SMB Shares Issue - How I solved my problems

[sacman11]

I rarely post on this forum but I thought I would share my experience with those who are interested.

Like a lot of others with Boxee Box's and Windows 7 I recently experienced the loss of my shared folders when the Boxee updated to version 1.2.

I have owned the Boxee Box since Dec 2010 and to this point have never had an issue with mapping shares or accessing my local files through the windows 7 network SMB. But when the Boxee updated to version 1.2 I lost them all and this is how I fixed the problem.

Hardware/Software Setup:
Home Computer running Windows 7 Home Premium (x64bit) recently updated with Windows 7 SP1.
Boxee Box Firmware 1.2.0.20339 Hard Wired to Cisco router.

Steps I took to get SMB Shares Back:
Using the Boxee Box
1. Loaded the updated Boxee firmware from this site
New Beta Firmware 1.2.0.20339 (20th August)

2. Reset all settings in the Network Settings of the boxee

3. Went to -- > System --> Network Settings --> Windows SMB --> Input - user name and password and made sure I had the correct WORKGROUP name to match what I use on my windows 7 computer.



On my Windows 7 Computer:

1. Removed all of my shared folders from my network. I read about all of the different ways to set permissions and how to setup shares and I thought the best course of action would be to start fresh.

2. **Important Step** I was reading about the HOMEGROUP settings of Windows 7 and how it affects Network Shares and I think this is the area in which the Boxee Box and Windows 7 are having issues. When the Boxee updates to 1.2 it somehow looses communication with the HOMEGROUP.

3. I removed or "left" the HOMEGROUP on my windows 7 computer. Then I made sure I removed all my shared drives. At this point I rebooted the computer.

4. Now I started fresh. I added all of my Shared drives back to my network using Windows explorer ---> right clicking on the parent folders that I wanted to share ---> choose Advanced Shareing Options ---> check the box "share this folder" ---> Give it an appropriate name --> and select apply. DONE this will setup all your shares to work on the network. Make sure that "EVERYONE" is included in the permissions.

5. **Important Step** after I finished adding my shares I wanted to see if they appeared on the Boxee. What I found was interesting. When I went to FILE SORCE on the boxee and scrolled down to Windows SMB nothing came up at this point. My Computer name was not listed, no shares were listed, the only option was to input IP/HOST Name Manually.

6. **Important Step** this is where I got to thinking about the WINDOWS HOMEGROUP. To this point I was not connected to the homegroup as I “left” it earlier. I think this is a key to solving the problem. I went back to the computer and went to NETWORK SETTINGS… A clicked on “JOIN A HOMEGROUP” this prompted me to select which types of files folders I wanted to include and then select OK.

7. After step 6 I rebooted the computer, rebooted the boxee. I then went to Boxee Settings - File Source - Windows SMB  and BANG my computer was listed, selected my computer on the boxee smb and all my shared folders were listed, I can now navigate to any file or folder that is being shared.

I think the key to this whole thing for me was after the Boxee Updated to 1.2, the SMB shares got screwed up by the HOMEGROUP link. “LEAVING” the HOMEGROUP I was assigned to, removing my shares, then rebooting, adding new shares, and joining a NEW HOMEGROUP then rebooting computer and boxee was the ticket.

I hope this helps others . I now have full access to all my shares, can add shares whenever I want and they show up on the boxee box with the latest firmware.

[dadein]

Thank-you for sharing this.

[shigchiro]

THANK YOU!!!

This worked for my Boxee's.

On my second boxee box I didn't even manually update the firmware.
I just did all the stuff to my PC and it showed up again in the SMB shares on
my boxee. I deleted all of the old links and readded to the boxee's file sources.

Again - THANK YOU!!!

This was the first issue I've had with my Boxee's and I love them.

[jamiek03]

After my update to Boxee Box Firmware 1.2.0.20310 I lost my smb shares to my win 7 64bit pc. Restarted boxee box to no avail. Restarted my pc and boxee found the smb shares. It was however doubling up some of my tv shows so I ent to Settings>System> advanced on boxee box and did

Clear media information from library (media files will remain intact)...
Clear thumbnails library (media files will remain intact)

Box has worked fine since. SO maybe a power cycle on people NAS or PC would solve the problem.

[PogMoThoin]

Have had nothing but trouble with Windows homegroup so I just use workgroup. Not sure why they feel people need it, why they couldn't just make workgroup simpler, its always worked fine

[Swiper_the_Fox]

Have had nothing but trouble with Windows homegroup so I just use workgroup. Not sure why they feel people need it, why they couldn't just make workgroup simpler, its always worked fine

its not the workgroup/domain he is referring to

it has to do with when you are initally connected to a network on windows vista/seven
it wants to put you into

HOME group
WORK group
PUBLIC group

[sacman11]

@ jamiek03

You highlighted a step that I missed in my original post.

After I cleared Network Settings, I also clear media info as you mentioned.

GOOD CATCH.

=======


As for the workgroup vs. homegroup .... Windows 7 for most users automatically activates Homegroup upon install, and the Homegroup links to Workgroup. Especially for users with Windows 7 HOME PREMIUM x64bit. The focus on HOMEGROUP and the way your shared folders are accessed/indexed and communicate through the SMB and the network are all intertwinded.

After the Boxee Update to 1.2 I believe (and this is only an opinion) the HOMEGROUP link gets buggered some how. "Leaving" the homegroup, removing your shares, reseting the boxee, removing the file sources, clearing media data, and reloading all is very important. The most important being the re-activation of the HOMEGROUP (with proper settings) after the Boxee 1.2 update. This should solve alot of the USER issues if you follow the steps.

It worked for me after a week of messing with my network shares, boxee firmware, resets, to no avail. The HOMEGROUP "leave", reset, and rejoin a new group post update solved my problem.

Cheers

[leechap]

I can see my shares and the content just fine, playback is just horribly, ridiculously slow. Is that the same issue?

[Kelvington]

Your posting really fixed my problems, this is the first real mis-step Boxee Box has made. It was very frustrating when this occurred.

Thanks again!

[Janus_au]

Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. Will be trying this tonight. My Boxee Box has just been a box since I updated a couple of weeks ago.

Is there any word on when they will be releasing a new firmware to fix this problem? It's frustrating that they break something with a firmware update and then we hear nothing from them about how to fix it or when it will be fixed.

I'm a commercial software developer for a I can tell you that if we break something in an update we have a fix out ASAP.