7805 CPU Upgrade & Vista's DRM.

Just wanted to pass this one along since it had me scratching my head over the weekend trying to nail down what was causing the problem.

I just upgraded the CPU in my Gateway 7805 (to a T9900 ) and after the upgrade Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player wouldn't work correctly. On startup I was getting an error about a Digital Device Registration error. Media Player would just bomb out whenever I tried playing something with it.

The problem is Vista's DRM (like that's a shocker. lol!). From what I gather, Vista generates a unique DRM signature key using the unique processor serial number embedded in the CPU. If you change the CPU or even some other components (supposedly changing the video card can trigger this too), you need to regenerate the DRM key.

To do it, go to this link and follow the instructions:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/891664

In a nutshell...

1) Go to the control panel and click FOLDERS, and make sure you have it set so you can view hidden and protected system files
2) Delete the contents of the following directory:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DRM

3) Go to this link on MS's site to re-download the latest DRM files:

http://go.microsoft.com/FWLink?LinkID=34506


(alternatively you can supposedly just reboot and it should work too).

Be forewarned: If you have any rights managed media files, you'll have to re-aquire the licenses. If you can get into Media Player, go into TOOLS->MANAGE LICENSES and back up any licenses you have before you wipe the DRM directory. Afterwards, restore the licenses and you should be good to go.