[abedrax]

Hi all
I am new to the world of Kodi but have managed to add it to an Amazon Fire TV stick. I am having problems connecting to my home network so that I can play files located on my PC. I have been through several tutorials how to set up file sharing from Windows 7 64bit PC with no luck. When I try to add files in Kodi I go to Windows SMB and it shows MYGROUP click on that and the next field is ROUTER and the next USB then it asks for Username and Password. I have no Username or password to enter am I doing something wrong? It maybe that my firewall is blocking it, i'm not sure. I would appreciate any help or advice... Thank you Abe

[DaVu]

Try the password you use if you want to login into windows

[abedrax]

I have found that I can network the folders on my PC through UPNP Using Windows Media Player,I don't kmow if this is the best way, but it seems to work OK.

[BatterPudding]

Windows networking only works if the username has a password to go with it. So if you normally start up your PC and login without a password, this will be part of your problem.

Your description of attempting to add the files to KODI sounds odd. Not sure why you are getting "ROUTER" or "USB" options in there.


I can walk you through that SAMBA setup on Win 7 PC. Depending on if it is Win7 PRO or HOME there are slightly different ways of getting this to work. The simplest will just be to add a password to your current user login.

[DarrenHill]

I would guess "ROUTER" and USB" are actually the USB port on the back of the OP's router, where you can connect a USB stick or drive up and have it shared with the network (as a shared drive). So it doesn't look like sharing is enabled on the actual PC - that is under control panel > network and sharing centre > change advanced sharing settings and make sure that network discovery and file and printer sharing are both turned on.

[BatterPudding]

@DarrenHill: Yes, this is what I was deducing form his comment. So I'll wait for OP to get back to us and then can do a more detailed walk through. As he has already been messing with a few other guides we need to see where he is at before trying to guess a fix. I'm a bit of an old hand in the Windows SAMBA world... since the ancient dark days of WFW 3.11

[abedrax]

Hi All
I can some times see Windows Media Player in Upnp Devices but on occasion it's does not appear or perhaps takes a long while to show, I have setup WMP to look at my Music and Video folders. These folders appear in Kodi via Upnp and have worked fine, but sometimes the source cannot be found and I have to add the source again to get it to work, also when it does show the content of my video or music folder it won't update the folder so if I add a file to the folder on my PC, Kodi does not see the change even when I update the library. yes it's working but not consistently. I am running Win 7 Ult 64 and and have Kodi 14.2 Helix on FTV Stick.

Advanced Sharing options are:
Network Discovery ON
File and Printer Sharing ON
Public Folder Sharing ON
Media Streaming ON
Allow 40 or 56 bit encryption ON
Password Protect OFF
Windows to Manage Homegroup ON

Hope this helps
and Thanks for your time so far..Abe

[BatterPudding]

As you are currently using UPnP, we'll tweak that to make it work better by explaining one of UPnP's "mysteries".

These folders appear in Kodi via Upnp and have worked fine, but sometimes the source cannot be found and I have to add the source again to get it to work, also when it does show the content of my video or music folder it won't update the folder so if I add a file to the folder on my PC, Kodi does not see the change even when I update the library.

If you are using UPnP, every time you add a new video on the Windows PC you need to start WMP on that PC to update the UPnP list of files available on that computer before updating KODI's library.

So you rip a new movie, place it on the Windows PC, start WMP and give it a few seconds to update, now go to KODI and ask it to update its library.



If you want to get this to work using SMB instead, then I'll need a few more details to help smooth it through. Starting with which version of Windows you are running - Home or Professional. And do you usually use a password when logging on to the PC in the mornings?

[abedrax]

Hi BP
Thanks for your help, I usually add files by adding them to the shared folders within WMP..do you have to leave WMP running when you update Kodi Lib? Is SMB better or more reliable than Upnp?
I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 and I do not have to enter any Username or Password on start up. Started Kodi this morning and Shared folder was there updated and working...
Abe

[BatterPudding]

Hi BP
Thanks for your help, I usually add files by adding them to the shared folders within WMP..

Glad to help. It can be a confusing world Windows File Sharing. I've been working that black magic for a while, so I'll try and get this clearer for you.

Is SMB better or more reliable than Upnp?
do you have to leave WMP running when you update Kodi Lib?

No. It does not have to be running all the time. Just fire it up the once after adding new files to your shared folder. Look at WMP as a tool to update the files available from the Windows PC. Once the index has been updated, you can then close WMP again.

Is SMB better or more reliable than Upnp?

Depends what you are doing. Personally I started off with UPnP as that allowed some other devices in my house to also access my files. I then realised there were limitations. Specifically I had problems with subtitles and some of the file types supported. So I swapped to SMB.

UPnP is good enough for most people's needs.

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1 and I do not have to enter any Username or Password on start up. Started Kodi this morning and Shared folder was there updated and working...
Abe

Good to see we have Ultimate available. That means a few techy pages are available to setup SMB in a neat way. Once setup, this should be reliable. Just make sure you keep these instructions in case you need to change it in future.

If we are going to head down this road, be ready for some weird technical steps, but bear with me and I'll get you through it all. Also don't worry about asking me to explain something better or in a different way. It can be hard to guess someone's knowledge levels at times

Can we start with an example of a full path name of one of your shared folders. Where are they currently? is it something like C:\Users\abe\videos\films\ ? Or elsewhere?

[abedrax]

Hi BP
I am so grateful for your time, but unfortunately I have to go to work now, but I can be here any time tomorrow if that's any good for you?
Shared folder is on Local Drive C: so C:\SHARED.
Thanks again Abe..

[BatterPudding]

Hi Abe - this thread is on instant email notification, so just post back here when you've got more time and we'll step through this. I'm on UK time here, I know that much of Tuesday I'll be tied up until later in the afternoon\evening.

Having that short path will certainly save on some of my typing.

[abedrax]

send me a note when you have time...

[BatterPudding]

Sorry, the email notifications are miss-firing. Probably because it is going through a Google hosted ISP email account. Which is a little annoying.

Just put your questions up here and I'll come and answer them as I get the time. Usually within 24 hours, if not sooner. If you give me an idea of when you are around, I can try and be here same time as you but I don't always have time to sit here all evening.

Little things I need for the tutorial:
* What is the name of the Windows PC?
* Will you just want the normal "read only" access from the Fire to the PC? Or do you want the Fire to also be able to delete videos and mess with the shared files?
* What is your level of comfort with geeky stuff in Windows? When I write this tutorial, feel free to ask questions at any stage to make sure this is clear.

When I get back later this evening I'll start writing up the steps. Basically we are going to do the following:

* Create a new user on the PC called "kodi" and give them a password of "kodi".
* We remove this new user from the NT User Groups (as we don't need them to have a local login account).
* We give this user rights to the files and all directories under C:\SHARE\
* We then add a new SAMBA share to the C:\SHARE\ folder
* We then give our new "kodi" user Read Only writes to the share

Now on the Fire we can add this new share to KODI using SAMBA and everything will slot into place nice and neatly.

When we step through the above it will be using the Old Skool NT config pages as these give us more control, but can be geeky to look at.

It is all easy. I'm used to explaining in clear English to my clients. I also have plenty of patience so I can help make sure this is clear.

[abedrax]

Pc name = Clive-PC
Read only will be great
I am a confident PC user
Will be around this weekend....
Abe