Skip Forward / Skip Back screen controls missing in Windows 7 Media Centre

Question

The Fast Forward and Rewind controls are still present, but the skip buttons are missing entirely.  Seems almost like this is derivative of some sort of visual 'theme', but no matter where I look in the options for media center I cannot seem to find any settting which enables these controls.  The CTRL+F / CTRL+B keyboard shortcuts work as expected.  I also have a remote control (Hauppauge WinTV) which I am able to use to skip forward and backward without a problem (unplugging the remote IR recevier has no influence on the issue).

This is a fresh installation of Windows 7 and all settings remain 'Out of the Box' where WMC is concerned.

Ideas anyone?

Answer 1

I just ran into this same issue and found a very simple answer - my Media Center window was sized too small.  I forgot I've even done that, but just a simple drag of the edge of the window to increase it's size fixed my issue.  I went from having just a few control buttons on screen to having the entire set including those previously missing (skip forward/back, channel +/-, record).

Answer 2

Hi,

Thanks for posting in Microsoft answers!

Try to rebuild the Media Center data store.

To do a rebuild of the data store:

Click Start ,

Type “run” in the Start Search box, and then

Click Run in the Programs list.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Continue . 

In the Open box, type %systemdrive%\programdata\microsoft\ehome

Click OK . 

In the details pane, right-click “mediacenterdatastore.db” , and then

Click Delete . 

Click Yes to confirm that you want to move the "Mediacenterdatastore.db" file to the Recycle Bin. 

Start Windows Media Center.

Method 2:

Use the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to determine which file is causing the issue, and then replace the file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

sfc /scannow

The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

Also, uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Center from turn Windows Features On and Off and check if it works fine.

Here are the steps:

1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel, click Programs and features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Click on Media Features, Uncheck Windows Media Center, and hit ok.
3. Restart the computer, follow the same procedure, and check Windows media Center.

For more information, logon to:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Turn-Windows-features-on-or-off

Let us know if you have any issues.

Thanks and Regards,

Azam – Microsoft Support.