There may come a time when you need to clear the Metadata or Cover Art from the cache of the built-in Movie Library in Windows 7 Media Center. Perhaps a metadata manager went awry and saved some improper information directly to the cache or maybe you’d just like to reload your cover art. Luckily it’s extremely simple.

First you’ll need to enable the viewing of hidden files and folders. To do this open up Control Panel and select Appearance and Personalization. Under Folder Options select the Show Hidden Files and Folders link to open up the Folder Options dialog.

Select the option to Show Hidden Files and Folders in the settings and Press OK to save your new settings.

Now open up Windows Explorer and navigate to your user directory, C:\Users\USERNAME, you should now see a folder inside named AppData. Continue through this directory until you reach C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\eHome and inside you should see at least three folders. DVDCoverCache stores the cover art for your movie collection, DVDInfoCache stores the metadata and mcl_images stores icons for plugins and apps that can be launched from Windows Media Center.

Simply delete any of these folders and the contents will be regenerated the next time you run the default Movie Library in Windows 7 Media Center (with the exception of mcl_images of course, generated when entering Extra Programs).

That’s it, just relaunch Windows Media Center for your changes to take effect. Using this guide before trying out a new metadata program or changing your cover art can save you a few headaches down the road.