Cannot see WHS 2011 from Wdlive Tv or Ac Ryan Hd2

[RimBlock]

Hi

I have installed and configured my WHS2011 server and can browse the shares from my Win7 machines after running the connector. I have two WD Live TV media players and one AC Ryan HD2 player and none of them can see the WHS when I choose to view network shares (Samba). The other servers with shares are visible on my network but not the WHS 2011.

As the result of a previous install, the AC Ryan has the server name and login details which match the new WHS 2011 build and using this saved shortcut I can access and play files from the WHS 2011. Unfortunately I cannot browse to it or type in an address and so cannot get to it from the WD Live TV units and if the shortcut was removed then would not be able to from the AC Ryan either.

Looking at the network on the WHS I can see the WD Live TV under media devices and connect to its webpage.

Are there any solutions around as I have not seen any when googling (most seem to be about share access not WH server visibility on the network).

Thanks

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Hi Asprin,

I had read about issues with having to have a static IP causing sharing problems but my players and the server all have static IPs.

Gut feel is that as the server is attached to a homegroup it is not visible to the workgroup the media player are attached to. The media players cannot join the homegroup and will not let you put in a server name manually (which would work).

I would rather not drop back to a workgroup rather than a homegroup without knowing what issues may result (lost functionality) if any.

For software aimed at sharing media it seems very strange that most popular media players cannot see the server out of the box.

RB

Edit: on further digging, the server is not connected to any homegroup, network discovery is turned on and the workgroup name is WORKGROUP. I currently see no reason why the players cannot locate the server on the network.

 

[RimBlock]

I have made two changes and the WD player can now see the NAS but still not the AC Ryan.

I installed a patch via Windows update and reset the host list on my broadband router clearing out its list of known hosts as it seemed to be getting confused and I could not specifically define any new firewall rules.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Hi,

I have both a wrt610n (Wireless access point only) and a 2wire 2701 (ADSL router).

AFAIK changing the workgroup would require a reinstall of WHS2011 as it is using Active Directory certification which requires the workgroup to remain static after install (so I have been told and you cannot change it in the usual way on the server).

The wrt610n for me is a waste as the wireless is all I use it for now so I could change this but not sure reselling it will get too much back.

The WD boxes are working fine although I am tempted to try BRads firmware in order to get the movie sheets working. The AC Ryan is not seeing the server still but at least I can manually add a shortcut and so connect directly that way.

Asprin, I know what you mean. WHS2011 looked very basic, especially when compared to SBS2011 but a lot of the functionality is there if you install it (not setup out of the box but easy to install). I have added the DNS and DHCP roles to take that away from my wireless router, domain hosting and remote access using DynDNS seems to be working fine although remote desktop works only to the server or Win7pro and above desktops (so no remote desktop to 7Home Premium machines). I believe sharepoint Foundation is in there as well so I will be digging around after that as well. I also hear there was a pretty big price cut recently as well (2 days after I bought it at full price ). Seems to be a bit of a gem if you spend a bit of time to activate the extras. Just need to get lightsout working so I can do wake-on-lan for the server when I turn on the media players or desktops rather than have it running 24*7 doing very little.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Hi Rimblock,
Well the problem is back again. I can only see the WHS 2011 data via Media Server and not any network shares. I have had a really good look on the net and it appears to be a major issue with all sorts of odd fixes - some which I'm not willing to entertain. Nothing is ever simple in life

P.S. just taken an aspirin to relieve the headache.

Nuts.

Seems really strange. Do you have a full list of equipment on your network. I can provide the same and see if we have any other common items.

I think setting the WHS to DHCP server role and DNS server role may also help but of course all other DHCP servers need to be turned off on the network and everything needs to be pointed to the WHS as the DHCP server. I believe my WD is set for DHCP not static IP address.

Slightly unrelated... I have also setup my WHS as a WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) server and patched the registry on my Home Premium desktops so the server downloads the Windows updates and the desktops check the server and install from it when a new update is found. Saves downloading the same update for each machine and the server can keep track of the desktops patch statuses.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Thanks k3v! I have had some modicom success by setting the browser to automatic. The shares appear slightly randomly but it is better than nothing. Oddly, I have intermittent issues connecting to Win 7 shares too. I just tested this for interests sake.

Just to confirm, is it the shares appearing and disappearing or you not being able to see the server and so not being able to see the shares it is serving ?.

My issue is the latter. I cannot see the server at all. Now working for the WD LiveTV players but not the AC Ryan HD2.

Thanks k3v!, I will check the settings on my install to see the current status.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Initially couldn't see the server when selecting network on the WDTV. Now that I have made the changes that k3v suggested I can always see the server but sometimes not the shares. It either times out or some of the shares are missing. Maybe there is a better workaround by installing another Media Centre like XBMC, but I would prefer to use shares to be honest.

You also mentioned having issues from your windows PCs ?. I guess you are sharing via Samba ?.

Have you tried removing and re-adding the shares using the WHS management console ?. Have you tried creating shares via the 'advanced sharing' in Windows Explorer (need to do this to create hidden shares as WHS management does not allow it) ?.

If you are having PC issues with the shares, have you tried connecting via IP rather than WHS hostname to see if this makes a difference ?

I have been getting some errors about 'volume no longer accessible' when browsing my photos on the NAS which I have set as my default 'My Pictures' libraries (via a network share mounted on the PC).

ie.
I have mounted \\nas\array$ as z: and then repointed 'My Pictures' libraries to z:\media\pictures. I have done this for my wifes account as well on both machines so we both are looking at and downloading to the same family photo store on the nas rather than separate stores on each PC which need to be sync'd.

Works ok most of the time even during a NAS reboot if there is more than one folder set as 'My Pictures'. If there is only one folder then it can get a bit confused.

Have done the same for 'My Videos' and 'My Documents' too although for 'My Documents' the nas share cannot be the default as some installers like Adobe Acrobat will not install ("Z:\ is not a valid installation drive" or something like that). To get round this I have a default local folder and a folder on the NAS all linked in one library.

RB

 

[RimBlock]

Thanks, will take a look.

RB