You may experience various symptoms when you switch the focus between Windows Media Center and other applications on a computer that is running Windows Vista

You may experience the following symptoms on a computer that is running Windows Vista:

Symptom 1

You are using Windows Media Center to play a .wmv file in full-screen mode. You press the Windows logo key to switch the focus from Windows Media Center to other applications or to the desktop. However, when you switch the focus back to Windows Media Center, the Windows Media Center screen sometimes remains blank.

Symptom 2

You are using Windows Media Center to play a .wmv file or a MPEG2 file (.mpg) in full-screen mode. You press ALT+TAB several times to switch the focus back to Media Center when the movie is running. When you switch the focus back to Windows Media Center from other applications or from the desktop, you receive a "Cannot Play Video" error message.

Symptom 3

You are using Windows Media Center to play a .mpg file in full-screen mode. When you change the focus from Windows Media Center to the desktop, Windows Media Center crashes.

Symptom 4

You attach a CRT monitor or any other external monitor to a Lenovo ThinkPad portable computer. You play back a DVD movie in Windows Media Center, and then you switch the movie to full-screen mode. When you press Fn+ F7 to switch from the LCD monitor to the external monitor, the external monitor sometimes displays a black screen.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Vista, 32-bit editions

Windows Vista, 64-bit editions

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.