Vista - sudden "no tuner found" message

Dear Friends, I've looked at about every "no tuner found" Google message but haven't come to the solution yet.

All of a sudden, when I go to the Media Center, click on live TV as usual, etc... , I get "tuner not installed, ...no tuner hardware detected" even though it's been working for 2 years with no problem.

Yes, I updated all drivers. I have an HP Pavilion Slimline, WIndows Vista, VISX Pure TV Pure TV-U 48A3 (NTSC/ATSC Comb) and Hauppage, have updated all the drivers, everything says it's working fine.....but then I get this Windows Media Center error message.

I would rather not use restore again, but if it has to be, unless someone has a good solution, I'll do it.

Thanks,
Anita

hello:

---I found this HP-site page--->HP and Compaq Desktop PCs*-* Media Center Error in Vista Premium: Tuner Not Installed*

---please post your results---thank you---

peace

Thanks so much for your reply! But unfortunately I had already tried that without results.
But thanks!

hello:

---mmmaybe it is loose, take it out - clean it, replace it and see if the device-manager shows it---also, it may just be 'burnt-out'---time to buy a new one---

---please post your results---thank you---

peace

Thanks so much for your help, I will do that, I'll look inside the computer and will reinstall it.

Could you kindly tell me where in the computer it is? I have no idea what it looks like and where it is located.

Thanks,
Anita

First - Power down your computer - remove all cords - place on ground and lay on the computers LEFT side down.
Next - Locate the two screws on the back of the computer holding on the side panel - remove the screws and the side panel
Next - Locate the TV tuner - near the bottom of the computer there will be a cable jack - where you unplugged the cable from when disconnecting all the wires.
Next - inside the computer - locate the card with this jack.
Unscrew the card on the metal backplate. - Remove carefully.
Clean with compressed air or is need be - isopropyl alcohol - the higher the percentage the better. do not use under 70% - mixture of water to solution
Use thecompressed air to blow any dust out of the PCI slot that the card was taken out of.
Replace the card and secure
Replace the side panel and secure
Reconnect all wires and boot.

Good Luck
~Matt

Try what MrClark suggested. Sometimes when they assemble computers they don't have the tuner card completely seated in the slot. If your tuner card has gone bad you will get the no tuner card message. Then of course you just need to replace the old one. I've had to resolve this same problem on my system before and I have practicaly the same system you have but mines not slimeline. I do have the same tuner card as you. If you have another pc with a tuner card or can borrow a friends card pop it in. If that fixes your issue then you know your card is bad and just needs replacing. Replacing the card is so easy a caveman can do it, lol. GOOD LUCK

Thanks, so far, I opened the computer - and, by the way, good idea about the compressed air to dust it! - replaced the card in its slot, it still doesn't work.

I will do it again after asking a friend to loan me his tuner card.

But frankly, I get the gut feeling that it is not the hardware. The whole thing happened after I noticed that Netflix was installed as part of Media Center.

I read something about renaming the DRM folder but haven't had the guts to do so yet.

But I do have a question before asking a friend's tuner card: does it have to be the same?

Thanks, I can't tell you how grateful I am to see the help messages I get!

Anita

I've been having the same problem as well, except that I have two tuners and both are not found. I also dont think it's a hardware problem. It has to do with some sort of update. I've done system restore a few times and it works properly for a while until I start updates. I'm tired of doing system restore so I've started just restoring it to a certain date. Eventually, after doing this a few times, I finally got the tuners to work again. The Media Center is still not working properly b/c it suddenly says it's stopped working and gives me an error. I wish I could figure out which update caused these problem.

I'm interested in how you solve your problem. Please keep us updated! Thanks!

Try installing the updates one by one until it breaks.

(you may have to set WU to never check if it's set to automatic)

Control Panel>Classic View>Windows Update>Change Settings