fred9999 wrote:
Just like the unnecessarily complicated rollback process, where the user has to be technical enough to edit some file with some dummy future revision number, to fool the device.
Which he does not cause WD offers rollback firmwares with an already edited VER file.
Yes, technically you’re right, but there are enough posts that show user confusion about that issue.
My point was, they could alleviate all that confusion by throwing a message box, whether it’s upgrading or downgrading.
Not that hard to do.
Neither is checking the official pages for the knowledgebase which has an entry on rollback. But people just don’t roll that way, most never even heard of the search funtion.
I started seeing my Network Shares when my WDTV SMP became the master browser.
There is a setting in your computer registry to set your computer to Auto, Yes, No for Master Browser.
Currently, mine are set to Auto, but I’ll need to test more and see if having my WDTV the master browser causes problems.
I do know when my computer was the MB, I could not find my shares, so not sure what the solution is since I turn off my WDTV and if you have 2 or 3 WDTVs then what happens then?
mz_inet wrote:
I started seeing my Network Shares when my WDTV SMP became the master browser.
There is a setting in your computer registry to set your computer to Auto, Yes, No for Master Browser.
Currently, mine are set to Auto, but I’ll need to test more and see if having my WDTV the master browser causes problems.
I do know when my computer was the MB, I could not find my shares, so not sure what the solution is since I turn off my WDTV and if you have 2 or 3 WDTVs then what happens then?
Have you tried the steps a posted a while back?
I’m sure others have figured this out but I’ve found a workaround that works for me when no network shares appear.
_ Step 1 _
Turn off Router
Unplug WD Media Device(s)
Shut down all PC’s/Laptops
Turn off WIFI on Mobile devices
_ Step 2 _
Turn on the network device that you wish to stream from. i.e. network share
Turn on Router, wait for it to initialize
Plug in WD Media Device(s), it should power on as soon as it’s plugged in and connect to the network
Turn on WIFI on Mobile Devices
Going through this process has worked for me every time, but it’s just a workaround and the network shares WILL disappear again at some point.
My computer was the Master Broswer and I couldn’t see my shares, after reading and trying many things I found 1 thing that fixed it. I turned OFF the Networking Sharing option on my SMP and BAM! - No more problems. One thing that probably helped too, was to turn off the Computer Browser service on my 2nd computer and change the registry setting on my 2nd computer it to NEVER be a master browser, so it can never be “Elected” as a master browser.
That’s it. It now works everytime and all of the time. 
I think besides my 2nd computer fighting for master browser, it was most likely the WDTV SMP setting for Network Shares to be ON. So this setting is most likely needed if you have a hard drive connected to the USB port on this device and you want to share it with another device, but I would never need this because my network shares are 4 to 5 Terrabytes and growing and I couldn’t hook them up even if I wanted to.
Followed this solution and it now works if I reboot computer and WDTV ( http://wdtvforum.com/main/index.php?topic=2351.0):
Win7 (and Vista) has some issues broadcasting its availability on a network.
You could try these changes to your Win7 box:-
Firstly, configure Sharing and Discovery:
1. Navigate to the Network and Sharing Center via the Control Panel
2. Click on the down arrow icons and select ON/OFF as follows:
Network Discovery - ON
File Sharing - ON
Public Folder Sharing - OFF
Printer Sharing - ON
Password Protected Sharing - OFF
Media Sharing - OFF
Next, configure the folder you want to share:
1. Select the folder
2. Right-click and choose ‘Share’ from the menu
3. From the drop-down box select the Everyone (All users in this list) account, making sure permissions are set to ‘Reader’
4. Click the buttons Add, Share and Done.
Here are some further registry ‘tweaks’ if this doesn’t work:
WARNING: This requires editing your PC’s registry which, if edited incorrectly, can cause Windows systems to become unstable and unusable. So, follow the instructions below at your own risk. - we are not responsible for any damage caused by following these steps.
1. Navigate to the following location in the registry editor.
MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\
2. On the right side, double-click on ‘everyoneincludesanonymous’ and change the ‘Value data’ from ‘0’ to ‘1’
3. Double-click on ‘NoLmHash’ and change the ‘Value data’ from ‘1’ to ‘0’
4. Navigate to the following location in the registry editor:
MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
5. Double-click on ‘restrictnullsessaccess’ and change the ‘Value data’ from ‘1’ to ‘0’
6. Close the registry editor
After all of this I still had problems. I turned Win 7 Homegroup OFF and only used my server since, with no other computers on the network and it is NOW working consistently. I’ve had to reboot my server in the past to get it to find the server again, but NOW it seems to find it all of the time.
I think we’ve collectively narrowed it down that your computer – or the location of your shares – needs to be the master browser. Or I think that was it, anyway. The steps that dmbottawa quoted you, and that I’ll post again, are what has worked for me every time without fail up to this point.
_ Step 1 _
Turn off Router
Unplug WD Media Device(s)
Shut down all PC’s/Laptops
Turn off WIFI on Mobile devices
_ Step 2 _
Turn on the network device that you wish to stream from. i.e. network share
Turn on Router, wait for it to initialize
Plug in WD Media Device(s), it should power on as soon as it’s plugged in and connect to the network
Turn on WIFI on Mobile Devices
Also, I would check your firmware. I upgraded to the latest release when it came out (2.02.32) and it fixed ALL my issues so far. I even had the power go out, resetting everything in the house, and everything was okay. Normally when that happens my shares disappear – and they did in this case – but I just had to load them back up. Normally I try to find them and it can never locate them, forcing me to go through the above steps. Now, it pops up right away.
Don’t think I’ve seen a post for my particular flavor of this problem.
My WDTV is set up with network shares coming from four different PCs.
Two of the PCs are Windows 7, two of the PCs are Windows 8.1
All PCs are in the same Windows homegroup and workgroup
All have identical settings for advanced sharing and media streaming
On the same random basis as others have reported, the network shares from the Windows 7 computers disappear. But the network shares from the Windows 8 computers NEVER experience this problem.
I actually have two WDTV Live units - both units experience this issue in an identical manner.
No other SMB/network share problems with any other device or program.
Don’t know that this provides a different clue as to the problem, but thought I would offer it up.
I am really excited at the possibility that this posts will finally fix my ongoing problems with my WDTVLive players (2 of them).
After countles troubleshooting steps, calls/emails to support, I could never fix the problem for more than a few days/weeks. After trying the steps posted as the solution I will try to set my router as the MB and see if that fixes all issues for good…I can’t wait to get home from work!
One thing that I cannot explain though, is why other devices (laptop, 3 tablets, 3 phones, 2 smart tvs) are NOT affected by the same issues? they seem to work every time, irrespective of what else (other than the file server of course) is off?!?!?!
What is so different about all those other devices???
I will report if the fix works for me later today
Well, the good news is that the process most definitely works every time, the problem is that I have to do it way too often. Really flaky network support for this device, sometimes I am able to see the network shares but cannot access them with a log on error (and yes, all other devices always work, it’s just one or the other of the WDWTV devices).
Not sure what else to try
jonathansmr wrote:
Well, the good news is that the process most definitely works every time, the problem is that I have to do it way too often. Really flaky network support for this device, sometimes I am able to see the network shares but cannot access them with a log on error (and yes, all other devices always work, it’s just one or the other of the WDWTV devices).
Not sure what else to try
I don’t suppose I’ll really be of any help. The steps I highlighted as the solution worked for me, but they can be time-consuming and annoying.
That said, are you sure you’re on the most recent firmware? Since upgrading the firmware, I’ve lost my shares numerous times and EVERY single time, the WDTV found it on its own, without having to go through the steps. I haven’t had any log on errors, either. Perhaps if you elaborated on the log on error?
I gave up and I bought ethernet cable, changed connection type from wireless to wired and I’m done with this issue.
Broni wrote:
I gave up and I bought ethernet cable, changed connection type from wireless to wired and I’m done with this issue.
Honestly, I’d never thought of that as a potential issue. Because of my deep distrust of “wireless” anything, I’ve been hard-wired from day one.
Since the last firmware update I haven’t had much issues with network shares (connected wirelessly). Only once could I not find my shares and all it took was a device reboot.
Hey guys
Thought I’d share a solution that worked (for me at least) after many months of trial and error.
My setup:
1 x HP Proliant server
2 x WDTV Live player
1 x Cisco EA3500 router
Various other macbooks, ipads, iphones etc. on the same network which does not affect the solution.
What I finally figured out was that the WD players, the server and the router were all competing for master browser status. (Since the WD players can act as shares on the network as well as the router over its USB port)
My router has no option of changing its workgroup.
So here is what I did:
Disable file sharing on the WD player/s under settings
Set the file server PC as the master browser ( MaintainServerList as well as IsDomainMaster )
( https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959923.aspx )
Put the Server as well as the player/s in the same workgroup - reserved and used exclusively by the player/s and server. (Other machines will still be able to share with the new workgroup,as long as the subnet values are the same)
Restart everything
This has worked for me and I have been running for a couple of days with a couple of power cycles on everything to test. One of the WDTV’s is cabled and the other wireless. One static and one dynamic IP, so these variables shouldn’t matter on your setup.
Hope it helps!
Since starting this thread, I’ve (coincidentally) upgraded my router and my the location of my media. I’ve moved all my media to an unRAID home file server, which is also set as the master browser.
Since the firmware upgrade, however, I haven’t had any issues with lost network shares.
I am, however, having a bunch of new issues, like the player refusing to play files or freezing. So it’s far from perfect still, but one of my biggest issues (and the only real deal-breaker, I suppose) has been fixed by the new firmware.
Still can’t wait to put together an HTPC, though.
CasanovaFly wrote:
Since starting this thread, I’ve (coincidentally) upgraded my router and my the location of my media. I’ve moved all my media to an unRAID home file server, which is also set as the master browser.
Since the firmware upgrade, however, I haven’t had any issues with lost network shares.
I am, however, having a bunch of new issues, like the player refusing to play files or freezing. So it’s far from perfect still, but one of my biggest issues (and the only real deal-breaker, I suppose) has been fixed by the new firmware.
Still can’t wait to put together an HTPC, though.
I’m with you, an HTPC would be a million times better than this continuous struggle with WD’s media players. If your the type to plugin an external device then these media players are great but networking and streaming in not one of WD’s strengths.
fred9999 wrote:
It seems to me an easy fix for this would be if WD would just have an option in the System section that asks “Allow this device to be a Master Browser… Yes or No”. Can’t believe they can’t implement something so simple, when they see all the grief their customers are going through.
Just like the unnecessarily complicated rollback process, where the user has to be technical enough to edit some file with some dummy future revision number, to fool the device. Seems to me they could avoid all that by letting the device up/down grade to whatever version was on the USB stick, and throw a message to the user “Are you sure you wish to proceed? Yes or No”.
It just makes me wonder why they don’t care enough to implement some simple fixes. They could have a great little device here if they wanted.
The rollback process is very easy. A USB stick and an unziped set of files is all you need.
Honestly, I think the WD TV Live is a great device. It is very user friendly. Hard to break. And very customizable. Compared to competitor products, there is nothing that has the flexibility of playing local content better than this device.
wdlive76 wrote:
Honestly, I think the WD TV Live is a great device. It is very user friendly. Hard to break. And very customizable. Compared to competitor products, there is nothing that has the flexibility of playing local content better than this device.
And there lies the problem… "User Friendly. Hard to Break"
That’s not why we bought it to begin with. It’s advertised to Stream Media wirelessly via a network but the experience is SO POOR that I don’t know why anyone would bother trying.
“there is nothing that has the flexibility of playing local content better than this device.”
Sure, if you can get it to work wirelessly for more than a couple days at a time. If you hard wire the device it’s not so bad but we don’t all have that option. And please don’t tell me about workarounds… no device should force end users to start messing with Master Browser settings, router settings, firmware downgrades etc… just for the thing to work! It should work from get-go, period.
In the end, it’s a decent device but certainly flawed in many ways. Would I buy another, not a chance.
| Forums | News and Announcements | Register | Help | Forum Guidelines |
Copyright © 2021 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All rights
reserved.
|
Trademarks
|
Privacy
|
Community Terms of Service
|
Site Terms of Use
|
Copyright
|
Contact WD
|