I am having some trouble with connecting my WDTV Live Hub to the internet. My current setup is that I have a router that is wired throughout the house, and a wireless access point that provides a wireless connection to other devices in the house.
In the room I have the HUB, there is one Ethernet port available, which is for my Xbox360. However, I do have a desktop computer in the room that is connected via a wireless adapter to the home network.
The HUB has no problem connecting to the internet when I unplug the Xbox360 and connect it directly to the router, or when I attach a USB wireless adapter to it.
But, the setup I want to have ideally is that the HUB shares an internet connection via my desktop, so that it can also transfer files rather easily. I have tried seting it up manually using both an ethernet cable and a crossover cable but to no avail. I always have trouble with the DNS server settings. I have tried using the routers IP, the computers IP and the ISPs DNS server.
Control Panel => Network and Internet => Network and Sharing Center => Change adapter settings
Ctrl-Select your LAN and Wifi adapters. Now with both adapters selected, right-click either of them and click “Bridge connections”. Then check the hub’s IP address. It should be set to an IP address within the range of your home network. If not, change it manually. Then check the hub’s connectivity.
The problem with this setup though is that the PC which the hub is connected to should always be on whenever you want your hub connected to the internet.
I am aware that the PC needs to be on for the internet connection, but that is fine. The PC is practically on 24/7 and it’s the fastest way to transfer media across it.
Another solution would be to get a little 4 or 5 port stand-alone ethernet switch (hub) to install out there to expand that one ethernet port to 4 or 5. Those things can be pretty cheap, and it would give you future expansion. I see 10/100 switches for $30, and gigabit switches for $60.
