I have been using XBMC for quite some years on my classic Xbox, and was extremely satisfied with it. However, the hardware was getting a bit outdated, and it couldn’t play HD f.ex.. So after a lot of research I bought an Asrock 330HT BD, which is quite nice.
I have been testing it for a while using Linux with XBMC, but I have to say it’s a lot of hassle to get everything to work. Most importantly, the remote control drivers for Linux from Asrock sucks, they only work for specific linux kernels, so you’re screwed over every time you update…
So, I went back to Windows 7 with XBMC, and this is a small Howto on what I did to get it to work as I wanted it to. 1) Install and update Windows (duh)2) Install the remote control drivers from Asrock: http://www.asrock.com/Nettop/download.asp?Model=ION%20330HT-BD&o=Win7
3) Install XBMC (duh): http://xbmc.org/. After installation, your settings on Windows are in %AppData%Xbmc.
4) The windows remote control that comes with the Asrock is by default setup to use Windows Media Center. To switch some keys around to work better with XBMC, do as follows:
a) Download MSRemote.reg and merge it into your registry: http://mortencb.cx/posterous_files/MSRemote.reg – If you ever want to go back to the original setup for the remote, download MSDefault.reg and merge it into your registry and reboot: http://mortencb.cx/posterous_files/MSDefault.reg
b) Download keyboard.xml to %AppData%XbmcUserdata: http://mortencb.cx/posterous_files/keyboard.xml
c) Right click on the icon for XBMC on the start-meny, click on properties and click in the Shortcut Key box. Then click on the keys ctrl-shift-w. Then click ok.
d) Reboot
e) Thanks to the folks on http://forum.xbmc.org/ and http://xbmcmce.sourceforge.net/ for these files and tips.
5) If you want Windows to start, login to your passwordprotected useraccount (xbmc f.ex), and start up XBMC automatically when you turn on the Asrock, do the following:
a) Start regedit as admin
b) Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogonAutoAdminLogon
c) Change it from 0 to 1
d) Windows-r (run) and type “control userpasswords2”
e) Check/Uncheck “Users must enter a password…” a few times until you get asked for your password.
f) Copy the XBMC shortcut on the start menu to the startup folder
g) Thanks to Sarah Perez on the MSDN blog for this tip.
6) I recommend setting up XBMC to go to sleep after 10 minutes of idle time, and that the off button sends the machine to sleep. This will make the top right button on the remote make the machine go to sleep or wake up. Only takes a few seconds. BlueRay playback will come in a later post. Good luck with your XBMC on the Asrock 🙂
