XBMC can no longer connect to SMB, UPnP on new Wireless Connection (WGA54G)

[canuck]

Hello,

My XBox runs on a Nov 2007 build of XBMC. It's been wired directly to my Linksys WRT54G wireless router, and running on a static IP for ages. During this time, I was easily able to connect to the Internet as well as share files with other computers on my home network.

This Christmas, I got myself the Linksys WGA54G wireless gaming adapter. I configured the adapter according to the documentation, but I am only able to connect to the Internet and stream media from my home network using the XMBSP protocol (ccxstream server gui). I can ping the XBox and the WGA54G just fine, and I can also FTP to the XBox perfectly. However, I can no longer find my pre-existing SMB shares or share media using UPnP.

My network was previously set up thusly:
Router IP -192.168.1.200
XBox IP - 192.168.1.138
XBox Subnet - 255.255.255.0
XBox Gateway - 192.168.1.200 (The router's IP)
XBox DNS: My ISP's primary DNS

After getting the WGA54G, I did not change my XBOX network settings at all. The WGA54G was set up in infrastructure mode and configured thusly:

IP: 192.168.1.140
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.200 (The router's IP)

Does anyone have any ideas why I've got everything set up to connect to the Internet, but very little in the way of connecting with my home network?

[darthanubis]

It may be samba dude.

The latest smaba screwed things up for many.

http://rajeev.name/blog/2006/11/04/dfs-and-samba/

http://lists.samba.org/archive/samba-technical/2007-May/053388.html

[canuck]

Just a small update. I assumed that the XBox could still connect to the XMBSP network, but I was wrong. It can read existing shares and I can add new ones manually, but it can no longer browse the XMBSP network like it used to when it was wired.

I'm not convinced the issue is SMB-specific. Actually, I think I'm narrowing all of this down to the theory that when the XBox is connected to this wireless game adapter (also a wireless bridge), it is no longer a part of my wireless network. I need someone more knowledgeable about networking than me to bring clarity to all of this.

I also tried to install the WGA54G to my brother's wireless network at home (1 PC and 1 original XBox), but I couldn't get it working at all. Man, do I hate this adapter.

[calibos]

Yesterday I disconnected my Nas from the 10/100 Network to connect directly to a laptop to transfer about 40 gigs of stuff at gigabit speeds. I have been having smb issues ever since. Invalid server name, error this error that. Some XBMC machines were playing stuff perfectly but could not see network to set up new shares. One machine would play videos for 60 seconds or so and then crash back to the My Videos home screen and it too could not see the Network to set up new shares.

Anyway I was pulling my hair out today trying this and that setting. Rebooting this and that etc. What finally resolved the issue was turning all the XBMC's off and turning all my network equipment off at the same time. Was easy for me as both my Nas', Router, and Switch are all on the one wall socket. I just switched everything off at once with the wall switch. Turned it back on a minute or two later, let everything boot up and then switched on the xboxes. Bingo. Video playing normally and network fully visible/resolved for setting up shares.

I am no network expert but I think especially when adding or removing hardware from a network even temporarily, IP addresses and switching and routing and all that get out of sync. Rebooting the lot gets everything back in sync againm with regard to IP adressing and routing etc.

Worth a try anyway

[canuck]

Thanks. That certainly was worth a try, but unfortunately it did not improve anything.

Seriously, all I have to do is disconnect the WGA54G wireless gaming adapter and plug the ethernet cable back from my XBox to my router and I can browse all networks again: SMB, XMBSP, UPnP, etc.

I'm sure that I'm missing a configuration step either on the XBox side or the gaming adapter side. The documentation and support on this thing is virtually nil, so I'm throwing myself at the mercy of a more knowledgeable community.

[learntofly1]

I run a similar setup.

Change the XBOX's network settings to:

XBox IP - 192.168.1.138
XBox Subnet - 255.255.255.0
XBox Gateway - 192.168.1.140 (The router's IP)
XBox DNS: My ISP's primary DNS

Let me know if this works

--
Regards

[canuck]

Thanks for taking the time to write, but as indicated in my original post I already have my router's IP set as the XBox Gateway.

Anybody else?

[learntofly1]

I run a similar setup.

Change the XBOX's network settings to:

XBox IP - 192.168.1.138
XBox Subnet - 255.255.255.0
XBox Gateway - 192.168.1.140 (The router's IP)
XBox DNS: My ISP's primary DNS

Let me know if this works

--
Regards

Thanks for taking the time to write, but as indicated in my original post I already have my router's IP set as the XBox Gateway.

Anybody else?

Please re-read my post.. change your default gateway IP to your wireless gaming adaptors IP i.e. 192.168.1.140

Again let me know if this works.

--
Regards

[canuck]

Sorry, when I read "router" I was not thinking "gaming adapter". I had also done that before based on reading other's posts. It maintains Internet connectivity, but still does not afford me file sharing capabilities.

As of this evening, the gaming adapter stopped all wireless connectivity with no extra tweaking from my part. I could not ping the adapter's address, so I hooked it back up to my PC and found all the settings were still good and I could connect to my SSID. I unplugged the Ethernet and pinged the adapter perfectly. I then hooked it back up to my XBox and could not connect to the Internet or to my WLAN using the exact same settings that worked no less than a few hours ago. Remember that this is on a Static IP, not dynamic.

I'm so unbelievably frustrated with Linksys at this point. I appreciate all suggestions that users have sent my way.

learntofly1, if you're willling, I'd definitely appreciate a step-by-step description of how you set up your network (modem->router->PC || Gaming Adapter<-XBox). You pointed out earlier that you have a similar set up to my own. If it's too much work, I understand. I just can't get over how complex and flaky this process has been, and how underdocumented this gaming adapter is. I understand that its primary purpose is to enable wireless gaming, but it is still a wireless bridge and should perform that function relatively easily.

[jaredharley]

You're actually in luck having that adapter. I have the same one, and I fixed this problem by doing the following:

Reset the router to factory default.
Connect it to the Xbox, power it up, and then boot up the xbox into the MS Dash.
Use the network connection manager in the ms dash to set up the adapter.

I had almost no luck trying to set it up with my laptop and then moving it over. The Xbox apparently knows how to set the settings on the router, which is really nice, and it'll run all of the connectivity tests.

[canuck]

You've intrigued me! :nerd:

Sounds like a capital idea, except that I had softmodded my XBox long ago using Evolution-X. Then I added XBMC and ran it as my default dashboard.

I can see the original XBox dashboard under C:\backup\, but if I try to run the .xbe file I just end up at a black screen.

Is it possible to run the MS Dashboard as an application without restoring it to the root C:\ drive? I'm eager to try this network connection manager tool!

[jaredharley]

I have no idea - my box is hardmodded, so all I have to do is disable the mod (I've got an Xecuter3) and I get to the dash. Hopefully someone who has softmodded will know how to get to the dash.

[canuck]

Okay, thanks.

At this point, I used a great explanation that was actually posted as part of an Amazon.com review to set up my wireless adapter with great performance.

The adapter is set up the same as before (IP 192.168.1.140, SN 255.255.255.0, Gateway same as router IP: 192.168.1.200). MAC Cloning and DHCP are disabled, WEP is enabled, and the adapter is in G-Mode only.

On the XBox, the IP is 192.168.1.138, the Subnet Mask is 255.255.255.0, the Gateway is the Adapter IP (192.168.1.140), and the DNS is set to the router IP (192.168.1.200). Phew!

Performance, like I said, is great. I'm able to:

- See the RSS feed
- See the weather feed
- FTP to the XBox
- Access the WGA54G's web-based menu wirelessly
- Access existing shares via XMBSP
- Manually enter shares via XMBSP
- Run scripts that rely on the Internet (Youtube, XBScripts, Apple Trailers, etc)

I still can't detect the WORKGROUP SMB workgroup, the XMBSP server enabled via ccxserver, or the UPnP server. If I disconnect the adapter and plug in the old ethernet cable, all these things are completely detectable again.

I feel so close! I wonder why I can't detect my home computer network when the adapter is connected...

[jaredharley]

Well, the fact that you can see the internet from XBMC and FTP to your box means it's working.

When you say "I still can't detect the WORKGROUP", are you doing this by trying to add a share in XBMC? If so, I would recommend going into your sources.xml file and "hardcode" the sources. [See Adding Media Sources (http://xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/Adding_Media_Sources#Through_Sources.xml)]

Also, make sure that your permissions are set properly on the computer you're trying to access. For example, I have all of my media on a server on the network. This server has a user account by the name of "xbox" with a password of "xbox" (that account's permissions are read-only). So in my sources.xml file, a share looks like this:

<path>smb://xbox:xbox@192.168.0.5/Movies/</path>

I hope this helps.

[canuck]

When you say "I still can't detect the WORKGROUP", are you doing this by trying to add a share in XBMC? If so, I would recommend going into your sources.xml file and "hardcode" the sources.

I meant that, when the XBox is directly wired to the router and I try to add a source in XBMC, I can actually browse my SMB shares and see the "WORKGROUP" workgroup, all computer names on my network, and whatever folders have been shared. I don't have to type anything in manually; I can just pick and choose based on the list that's made available.

If I try to browse SMB shares in wireless mode, I get an error code with a long negative number, like "-19091284098 server not found".

I am now able to manually enter a SMB share using the IP address instead of the computer name. It's not as easy as browsing all my shares when wired, but it does work. There's something about going to wireless that kills my ability to see and be seen by other computers on my network.

Thanks again for your insight and suggestions. This is becoming less frustrating and more intriguing thanks to your help!