To check to see if your system is compatible to work with a Cable card open windows media center and go to Extras and click on Extras Gallery and click on the cable connector. ( if you do not see the cable advisor click here )

If you go to extras and do not see the extras gallery.

If the Digital Cable Advisor is not present try the following:

In MCE: Tasks/Settings/General/Automatic Download Options: select “Automatically download Windows Media Center data between the following times” and click ‘download now’ to begin the download process immediately. Once the updates are downloaded, check the extras section again to see if the DCA is present.

If it is not, go to MCE: Tasks/Settings/ General/Windows Media Center Setup. Choose “set up internet connection” and complete the setup.
The digital cable advisor should now be present under Extras/Extras library or Extras Gallery.