Important: Before actually installing Media Center, be sure to save and close all open documents and close all running applications. That email includes the 25-character product key you need to install Media Center. Microsoft will send the product key via email within 72 hours. (Again, you must have Windows 8 Pro to use this offer.) Just enter your email address and enter the captcha to trigger an email from Microsoft with the product key you’ll need. Here, you’ll see the offer to get Media Center for free. Instead, navigate to the Feature packs page on the Windows web site. If you access this interface from Windows 8 Pro, you will be offered the Windows 8 Media Center Pack, which costs $9.99.ĭon’t do this. For example, Windows 8 Core users can use this interface to purchase the Windows 8 Pro Pack, a $69.99 offer which includes an in-place upgrade to Windows 8 Pro as well as Media Center. Normally, you would find and install such additional features, called Feature Packs, through the Add features to Windows 8 control panel. So even if you don’t think you’ll ever want or use Media Center, there’s no harm in grabbing the free product key now. Most new PCs will come with such an application. Another is to purchase a third party DVD player application. And that is that it’s not just about Media Center: Microsoft also removed DVD playback functionality from Windows 8 as well.Īdding Media Center is one way to get this playback functionality back, though you will only be able to use Media Center (and not other applications) to play DVDs. In it, I describe, Microsoft’s decision to remove Media Center from Windows 8 and the ramifications of this decision. Those with the base version of Windows 8 will need to pay for something called the Windows 8 Pro Pack, as you’ll see.įor more information about the Media Center fiasco, as some think of it, refer to my post Windows 8, DVD Playback, Media Center, and You, from back in May. It’s also only available for free to Windows 8 Pro users.

But you need to act fast: This special offer is available only for a limited time. But in a rare if temporary mea culpa, Microsoft is now making Media Center available for free to anyone with Windows 8 Pro.

When Microsoft announced that it was removing Windows Media Center from Windows 8 and making it available as a paid add-on, enthusiasts howled.

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