steps from various FAQs and trial/error, I have finally found the set of steps that will reset DRM on both versions of Windows Media Center.

You must do this with an administrator account and Media Center closed.

3 key takeaways relative to other FAQs for those who have attempted this before
a) no need to manually rename or delete files in the DRM folder
b) no need to use the Micrsoft DRM web page - it won't work with Windows 8 at all and is not required for Windows 7
c) ResetDRM must be extracted and run manually

1) under control panel / folder options / view note your current settings and then
a) enable show hidden files, folders or drives
b) disable hide protected operating systems

2) Apply control panel changes but leave window open to reset at the end

3) open control panel / administrative tools / services and select "Windows Media Center Receiver Service". Stop the service

4) with Windows explorer remove the following files / folders
a) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\mspr.hds
b) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\cache
c) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcendindiv.hds
d) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\cache

5) download ResetDRM.exe from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=105000

6) use winrar or winzip to extract files from ResetDRM.exe (ADVPACK.DLL CleanDRM.exe resetdrm.inf) to a temp folder. ResetDRM will not run by itself on Windows 8 in any compatibility mode so you MUST extract it

7) use explorer to find cmd.exe at C:\Windows\System32

8 ) right click on cmd.exe and "run as administrator"

9) cd to the temp folder where you extracted ResetDRM.exe

10) run "CleanDRM.exe -v". A text window will open after a few seconds and verify that several files were removed. If there is an error that a resource could not be opened for exclusive access, you might need to reboot and try again after making sure that Media Center does not start automatically

11) exit cmd.exe

12) open Media Center

13) navigate to settings / TV / TV Signal / Update PlayReady

14) if Update PlayReady fails:
a) minimize Media Center without closing it
b) stop the Media Center Receiver service again
c) maximize Media Center
d) "try again" to update PlayReady

15) PlayReady should show a success page

16) go to TV Guide and attempt to watch a show

17) if everything went properly, you should be able to watch live TV

18 ) go back to control panel / folders and return the hidden/system file settings back to your original options

Please leave feedback if I missed anything or if you have suggestions to make this list more complete. There are countless posts about Windows DRM issues so hopefully this helps people out

shawnmos

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#2

Post by shawnmos » Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:47 pm

How do I reinstall playready in windows 8?

Update Playready is missing.

Matthizzle

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#3

Post by Matthizzle » Sat Jul 13, 2013 11:58 pm

ViperBoy wrote:This is for anyone getting the dreaded "Video playback device does not support playback of protected content" on Windows 7 or Windows 8 Media Center. One way to determine if your problem is a common DRM incompatibility is if that message appears, but you can minimize and then maximize Media Center to make the TV play, then this should work for you.

After hours of searching and trying every possible combination or steps from various FAQs and trial/error, I have finally found the set of steps that will reset DRM on both versions of Windows Media Center.
ViperBoy: I just registered to TGB simply to say "thank you" -- those instructions worked perfectly me for me. Your guidance helped end several days of confusion and frustration with PlayReady. Much appreciated!

barnabas1969

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#4

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:14 pm

What you wrote here:
ViperBoy wrote:3 key takeaways relative to other FAQs for those who have attempted this before
a) no need to manually rename or delete files in the DRM folder
<snip>
Contradicts what you wrote here:
ViperBoy wrote: 4) with Windows explorer remove the following files / folders
a) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\mspr.hds
b) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\cache
c) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcendindiv.hds
d) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\cache

sensij

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#5

Post by sensij » Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:20 pm

Count me among the people this thread has helped, thank you! The ResetDRM piece was key for me. Similar to ShawnMos, I don't see "Update PlayReady" in WMC anymore so I skipped steps 13-15, but the video playback error message is gone so I think it is all good.

OliverM3

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#6

Post by OliverM3 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:25 pm

Just wanted to say thanks ViperBoy.
I had the bright idea to upgrade my Media Center PC's Processor 2 hours before I had something important to do today.
I can't believe that the simple swap from a AMD Athlon x2 to a Phenom X4 kills DRM and there's no reset built in to Windows 8 Media Center.

My wife's happy! There would be no tv possible in the house since everything runs through my media center pc.

Thanks again for a clear fast fix to this issue that shouldn't exist in the first place.

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dejavux2

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#7

Post by dejavux2 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:00 pm

barnabas1969 wrote:What you wrote here:
ViperBoy wrote:3 key takeaways relative to other FAQs for those who have attempted this before
a) no need to manually rename or delete files in the DRM folder
<snip>
Contradicts what you wrote here:
ViperBoy wrote: 4) with Windows explorer remove the following files / folders
a) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\mspr.hds
b) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady\cache
c) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\mcendindiv.hds
d) C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\eHome\cache
The files that are shown to delete are not in the DRM folder.... not a contradiction...

lltorson

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#8

Post by lltorson » Mon Nov 25, 2013 12:31 am

This unfortunately did not work for me. PlayReady did not show up as an option to update but that didn't seem to be a problem with others. Still when I start WMC and go to the guide, a program may play for a second or 2 then I get the message. Minimizing and maximizing does not seem to make any difference. This is driving me nuts. I have set up XBMC and have been able to watch TV on there but it appears to be buggy. I can also view live TV through my Quick TV from Silicon Dust. If anyone has any other thoughts I'd be oh so grateful. Thanks.

rmalbers

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#9

Post by rmalbers » Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:54 pm

FWIW: I had to use this procedure a year or so ago and went thru it multiple times with no success, then it finally worked and I 'think' the only thing I did different when it worked was that I rebooted in between, I think, almost each major step.

werds

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#10

Post by werds » Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:02 pm

Thank god for your well written directions. I just swapped out processor and motherboard and was struggling with every other set of instructions on the net for resetting the drm... and the tool was pretty much useless. Tried your instructions and everything worked perfectly on the first go around!

kp4akb

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#11

Post by kp4akb » Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:53 pm

IN my case Every morning my TV PC reboots and it will ask for a PlayReady update. I have followed the instructions to the letter.

One of the questions that I have: The ProgramData DRM folders are empty. I have selected view hidden files etc. But even going to regedit HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\DRM I get Value not set. Isn't this key suppose to point to The Program Data DRM Folder?

Ed Rios
Columbus, OH
Ed Rios

Zodiac

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#12

Post by Zodiac » Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:28 am

I had the same problem as you. I followed all the instructions here but still got the "playready update was incomplete" error.
I even uninstalled/re-installed windows "media features", which is supposed to recreate the DRM key, with no luck.

This is what actually fixed the issue for me:
Open the file below, when prompted, click upgrade to install a Windows Media Player component upgrade.
After that completes, go back to WMC and run TV setup.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=166118


Reference page:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976590


I hope this helps.
Z

seangrimes

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#13

Post by seangrimes » Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:14 am

I've tried this and MANY other things including tinkering with the registry. None of those methods worked for me. This is what I had to do:

Uninstall Playready from Control Panel (reboot may be necessary).
Uninstall Digital Cable Advisor from Control Panel
Open WMC
Run Digital Cable Advisor
Go through Live TV Setup

I hope this helps someone.
"Power is the ability to define reality and then to convince others that it is their definition."

seangrimes

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#14

Post by seangrimes » Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:57 am

seangrimes wrote:I've tried this and MANY other things including tinkering with the registry. None of those methods worked for me. This is what I had to do:

Uninstall Playready from Control Panel (reboot may be necessary).
Uninstall Digital Cable Advisor from Control Panel
Open WMC
Run Digital Cable Advisor
Go through Live TV Setup

I hope this helps someone.
It seems like the above fix doesn't work all the time. I have the Playready issue again and can't seem to get it fixed this time. Even reinstalling Windows didn't help!
"Power is the ability to define reality and then to convince others that it is their definition."

r48

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#15

Post by r48 » Fri May 02, 2014 5:19 am

I'm posting this because somebody else may encounter something similar.

I tried everything posted here (and elsewhere), without success, in Win7 64. In the process, I noticed that no Playready folder existed on my computer, and some of the files in the eHome folder, suggested here for deletion, also didn't exist. Checking in "Uninstall or Change a Program," there was no "Playready" entry. So I Googled "download playready", and found a site that had what looked like the appropriate download. The downloaded filename was PlayReadyPC_x64.msi. I was a bit skeptical, since this was an installer package from 2009 - but I gave it a shot anyway. In running the install, my only available option was to "Uninstall Playready" - so apparently it had, in fact, been previously installed on my machine - but had become dysfunctional. After uninstalling Playready, I was then able to re-install it no problem. Afterward, I re-ran the procedures described here and, voila, success at last.

This may be applicable to anybody who doesn't see an entry that looks something like "Playready PC Runtime [amd64]" when they open Windows' Control Panel's "Uninstall or Change a Program"

That solved, I've found that Comcast is now making it much more difficult to get a cablecard properly paired. The first card I picked up from Comcast didn't work at all. The 2nd one did, but needs to be re-provisioned in order to work with my cable package (a "paring error" was detected). The Comcast technician (in India) who did the pairing, knew exactly how to properly re-provision my cablecard to make it fully functional, and could easily have done so, remotely, in about one minute's time. However, a new Comcast policy now doesn't permit her to do so, without first putting me through a useless sequence of appointments with clueless local Comcast "technicians" which should eventually produce a series of "escalations" to successively higher tierred local "technicians", who should eventually produce the authorization now required to do, from India, what could easily have been already done in under a minute. I suppose Comcast will want to charge me for each and every pointless local "technician visit" in this insipid process. From what I gather, if you live in the Western part of the USA, you may be spared the idiocy of this new Comcast policy. Not so if you live in the Eastern USA. I don't know where the geographical dividing line is. I'm old enough to remember a time when antitrust law would have been enforced to prevent a scofflaw like Comcast from such blatant abuse of monopoly power. But I guess that's not Comcast's idea of the "future of awesome." So as to force you to overspend on their 2-way spyware boxes, it looks to me like the big cable monopolies will buy however many politicians are needed so as to do to cablecards what Comcast has already done to clearQAM.

seangrimes

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#16

Post by seangrimes » Fri May 02, 2014 5:29 am

r48 wrote:I'm posting this because somebody else may encounter something similar.
This issue was a PAIN for me. What ended up working for me was to simply unplug my Infinitv 6 and Tuning adapter for a minute or so. After unplugging my Infinitv, I also removed my cablecard. For some reason, the Playready update would complete after that. Not sure why, but this has worked for me 2 times so far.
"Power is the ability to define reality and then to convince others that it is their definition."

kt77

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#17

Post by kt77 » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:44 pm

Needed to create an account to say that you are my hero. This finally fixed my issue after many, many excruciating hours trying to resolve this issue.

seangrimes

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#18

Post by seangrimes » Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:30 pm

kt77 wrote:Needed to create an account to say that you are my hero. This finally fixed my issue after many, many excruciating hours trying to resolve this issue.
Thanks!

Isn't the internet just awesome!
"Power is the ability to define reality and then to convince others that it is their definition."

olivewa

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#19

Post by olivewa » Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:58 am

This was really upsetting and long one but after losing almost 2 days and cancelling my HBO subscription to just get rid of the problem I found a solution.

1) I called Comcast mentioned the pairing issue as per the other post here and they re-paired.

It was still not working so I re-did what I had done many time

2) cleaned the cache:
a- stopped media center receiver service (from task manager)
b - deleted the cache folders and .hdr files from both ehome and playready folders in program data
c- closed and reopened WMC app

The screen was black, but no more insults about updating playready, went to another channel, then back to HBO and bang! it's working...

gkr321

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#20

Post by gkr321 » Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:44 pm

seangrimes wrote:
r48 wrote:I'm posting this because somebody else may encounter something similar.
This issue was a PAIN for me. What ended up working for me was to simply unplug my Infinitv 6 and Tuning adapter for a minute or so. After unplugging my Infinitv, I also removed my cablecard. For some reason, the Playready update would complete after that. Not sure why, but this has worked for me 2 times so far.
Worked for me also, turn off Infinitv 6 and Tuning adapter then update playready

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