To stream media from your PC, your console needs to connect to that PC over your home network.

Top Solutions

Try these solutions in order. If you give each one a shot and you still can't connect, contact Xbox Customer Support. Note that they will ask you try the suggestions on this page first.

Solution 1: Check your network

Make sure your PC is on and connected to the same network as your console. You can do this quickly by physically verifying that your PC is turned on and that all the cables are in place, but you can double-check by "pinging" your console from the PC. To ping your console, you need your console's IP address.

To get your console's IP address:

1. In the Xbox Dashboard, go to My Xbox and open System Settings.
2. Select Network Settings, Configure Network.
3. On the Basic Settings tab, select IP Settings.
4. Write down the number for IP Address (for example, 192.168.1.9). You can back out of the network settings area, but leave your console on.

To ping your console from your PC:

1. If it's off, turn on the Windows Media Center PC.
2. Click Start, Run, then type CMD and press Enter.
3. At the command prompt, type PING and the IP address your wrote down (for example, PING 192.168.1.9), then press Enter.
4. If you see a series of replies, then your PC "sees" your console. If you see a series of "Request timed out" responses, then it can't find your console. Again, make sure that both your PC and your console are connected to the same network.

Solution 2: Check your PC's firewall

Your PC may be blocking your console from connecting by using a firewall to filter traffic by blocking ports. You'll need to open certain ports in order to connect to your PC.

• Learn how to open firewall ports on Windows Vista
• Learn how to open firewall ports on Windows XP

If you have other firewall software installed on your PC, check the software's documentation for instructions about opening firewall ports.

The ports you need to open are:

• TCP ports 3390, 3932, and 5555.
• UDP ports 1900, 3776, and 7777.

You only need to check the ports on your Windows Media Center PC firewall, not your router (assuming that your PC and console are connected to the same router).

Solution 3: Reconnect to Windows Media Center

In case something happened to your connection, try disconnecting and reconnecting to your Windows Media Center PC.

To disconnect and reconnect to Windows Media Center:

1. In the Xbox Dashboard, go to My Xbox and open System Settings.
2. Select Computers, Windows Media Center.
3. Select Disconnect.
4. Select Setup and follow the instructions on the screen to finish Windows Media Center setup.

For more help, see www.microsoft.com/extender/help.