Windows 7 and XBox 360

I have a similar problem as Environav. My xbox and WMC PC are directly connected via cable, but when the xbox starts up in media center mode, I get the "Connection failure" error.

The solution for this is to turn on media streming.
- Go to network and sharing center
- click on advanced sharing settings
- and turn on media streaming

The problem I found is that when either the PC or xbox reboot, the network location is set to "Public" (for which streaming is always off). Once streaming for the Public profile is turned on, Win7 suddenly changes the network location to "Work".

This is extremely annoying, since I don't leave either my xbox or my PC on overnight. And therefore every time I have to turn on media streaming on my PC.

Does anyone have a solution for this problem?

Okay... I've gotten to where I can usually (still have to reboot CPU occasionally) connect my Xbox to my Media Center PC, but I still can't watch any recorded TV. I keep getting the following error: "Video Error: Files needed to display video are not installed or are not working correctly. Restart Windows Media Center or restart the computer." I've done this multiple times with no luck. I think (hope) this is the last obstacle before this thing is finally working like it should. Thanks in advance for any help provided!

Hi... I have had a similar problem... Except sometimes I can connect, and sometimes I cannot. I just upgraded to win 7, but it was the same problem when I had Vista. When on the Xbox 360, I would go to Network Settings, and test connection to PC... it goes and says it is connected to the network, then it will come up to the "PC not Listed" Page. Sometimes JOHN-PC will pop up, sometimes it will not. But if I let it sit on that page for a while, eventually it WILL pop up, but if I do not Click on it immediately, It will not connect... but if I do click on it immediatel... it does connect. I go through this every time I try to connect... I know this shouldn't be... but I have not found a solution.... I only have Windows Firewall. And I have Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router with SpeedBooster WRT54GS2Can someone pease help me

so, I went into network and sharing and it says that the 360 is allowed... and I still have that problem

Boomstick777 said:

caedus90 said:

Hey, I have this problem too. Could you tell me what features you had to enable. I just can't seem to get this fixed. Thanks.

Type services in the start search' bar on program menu scroll down to windows media player network sharing service. Right click on it in properties make sure that it is has been started and is working and the startup type is set to automatic. Hope this helps you out :)

Cheers mate took me a while to find it.. (had to go through loads of "windows media player network sharing service's" before I found the one needed)

Massjohn420 said:

so, I went into network and sharing and it says that the 360 is allowed... and I still have that problem

I have the same problem as you, i have set it all up before on all 4 of my laptops (3 being vista or xp and this one being W7)

I have turned my firewall(s) off and still it says "unable to connect to computer. A firewall is blocking this device/connection."

I am having a very similar problem. A few nights ago, I was able to play music from my laptop while playing a game on my 360 (without using Media Center Extender), and now I try to do the same thing (without having changed any setting or even turning the laptop off) and I get either an error message saying no files were found, or a message saying that the connection to the PC was lost (even though the 360 has an XBOX Live connection, and can use Media Center just fine). Here's my setup:

Wireless network, modem/router hooked to main PC
Laptop connected wirelessly, with wireless/LAN connections bridged
Xbox 360 connected to laptop via Ethernet cable

I have network streaming turned on, Windows Media Sharing Service turned on, whole network allowed on the network file sharing, only Windows Firewall (meaning it automatically added the exception for the 360), network streaming is an exception on my antivirus program.

Basically I'm doing everything right, why is my network not doing anything right?

EDIT: As a side note, while fiddling around trying to search for the 360 as a standalone device, I got a BSOD.

Krillin said:

Hi guys, felt like registering to show others this. Not sure if this applies to everybody, but make sure Windows 7 knows that you specifically want to stream to your Xbox like so (Ensure your Xbox is turned on and connected to the internet; navigating to My Xbox -> Music Library may speed up location time):

1. Navigate to Start -> Devices and Printers.
2. Right-Click on the Devices drop down bar (refer to attachment 1) and select Network Settings
3. Once the Network and Sharing center opens, on the left pane click the link to "Change advanced sharing settings".
4. Scroll down to the section: Media streaming, and click on "Choose media streaming options..."
5. Your Xbox should either already be listed or will appear after a few seconds (As long as it's already on and connected to the network).
6. Click the drop-down box to the right of your Xbox and select Allowed.

Now you should have no problem streaming directly from your computer to your "Libraries" on the Xbox. When you select a library, one of the devices should be the name that you gave your computer during Windows 7 setup.

Good luck!

Thanks, but now another problem occurred. It now see's the computer on the xbox; but it cannot find any of my music, pictures, and videos. Any ideas?

Ok here is what I found,

I had previously had my XBOX360 Windows Media Center connected to a PC running Windows XP.

I then upgraded to Windows 7 on a new PC.

It wouldn't let me connect at first, although I made sure to do all the things found in this thread.

What worked, was that I had to remove the PC from the XBOX's memory (network settings), and then try to re-add the PC.

I'm guessing that since the XBOX was expecting to connect to my old PC with Windows XP, it couldn't find it and wasn't trying to find the new PC running Windows 7.