Windows 7: WMC Media Extender/Xbox 360 Connecting

Im running windows 7, belkin N1 router (set up wired), and a XBox360 that is set up and recognized on my network.

I have used other software to stream video and music to my xbox but its fairly limited, I also run netflix on it.

I tried to set up media center today, and have failed everytime, says my extender cannot connect wtih my pc. So I went into my firewall settings, and noticed that media extenders was not checked on allowed programs. Everytime I checked it, clicked ok, and tried again, same error, and I noticed that it unchecked my media extender tab once again. So I went a step further and shut down my windows firewall, and my router firewall, still same error fails to communicate with my pc.

Any ideas?

There seems to be an issue with setting up XBOX 360 extenders on W7MC, alot of people are having multiple issues with the setup but a fix has not yet been issued.
i think it's gonna be a waiting game. (P*ss poor from MS IMO)

I have 2 other associates that are running vista with the exact same symptons as me. I think the 2 divisions up in Redmond (xbox and wmc) must not be getting along on the raquet ball court and not communicating with each other. Either that or one of the departments dropped the ball on the developing stages and didnt complete the project. Its pretty sad that software developed by 3rd parties work flawlessly and I cant get 2 microsoft products to work together.

I found this when fighting with this issue back in June. Maybe there are still no better tips online, it came first when I just googled it because I had forgotten the address. Helped me then, hopefully it helps you now.

Kari

It's shocking really.
MS need to fix this quick. So much so, i'm even contemplating ditching the 360 and put that money towards a PS3 because i can just see it now; 12 months down the line and still not a fix

That sounds like a realistic time frame

I had no problems connecting the 360 to MC - the set up was a breeze.

One little problem in running it though...

With the 360 set to 1920x1080 via VGA cable - When running MC on the 360 it 'defaults' to 640x480 which completely garbles the screen, rendering MC utterly useless.

Yet it works fine via component.

Apparently this bug has been there since build 7100.

I went through the same problems. I could stream everything by using a network share, but windows media center would not connect. Windows Media Center setup would complete all but the last step when adding an extender; the step that says "Connecting to your extender...". Completion of setup would state: "Your Media Center Extender was set up successfully, but failed to connect."

When connecting from the Xbox 360, it would stay at "Connecting..." until it states, "Connection Failed..."

I'm using Windows 7 RTM. Avast antivirus on, Windows firewall on. PC and Xbox 360 wired to a switch. Switch connects to router. No Windows settings changed, as the setup does everything for you.

I think media center creates an RDP session to connect. The connection it makes is not compatible with the default Windows 7 RDP security settings.

Solution

Run gpedit.msc. Go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Security.

Enable "Set client connection encryption level" & change encryption level to 'Client Compatible'.
Disable "Always prompt for password upon connection"

I'm guessing these settings don't only apply to Windows 7, but to Vista and XP media centers as well.

Thanks for posting that ceevee. I was having trouble getting my Xbox360 connected and followed your solution and it then worked straight away. Thanks!

Well, actually I went through and did a complete reinstall on 2 of my computers the other day, and the first thing I did was run through the set up of Media Center and my Xbox and it set up flawlessly.

I have an assumption that possibly using other software to stream my media to my xbox may have been preventing media center to communicate with my xbox. Thanks for all the help anyways.

ceevee's solution worked for me... however I'm not sure how to do this:
I have a network storage device which I have my music/movies/etc mapped to. It doesn't automatically detect the content from there.

Any idea how to force my system to share what's on the network drive?