[EyeGod]

Hi all

Really hope someone can advise - I've searched the forum but have come up with no solution.

Basic rundown of my problem:

1) MacBook was connected to network via wifi.
2) Tried to stream video and it was very slow, and sound was acting up.
3) While stream was paused in XBMC I switched off AirPort, as ethernet cable was plugged in already.
4) After this it had lost the stream, and when I tried to reopen XBMC posted an error, saying that the file is no longer available, do I wish to remove it from library?

After that none of the files in my library were available, and if I tried to access them via the Files option under the Video tabs, I had a timeout error as well as a message saying the network is not connected or no longer available.

I have since cleared the library, and tried to add all the files via SMB again, but my MacBook doesn't show up anymore - only the other Windows laptop with a few files on it, and that one works fine.

I've rebooted/reset everything, both on the ATV and MacBook Pro side, but for some reason I can no longer access my shares via XBMC at all, no matter WHAT I do.

Can someone please advise? Thanks in advance.

[EyeGod]

Does nobody have any advice for me? Was also wondering if there's any way to clear the file paths and other settings under 'Files' - maybe that would be a solution to my problem?

[chuckles]

3) While stream was paused in XBMC I switched off AirPort, as ethernet cable was plugged in already.

So the atv2 was using wireless before, doesn't that mean the wired network even though it wasn't plugged in wasn't active (my atv2 used wired by default if its available)?
Based on above I'd say you have no network connection, check your network setup

[Ned Scott]

sounds like the router reassigned IP addresses (for everything) when you made the switch from wireless to wired on the ATV2. Make sure in your router's settings you have your file server set as a static router (aka reserved internal IP).

[EyeGod]

sounds like the router reassigned IP addresses (for everything) when you made the switch from wireless to wired on the ATV2. Make sure in your router's settings you have your file server set as a static router (aka reserved internal IP).

Hi Ned, thanks for that!

I managed to get it fixed by reconstructing my library, but I had to add fles using the zeroconfig option, as opposed to SMB.

Then, after I switched off my MacBook yesterday, and switched it back on again earlier today, I noticed that the same thing had occurred, so I'm now under the impression that I need to assign a static IP to my MacBook to prevent it from happening again, right?

Anyhow, gonna give it a shot and hope I don't have to reconstruct my library AGAIN. Guess this is the XBMC teething phase...

[Ned Scott]

Guess this is the XBMC teething phase...

No, this isn't a bug you are experiencing. This is normal behavior when IP addresses change on your network and XBMC can't connect to where it was told content was. It's like your home street is your local network and someone just changed all the mailbox numbers.

On your Macbook go to System Preferences -> Sharing

and see what it says for your computer name. Your_computer_name.local should be able to act as an alternative to using an actual IP address, and won't have to be changed each time something resets on the network. So instead of the number IP address just place "Your_computer_name.local" (but with your computer's actual name in there).

You should also be able to just update your network source addresses instead of having to redo your library each time.

[thebabycub]

Have you upgraded to Lion? Apple has changed it's smb authentication method.

There's a forum post for solutions:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=106659

[Ned Scott]

Have you upgraded to Lion? Apple has changed it's smb authentication method.

There's a forum post for solutions:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=106659

That's not the issue here because SMB works sometimes for him. If you have 10.7 (Lion) then SMB sharing from 10.7 will not work at all on XMBC.

[EyeGod]

Hey guys.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm happy to say that I've got it up and running. I ended up using my router to assign the same IP Addresses to the MAC Addresses of my two 'media servers', so regardless of whether they connect via ethernet or wifi, they will now ALWAYS have the same IP addresses on my home network, and I'm sure this issue won't crop up again.

Proud that I managed to do something so technical by myself! Amazing how you can learn new tricks when you want to make something work out of desperation.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Fraodi]

Hi guys !

First of all i´m sorry for my bad english. But i got the same problem i think. And i dont really get how but the thing Ned Svott told sounds good.

"and see what it says for your computer name. Your_computer_name.local should be able to act as an alternative to using an actual IP address, and won't have to be changed each time something resets on the network. So instead of the number IP address just place "Your_computer_name.local" (but with your computer's actual name in there)."

How do i do to make this happen ? I can see my computers name in "Sharing" but how to i change so the atv2 connect to that instead of the ip adress?

[Ned Scott]

When you set up file sharing on a Mac it will tell you this address. It uses Apple's Bonjour software. You can probably get it working on a Windows computer as well, but that's something I've never done. You might try searching google for "Apple Bonjour address for Windows" or something like that.