I am now convinced this is a Windows7 issue. I spent three days messing with this, ready to return my WDTV Live box to the store.
Everything worked out the box on my WDTV Live box from my American Netflix setup, to my RSS feeds, the app on my Android devices running the WD box, to PS3 Media Server and Windows Media server appearing and working fine.
I have a Vista tower PC and a Win7 laptop. I could not however get my Windows shares to come up from the Win7 laptop. I am by no means a noob when it comes to networking either. I have an extensive media library over 11TB of data, multiple devices from PS3’s to 360’s to Android devices. I have various incoming/outgoing network setups from FTP to Win7’s built in VPN, to multiple media servers, all allocated to their specific devices, with corresponding visible libraries depending on the devices capabilities…yadda yadda…what I am saying is I tried every suggestion I found in these forums. I am experienced enough to know that reading and trying suggestions is the best way to narrow down issues.
Basically NOTHING worked. Not wired, not wireless. Not after reboots…not even after completely rebuilding my router settings from scratch. But once I tried my dormant Vista machine, I could see its shares no prob. So I tried the Win7’s shares again…and nothing.
I finally disconnected my long ethernet cable direct connected to my router in living room thru the wall, and instead I swapped it out for a short cable connected into my DAP-1522 wireless bridge in the same room as WD (bedroom).
BLAM, there’s my Win7 shares…like instantly. So it wouldn’t work direct connected to same router as Win7 PC, wifi to router then to the Win7 PC, but when I connected to my wifi bridge it showed up. SO…I shut down the WD. I then re-swapped back my long ethernet cable (again, connected directly to same router as win7 machine in living room…same as before) and now Win7 shares are all visible. YAY!!!
It wasn’t the cable, because the same cable that initially worked, then didnt…now works again (and still) after the bridge/router connection swapping. Reseetting the device to default didn’t work. Rebooting my router, and PC’s didn’t work. Resetting and rebuilding all my router settings from scratch didnt work. DMZ on router didn’t work. I even tried a ICS setup and nothing worked.
All I had to do was basically change my ethernet cable from router in the living room, to my wireless bridge in the bedroom, shut down the WD device, then swap the network cables back and reboot the WD device. It’s like my WIn7 machine got cozy with the initial setup…then something interrupted it…and it got stubborn…and no matter what I did to rectify the situation it didnt work…BUT once swapped it out for the old vista girl…it wanted to work…HOLY **bleep** I THINK MY EX GF’s SOUL IS IN MY WIN7 PC !!!
I truly do believe that this is a Win7 issue. What, I have no idea, but my Vista machine worked instantly. And after that stupid combination of **bleep** I had to do, it is working fine on the Win7 machine. So, if it ever craps out again, I will try this exact same thing, other than that, I am leaving my settings alone for now.
Good luck, this has been one of the most complex and infuriating device setups I have done in my network, or in any network I have set up for my friends. I wish I had a definitive answer, but this might put your mind at ease knowing that you are not the only one losing their marbles over this device
But, the WD is not “the most complex and infuriating device setups”. It’s close, but setting up a Pogoplug wins the prize for this. Setting it up is not the big problem; the buggy software over the past year is. I know. But, once it is working well, it is pretty cool, too.