Re: PS3 Can't Find Vista/WMP11 Media Server

Zach,

Thank you for your response. I believe that my problem is definitely on the
WMP side, as this is ONLY A WIRELESS PROBLEM between the PC and the WRT160N
router.

If I connect the PC by Ethernet to the WRT160N router, and leave the PS3
connected to the LAN wirelessly, media sharing works properly. Therefore,
this is not a PS3 problem.

Secondly, I previously used a Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router which did not
work. After consulting with Linksys, their opinion was that the router may
be defective. This was why I purchased the WRT160N.

I would note that Microsoft claims that Linksys WRT54GS V5.0 works well with
WMP11. See: "Which routers are compatible with media sharing?"
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx

I'm not trying to "throw blame" or demean anyone regarding this problem. If
for any reason I have sounded curse, I apologize, and it is a result of
having spent hundreds of hours on this problem without resolution.

And I think that I have been very specific regarding how I've tested this
problem over time. But I am not a computer engineer with the ability to
fully analyze necessary corrective measures, if any are available.

As I noted previously, in Vista, I accessed the Network and Sharing Center,
opened up Sharing and Discovery, and by clicking Change Settings, accessed
System Properties, and clicked the Hardware Tab.

On the Hardware Tab, I accessed the Device Manager and clicked Network
Adapters, where I accessed Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Properties and clicked the Advanced Tab.

On the Advanced Tab, I found that by changing Ad Hoc QoS mode to WMM Enabled,
and/or changing the Mixed Mode Protection, results in the PS3 being able to
find the WMP11 media, when the settings are saved. The Windows Icon
instantly appears on the PS3 crossbar menu wirelessly.

The same result was achieved when I disable Frame Burst in the Linksys
Advanced Wireless Setting router window and save the settings. The Windows
Icon again instantly appears on the PS3 crossbar menu wirelessly.

The saving of these settings, either in the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Network Connection Properties, Advanced Tab, or in the Linksys Advanced
Wireless Setting router window, interrupts the wireless connection as the
settings are saved, and for some reason, allows WMP11 media to be found
wirelessly by the PS3.

Unfortunately, after I turning off and re-boot either the PC or PS3, the
Windows media Icons fail to appear on the PS3 crossbar menu and a search for
media servers results in the PS3 being again unable to find the media server,
as there is no wireless communication from the PC and/or router to be found.

I find it hard to believe that this is a router problem when Microsoft
recommends the use of a Linksys WRT54GS V5.0, and when both Linksys WRT54GS
ver.6 and WRT160N ver.1 routers do not work with my Gateway/Vista laptop.

This leaves the real suspect in my mind as the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Network card, which otherwise works properly, but which for some unknown
reason, is not completely DLNA compliant, or compatible.

In the alternative, it would seem to me to be some interplay between WMP11
and the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network card, which disabling Frame
Burst in the router settings is somehow able to affect.

Zack, is there anything that you, or someone else at Microsoft and/or at
Intel can come up with regarding this problem? A search of the Internet
clearly shows, many others have a similar problem. Please see if there is
any possible solution.

Thank you for your help.

Mike


"zachd [MSFT]" wrote:


You could easily check if it was a WMP-side problem by directly wiring the
PS3 and the PC. If it's only when the routers in the building, you'd have
to debug it to pin the exact blame. If somebody wants to throw blame,
they'd probably want to be specific.

I don't know if the WRT160N has the Certified for Windows Vista logo.
That's the kind of router that would be expected to work well for sharing.
Anything not going through that certification process - suspicion would be
on the router side. =)

--
Speaking for myself only.
See http://zachd.com/pss/pss.html for some helpful WMP info.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
--
"Mick.Jagger*" <MickJagger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:B971EBE7-AD0A-4D40-9774-5191D85D68C5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As it turned out, I spoke too soon, in my excitement that for the first
time
in a year since switching from a Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 wireless router, my
PS3 had finally found the WMP 11 media server while connected wirelessly
to a
Linksys WRT160N wireless router.

(As noted previously, with the WRT54GS router, the PS3 found WMP11 maybe
5%
of the time, and half to those hits contained empty media folders, or
incomplete media folders).

After turning everything off, the PS3 again could not find the WMP11 media
server after re-booting, without going into the Linksys wireless advanced
router setting window and playing with the Frame Burst setting, which
would
again reproduce the windows media icon on the PS3 crossbar menu until
either
the PS3 or the PC was again turned off.

(I should note that if I hard wire the Gateway laptop PC to the router,
there appears to be no problem with the PS3 finding WMP11 media. This is
only a wireless problem.)

In Vista, I then accessed the Network and Sharing Center, opened up
Sharing
and Discovery, and by clicking Change Settings, accessed System
Properties,
and clicked the Hardware Tab. On the Hardware Tab, I accessed the Device
Manager and clicked Network Adapters, where I accessed Intel(R)
PRO/Wireless
3945ABG Network Connection Properties and clicked the Advanced Tab.

On the Advanced Tab, I found that changing Ad Hoc QoS mode to WMM Enabled,
and/or changing the Mixed Mode Protection, also results in the PS3 finding
the WMP11 media, when the settings are saved, similar to when I disable
Frame
Burst in the Advanced Wireless Setting router window. The saving of these
settings interrupt the wireless connection and for some reason allows the
PS3
to find the WMP11 media.

Unfortunately, after I turning off and re-booting either the PC or PS3,
the
windows icons fail to appear on the PS3 crossbar menu and a search for
media
servers results in the PS3 being unable to find the media server.

Completely frustrated, I again called Linksys to have the router flashed
with new firmware. After explaining my problem, new firmware was added
but
the Linksys service consultant could not correct the problem. He referred
me
to a Linksys specialist which was to cost $69.99. I told the specialist
that
I would agree to the charge if he could resolve the problem, and to my
surprise, he agreed.

After gaining remote control of my computer, he started disabling my
McAfee
firewall, where upon I informed him that firewalls were not the problem.
After he tried a couple of things, including removing the N channel from
the
router and changing to a BG mixed mode, which failed to resolve the
problem.
He said he would call back today, after researching the problem.

When the Linksys technician called back, his opinion was that the problem
could not be corrected and suggested that I purchase TwonkyVision media
server, which he suggested would work better than WMP11.

I have considered calling Microsoft at this point, but I's sure that they
will point the finger at Linksys. What I do know is that the problem is
not
a PS3 problem. Is it a wireless card problem, which otherwise works fine?
Is it a WMP11 problem? Or is it a general Linksys problem affecting
various
generations of wireless routers? And is there any solution to what ever
this
problem is?

I know I'm not alone with this problem. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Microsoft, are you listening???


"Mick.Jagger*" wrote:

I think that I finally resolved the problem of my PS3 recognizing the WMP
11
media server wirelessly, via a Linksys WRT160N wireless router. Both the
PS3
and the PC connect to the internet wirelessly. The problem is the router
setting. Several months ago, Linksys support was unable to help with
this
issue.

As previously noted, Vista/WMP11 is fully set up for media sharing, as is
the PS3. Network discovery is on, and the PS3 is recognized in the WMP 11
media sharing window as an unknown device to which media sharing is
allowed.
Media sharing settings are set to allow all media to be shared to the PS3
unknown device.

In the PC's Services window, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Plug and
Play, PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator, DHCP Client, SSDP Discovery, UPnP Device
Host,
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service, are Started Automatically.
IPsec Policy Agent is set to Manual start up. My McAfee firewall is set
to
allow WMP 11 media sharing.

Connecting the PC by Ethernet to the router produced a second unknown
device
icon in the media sharing window which is the router, as confirmed by the
MAC
address of the icon, which is obtained by right clicking the icon and
going
to properties. Set the PC to allow media sharing with both unknown
device
icons if both icons appear, after confirming that both icons are in fact
your
hardware with the proper the IP addresses for the PS3 and the router.

When using a Linksys Wireless Router, access the router at
http://192.168.1.1/. The Setup tab and Basic Setup should be open when
you
access your Linksys router's settings window. DHCP Server should be
Enabled. Click the DHCP Reservation button and reserve the IP address of
both the PC and the PS3 and save the settings. Return to the main router
window and click the wireless tab, under which, click the advanced
wireless
settings tab. Disable the Frame Burst setting and save settings.

When I did this, the windows icons magically appeared on the PS3 Crossbar
menu and the WMP 11 media server was recognized by the PS3!! Eighteen
months
of torture has finally paid off. I'm hoping that this hold up, as I have
had
inconsistant results with the old Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router.

I hope that this works for any other people that have been pulling their
hair out, trying to get WMP 11 to share media to a PS3 wirelessly. Good
luck!!


"Neil Smith [MVP Digital Media]" wrote:

On Wed, 20 May 2009 15:06:37 -0700, "zachd [MSFT]"
<zachd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


If you're able to dual boot, you might want to set up a second test
partition and see if the improved code in the Windows 7 RC speaks PS3
more
fluently.

Zach - I know this is a common use case now. A mate has a PS3 and it
worked fine when I walked him through the admittedly simple setup.

However lots of people have had similar issues (cant find PS3, can't
share etc) - is there anything specific you could share which changes
the user experience ?

I don't have a PS3 here to test with, and as I'm at the bottom of the
hill from me mate, I don't want to lug the PC all the way up there to
test the hypothesis ;-)

Cheers - Neil
------------------------------------------------
Digital Media MVP : 2004-2009
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/mvpfaqs




.

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