Home > PVR/HTPC/DVR > Trouble setting up the guide in Window Media Center Edition?

Trouble setting up the guide in Window Media Center Edition?

December 1st, 2005 Tony Leave a comment Go to comments

windows mceIf you are receiving the following message when trying to setup a new machine as a PVR with Windows Media Center Edition, the solution is simple albeit not obvious:

Guide listings could not be retrieved. Internet connection failure

Details: Unknown discovery service error. Code: 14

Would you like Media Center to try again?

The error message is so deceiving. The actual problem is that you haven’t set the clock on the machine. In my case it was set to January 1, 2004. I set the clock and continued downloading my local listings. I really thought Microsoft was getting wise and starting to produce meaningful error messages but apparently not.

Categories: PVR/HTPC/DVR Tags:
  1. ElApe
    December 17th, 2005 at 11:33 | #1

    Thank you for this, I have wasted about 2 weeks trying to sort this problem. I was convinced it was a proxy issue as I have just sat my MCE box behind ISA2004. This page was the first to mention the date issue and after rebuilding my box twice today I finally got the guide working again after changing the date from april to december. Just wish I knew why the date had got changed in the first place

  2. Angie
    December 17th, 2005 at 13:30 | #2

    Hi there,
    Was searching Google to find a solution to this issue. I checked my time/date settings and you mentioned, and the date, time, and time zone are all correct. Still getting this same error (Codes 33 and 14) and wondered if you knew of any other solutions. Thanks!

  3. Greg
    January 13th, 2006 at 01:53 | #3

    I still can’t get past this Code 14.

    I have tried to connect pre-Rollup 2 and post-Rollup 2.
    I have tried with Security on and off.
    I have tried with Zip Code 99999, 11111, and 60614.
    I test my internet connection and it confirms it is working (within MCE setup).

    Everytime, Unknown Service Dicovery error. Code: 14.

    I have never seen the guide work.

    My clock is up to date an synced.
    Automatic updates is on.
    IS there a windows SERVICES I should turn on?
    Is there one that might be disable that shouldn’t be?

    Please help, if you have time.

    I have done google searches and windows support searches, but have only seen this board have the same question and problem.

    Thanks!

  4. Tony
    January 15th, 2006 at 12:42 | #4

    I am having the same issues, nothing i do is helping the problem. It started after i did a BIOS update, now no joy.

    anyone figure out more?

    thanks!

  5. Anonymous
    January 19th, 2006 at 23:55 | #5

    Thanks – your tip provided the fix

  6. Mick
    January 24th, 2006 at 13:02 | #6

    Thanks for the tip. Worked for me. I had cleared cmos and forgot about date.

  7. Trevor North
    February 2nd, 2006 at 17:30 | #7

    Hey – Thanks – Solved my problem too – just got a new Elonex Artisan with MCE and couldnt get the TV guide working. Had changed the time but the date was correct except for the year and i just didnt notice until I got this error. Googled the error and found your page straight away – magic.

    Thanks

  8. Jeroen
    April 5th, 2006 at 23:30 | #8

    Dude.. absolutley worked fine for me. I also advise to switch off the auto sync clock function in the time-menu.. that thing already screwed up a couple of recordings in the past for me!!

    Thanks again!
    Jeroen

  9. Tricky
    April 8th, 2006 at 18:43 | #9

    Just wanted to say thanks for the resolution. All other sites give an incorrect reason for this error.

    Thanks again!

  10. AmanteNYC
    May 8th, 2006 at 10:09 | #10

    worked out for me darn laptop was dated 3 years behind lol.

    thanks …

  11. goa
    May 10th, 2006 at 18:03 | #11

    yeah thx alot it it worked for me …omg i thoguht i hada problem with my internt isp provider…thxd alot….JUST PUT THE CORRECT TIME Dont always use update time.then the guid will download…for the other problems that still wont work …i dunno what to do with that….also u need a tv plug connected to ur pc to download the guide …whats the guid for neways …so remember u need tv output so u can connecta tv cable to ur pc and u need to change ur time date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. eric
    May 12th, 2006 at 09:11 | #12

    change the clock time and the date. Make sure it is correct, this worked for me also..
    thanks for the post

  13. Alan Kelly
    May 18th, 2006 at 05:21 | #13

    Hi,

    I also have the same error code 14 when trying to get the guide. Just to calrify are we talking about setting the correct date under windows ( Date and Time properties ) or in the bios as someone mentioned. Seems odd that no-one would notice the date incorrect in windows because so many things rely on it. Please clarify. Thanks

  14. zeroxliang
    May 21st, 2006 at 23:10 | #14

    I’ve had this problem for awhile. I haven’t been able to fix it because I cannot synchronize with the windows time server.

  15. Simon
    May 22nd, 2006 at 14:30 | #15

    Thanks dude,

    Thought I was stuffed, good old google and the wonderful world of internet help strikes again.

  16. Anonymous
    May 28th, 2006 at 23:54 | #16

    yoda man. worked like a charm. had to wipe my cmos for the MB problem,

  17. biip
    May 31st, 2006 at 14:36 | #17

    THHHAAAAAANKKSSS man.. I’ve been soo frustrated because of this problem. thanks again

  18. keith
    June 4th, 2006 at 08:39 | #18

    hi to everybody.

    whenever i try to donload the media guide i get this error message “Guide listings could not be retrieved. Internet connection failure” on my HP Media Center laptop.

    Steps done :I went to microsoft website and tried this article no:905945 .Still no joy.

    Any other steps that could be done.

  19. Louise
    June 18th, 2006 at 06:34 | #19

    Hi everyone

    I cant thank you all enough from getting me out of my panick. I am in no way computer minded and my partner has just installed the new beta version of vista MCE.

    He has gone away for the weekend and the damn thing lost all guide listing. when I tried to update it, the error message listed here came up. A quick type into google and I found you guys and the solution. It worked perfectly.

    Thanks for all you help.

  20. Brised
    June 29th, 2006 at 10:30 | #20

    Guys some of you maybe having firewall/network access issues. MCE needs to be able to do thhe following to download the guide.

    data.tvdownload.microsoft.com:443
    epg.tvdownload.microsoft.com:80
    go.microsoft.com:443

    That and the time seem to cause this kind of error. Good Luck!

  21. Connie
    June 29th, 2006 at 13:22 | #21

    I set my computer /pc clock to the correct time. However,… My media center tv clock is wrong. The shows appear fine…. just the wrong time is entered. Also, did my correct zip, etc.

  22. Anonymous
    July 5th, 2006 at 00:34 | #22

    Thanks for that. For those of you still trying, all I can say is look really hard at the time setting. Is it the right year, is it am or pm?

  23. pete
    July 11th, 2006 at 17:32 | #23

    I turned ON windows firewall – turned OFF my norton firewall – downloaded listings – worked! –
    still getting error message for internet time synchronisation – is this relevant?

  24. Mary
    July 25th, 2006 at 22:19 | #24

    I have a different problem. The downloaded guide data is offset by two hours from the correct information. This started when I downloaded guide information at a time during which the clock was on a different time zone two hours ahead. However, nothing I seem to be able to do will correct the problem. I reset the clock, rebooted the system, reloaded the guide data — nothing helps. It’s still two hours ahead of what it should be. Suggestions would be very much appreciated.

    For those of you who can’t download guide information, Norton antivirus and other versions of Norton get in the way! Turn it off. Better yet, dump it and get Grisoft Antivirus (AVG).

  25. MG
    September 8th, 2006 at 17:38 | #25

    Ok I was cursing your name as I tried the time deal over and over only to realize that my time was set properly…

    I next checked the windows update to see if there was something new… sure enough under custom there was a new rollup for MCE. I installed it and code 14 was gone.

  26. Alex
    October 23rd, 2006 at 23:31 | #26

    Just wanted to drop a line and say thanks. I was going crazy trying to figure out why It wouldn’t download the listing. Fixed the time and boom it worked! You would think the sync time would work automatically and I agree with you that microsoft should be a bit more clear.

  27. wayne
    November 16th, 2006 at 06:36 | #27

    can anyone tell me how to change the time in the media center

  28. Granny
    January 12th, 2007 at 21:59 | #28

    You are a GURU. Unreal. My date was wrong. I thought it was a firewall security certificate problem.

    Have a great weekend.

  29. fernan
    January 22nd, 2007 at 21:25 | #29

    Is there a specific postal code for those of us who live in the tropical island of Puerto Rico? ’cause i keep typing 00907 and the answer is “TV PROGRAM GUIDE LISTINGS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR YOUR COUNTRY OR REGION”.

  30. Raj
    February 8th, 2007 at 01:50 | #30

    Fernan,
    GUIDE is not available for puerto rico.

  31. Ankur
    March 11th, 2007 at 00:32 | #31

    Thanks a lot for this tip – works like a charm.

  32. Trevor
    March 14th, 2007 at 11:44 | #32

    thanks alot…this worked great… :)

  33. Gordy
    March 17th, 2007 at 23:09 | #33

    Changed time, enabled auto daylight savings, enable time sync, set for CST(I live in MN) but the media center time is off like it never adjusted for daylight savings time yet. My recordings will match up because the guide is also an hour off. I would just like to have everything synced. Help if you can, Please!

  34. Jeremy
    March 22nd, 2007 at 23:35 | #34

    I checked my date/time in CMOS and in Windows but still i have to set it 1 hour behind in CMOS to get it to show the correct time slot on the TV Guide PLEASE HELP ME!

  35. Tanya
    March 23rd, 2007 at 11:34 | #35

    I have the same problems as mentioned above- My time is off an hour- as if day light savings time never took place- BUT the guide is off on my Media center- so I can’t record anything- I set a show at 4 and records the one at 3. If I set the show at 5 to trick it into recording the one at 4, it records the one at 5. MS is no help whatsoever. All my clocks are set right- Its the downloaded guide that seems to be off. How do I fix that????

  36. Crikerat
    April 1st, 2007 at 14:19 | #36

    For those off by an hour, disable auto daylight savings time if you have it on and set it manually. DST came early and your PC may/may not have updated properly.

  37. judy
    April 1st, 2007 at 21:19 | #37

    new computer… guide is 3 hours behind… media center clock shows right time but if I want to record a show I have to tell it to record the show that was on 3 hours ago… so I can’t get it to record a series or whatever… and if it’s a movie I have to tell it to record a whole bunch of shows… AAARRGG!!! Anyone have a suggestion?

  38. Karin
    April 2nd, 2007 at 07:59 | #38

    I´m running Vista MCE and my guide listings are also of by an hour… Where do I didsable auto DST – I only have a check box for: “Remind me one week before DST changes”. Should I disable this one?

  39. SteveCee
    April 9th, 2007 at 09:51 | #39

    My clock already was not DST enabled, yet Media Center is still stuck on pne hour behind. As if I were in Central (Atlantic) time, yet my local programs are in Eastern. I did notice that the Internet Time was not synchronizing.

  40. Jay
    April 10th, 2007 at 17:15 | #40

    I am having the hr behind problem regardless of the fact I have the update installed or that I manually configure windows time. To record tv I have to set my clock incorectly an hr behind.

  41. Dawn
    April 11th, 2007 at 00:37 | #41

    Please help! This issue is driving me crazy! My Media Center guide is off by one hour. My computer time is correct, auto daylight savings time is shut off, my internet time synchronization will not synch to time.windows.com so it is currently disabled. My Media Center screen shows the right time and day, but the guide time is wrong with the 6 pm news on at 5 pm and every other show in the guide showing an hour earlier than scheduled.

    I have MCE 2004 and went to check for a Windows update but it would not load because it said “Update cannot be installed as a newer or same timezone update has already been installed.”

    Where do I go to change the time so that my guide gives the right data? Comcast says it is a HP issue but I cannot find anything to fix it.

    Can anyone help me?

  42. KINGLIFER
    April 14th, 2007 at 20:09 | #42

    Man… I had AM instead of PM… wow… insane.

  43. vladski
    April 17th, 2007 at 14:33 | #43

    For those who’s guide seems to be several hrs ahead make sure that your time zone is set correctly. I had mine set to gmt us and canada when it shoud have been est. Now my guide is showing right info. Hope this helps

  44. Josh Darland
    April 22nd, 2007 at 13:08 | #44

    I had the exact same problem of media center being an hour off. Turn on the daylight savings time feature (double click the time, go to time zones, and check the box), the computer clock will go ahead an hour. Set it to the right time and Media Center will be corrected. Hope this helps someone.

  45. LM
    May 2nd, 2007 at 19:25 | #45

    This is how I corrected my issue with the MCE 2004 guide being 1 hour off compared to the actual time (I am in EST and the guide was displaying -1 hour for everything.)

    1. Make sure you have the daylight savings patch from microsoft.com (since it came early this year). Install and reboot if you don’t.

    2. In the time settings, enable ‘Automatically adjust for daylight savings’

    3. Enable the sync with the windows time server

    4. In MCE – go to the guide settings and reset the settings for your zip code and choose the correct guide listing.

    This worked for me – good luck.

  46. Koti
    May 3rd, 2007 at 16:59 | #46

    Thanks a lot did fix for me.

  47. Dan
    May 19th, 2007 at 13:53 | #47

    Well, I was hopeful when I found this…but still broken.

    The error is “The Guide could not be downloaded for the following reason: Internet Connection Failure (Code: 13)”. I am running Vista Ultimate (x32), it was working about 2 weeks ago just fine, comcast is no help (They recommended that I get a cable box), Vista doesn’t have the DST issue, my time is accurate, and MS site has nothing helpful.

    Anyone running vista have this problem and a fix?

  48. Alan
    July 19th, 2007 at 07:54 | #48

    Thanks! Worked perfectly after trying to fix things myself for more than an hour.

    Although I had unplugged the PC during a severe lightning storm and before a four-hour power outage, the date indeed had been changed to eight years and one month into the future, 2015.

    I had received error codes 14 and 33, and your page popped up right away.

    Now I’ll search to see if there’s a new way to override the restricted content problem on my MC Extender from sadly updating to Rollup 2.

  49. Brian
    August 26th, 2007 at 17:28 | #49

    I’m having a nightmare trying to download the MCE2005 TV Guide in both Guide Setup and Guide Refresh I get an Internet Connection Failure message with (Code 4). This used to work fine until 2 weeks ago, I havn’t changed anything on my PC, I’ve tried disabling Firewalls, Spybot and AVG Anti Virus – still comes up with same error. I’m using Netgear Wireless Router and have no other connectivity problems with any other software. The time and date are synched correctly. Any Help would be really really appreciated as I’ve been two weeks without my guide and thinking about scrapping all together and getting a PVR instead !

  50. BillN
    August 29th, 2007 at 13:24 | #50

    I am also receiving Error Codes 14 and 33. My guide had downloaded successfully for over a year and just 3 – 4 weeks ago stopped working. I have verified that my date/time is correct, disabled Anti-Virus software, disabled Zone Alarm, renamed the eHome dir and re-created by running Media Center Setup all with no luck.

    Any Ideas?

Comment pages
1 2 96