PS3 Can't Find Vista/WMP11 Media Server

I have a problem with Vista, WMP11 media sharing to a Sony Playstation 3.

When I have the PS3 search for a media player, Vista initiates a search for
a Public Network and turns off Network Discovery. As a result, the PS3
cannot find a media server.

I have a Gateway notebook running Vista Premium with all Windows updates
installed that was purchased in January, 2007. I have correctly configured
my computer for DLNA media sharing. Media Sharing "Default Settings have
been chosen which allow for the sharing of all media. In WMP11, all media has
been added to the "Library" for sharing.

The Computer recognizes the PS3 as an "Unknown Device" in the "Media
Sharing" window, which I have "Allowed" to share media in my "Private
Network."

I then open the "Network and Sharing Center" window which displays my
"Private Network" and "Network Discovery is turned ON under "Sharing and
Discovery."

When I have the PS3 "search for a media server," the PS3 usually reports
that it "cannot find a media server."

If I then look at the "Network and Sharing Center" window, Vista, for some
unknown reason, changes from my "Private Network" setting, and begins
searching for a "Public Network." When it does this, Vista turns OFF
"Network Discovery," which causes the PS3 to fail to find the media server
(WMP11).

After Vista fails to find a "Public Network," it returns to the "Private
Network" and "Network Discovery" usually is turned back ON, but the PS3's
search for a media player has failed. This also occurs when both the Vista
and McAfee firewalls are turned OFF as well, so it should not be a firewall
problem.

Occasionally, the PS3 actually locates a media server (WMP11). Sometimes
the folders are empty or partially missing. And occasionally, all of the
media is actually there.

Does anyone else have this problem with Vista, and does anyone have a
solution as to how to stop Vista from searching for a "Public Network, and
turning OFF "Network Discovery when the PS3 searches for a media server???"

I've seen many discussions on-line about problems streaming to the PS3 that
discuss placing the PS3 in the DMZ in the Linksys configuration, outside all
firewall protection. I have not done that, and I really don't think I have a
firewall issue. It's a Vista issue.

I have
configured my Linksys wireless router to have the required open ports in
“Port Forwarding,�

This I don't understand, port forwarding enables devices on the internet to
access a device in your home network. Do you really need this setting or are
all devices within your home network?

You might check your router for multicast and UDP settings

I HAVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM THAT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. FOR SEVERAL MONTHS I
HAVE USED MY PS3 TO STREAM VIDEO FROM MY LAPTOP TO MY TELEVISION. ALL OF MY
NETWORK SETTINGS ARE CORRECT AND EVERYTHING WAS WORKING GREAT. A COUPLE OF
WEEKS AGO MY COMPUTER STOPPED SEEING MY PS3 ON THE NETWORK AND MY PS3 CANT
SEE THE COMPUTER. THE ONLY CHANGES THAT I CAN THINK OF IS MY COMPUTER UPDATED
TO SP1 A DAY BEFORE THE PROBLEM STARTED. NOTHING WITH ANY OF MY SETTINGS
CHANGED. MY PS3 CAN STILL ACCESS THE INTERNET WIRED AND WIRELESS, MY COMPUTER
CAN AS WELL. NOW MY COMPUTER WILL SAY NO DEVICES FOUND WHEN SEARCH IS
PERFORMED AND MY PS3 SAYS NO MEDIA SERVERS FOUND. I LOGGED ONTO MY MODEM AND
THAT SEES BOTH THE COMPUTER AND THE PS3. YES I HAVE NETWORK DISCOVERY TURNED
ON AND MEDIA SHARING ON AND EVERYTHING ELSE, TURNED OFF FIREWALL, IM NOT AN
IDIOT. I TOOK MY PS3 TO A FRIEND'S HOUSE AND IT WORKED FINE ON HIS NETWORK.
SO I HAVE DETERMINED ITS ANOTHER PROBLEM WITH THIS VERY FRUSTRATINGLY CRAPPY
OS CALLED "VISTA". HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM AND KNOW HOW TO FIX? I
DONT WANT TO HAVE TO BURN A DISK OR USE A USB EVERYTIME I WANT TO WATCH AN
..AVI .SOOOOO FRUSTRATED. DID MICROSOFT DO THIS ON PURPOSE TO TRY TO HELP XBOX
SALES? I DONT KNOW BUT I AM PISSED. PLEASE HELP. ANY LONGER AND ILL SWITCH TO
A MACBOOK

I feel your pain!!!

I spoke with Microsoft Support. They suggested that my problem was a router
problem. I called linksys, flashed my WRT54GS ver.6 router with new
firmware, placed the required ports in port forwarding, and finally, put the
PS3 in the DMZ. No luck - PS3 can't find the media server (WMP11). The
Linksys opinion was that the router was defective.

I bought a new Linksys WRT160N router. After getting the new router to
function, I placed the necessary open ports in the McAfee firewall, as
opposed to the router, configured Vista/WMP11 for media sharing, and again,
the PS3 cannot find the media server. This was also true with the McAfee
fire wall turned off, and after power cycling the computer, PS3 and the
router. The problem cannot be the firewall or the router.

This weekend, I'm going to again call Microsoft support, but I have my
doubts that they are going to be able to tell me any adjustment that will
correct the situation. I anticipate that they now blame the situation on the
PS3, which I cannot imagine is causing the problem.

I've had the same problems, my PS3 will only see some of my files. I belive
it's a windows problem as they only streem Video files using Windows Media
Video (.wmv), AVI (.avi), MPEG-1 (.mpeg, .mpg), and MPEG-2 (.mpeg, .mpg)
files.

Try using TVersity as your media server, I've had no problems not getting my
PS3 to play my videos.

I have 4 Windows Vista home premium machines.

The son who built one clicked on share media services when he built the
machine.

His is the only one now which will interface with our PS3s.

I have taken down firewalls;changed IPSec and done everything I can think of
but still no joy on the other 3.

I know this is a common use case now. A mate has a PS3 and it
worked fine when I walked him through the admittedly simple setup.

However lots of people have had similar issues (cant find PS3, can't
share etc) - is there anything specific you could share which changes
the user experience ?

I don't have a PS3 here to test with, and as I'm at the bottom of the
hill from me mate, I don't want to lug the PC all the way up there to
test the hypothesis

Hi guys, exactly the same prob, but i can proove (determine it is sp1 on
vista causing the prob). I was running my xbox fine, bought a ps3 and could
not connect but could use the net. I was running SP1 vista. Last week I had
to reinstall windows. I could now connect to the ps3 fine. Then today (1
hour ago) I run the sp1 install and now (only 12hours after using it okay) it
no longer can see my pc.

I am going to try role back for now, please let me know if anyone gets MS to
solve this...thanks...with regrets

PS Called MS help line re another problem, I was on the phone for 58 min's,
only to be told...Reinstall Windows!!

Just to clarify to everyone (and MS should they be bothered). I done roll
back which cleared my SP1 install and hey presto I can now connect with the
PS3 again...yipppee!!

how did you do a rollback? i have the same problem. PS3 was connected for
about 6months with no problem then boom one day not connected.

If you're able to dual boot, you might want to set up a second test
partition and see if the improved code in the Windows 7 RC speaks PS3 more
fluently.

Its been 9 months since I first posted a Vista (32 bit)/WMP 11 problem where
my PS3 cannot find the media player (WMP 11). I still have found no
solution to this problem and am unable to share media to my PS3.

Vista/WMP11 is fully set up for media sharing, as is the PS3. Network
discovery is on, and the PS3 is recognized in the WMP media sharing window as
an unknown device to which media sharing is allowed. Media sharing default
settings are set to allow all media to be shared to the PS3 (“unknown
device).

In the PCs Services window, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Plug and
Play, PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator, SSDP Discovery, UPnP Device Host, Windows
Media Player Network Sharing Service, are Started “Automatically, while
IPsec Policy Agent is set to “Manual start up.

Both the PC and the PS3 are connected wirelessly to the internet, and both
have always accessed the internet without any problem. I initially used a
Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router. With that router most of the time PS3 could
not find the media server, however occasionally, the PS3 actually would
actually locate the media server. Sometimes the media folders would be empty
or partially missing, but occasionally, all of the media was actually there.

After placing the PS3 in the Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router DMZ failed to
resolve the problem, the Linksys technical opinion was that the router was
defective. So I bought a new Linksys WRT160N router.

After installing the new Linksys WRT160N router, the PS3 now NEVER finds the
WMP 11 media server.

This is true when testing media sharing with both McAfee and Windows fire
walls turned off, after power cycling the computer, and after placing the PS3
in the Linksys DMZ, specifying “any IP address as source�, and the static IP
address of the PS3 as the “destination IP Address�, and designating a DHCP
Reservation IP address for the PS3 under the Linksys Basic Setup tab.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to what to do, other than to try
reloading Windows Vista, which I really do not want to do?

In the Services window, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Plug and
Play, PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator, DHCP Client, SSDP Discovery, UPnP Device Host,
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service, are Started Automatically.
IPsec Policy Agent is set to Manual start up. My McAfee firewall is set to
allow WMP 11 media sharing.

Connecting the PC by Ethernet to the router produced a second unknown device
icon in the media sharing window which is the router, as confirmed by the MAC
address of the icon, which is obtained by right clicking the icon and going
to properties. Set the PC to allow media sharing with both unknown device
icons if both icons appear, after confirming that both icons are in fact your
hardware with the proper the IP addresses for the PS3 and the router.

When using a Linksys Wireless Router, access the router at
http://192.168.1.1/. The Setup tab and Basic Setup should be open when you
access your Linksys router's settings window. DHCP Server should be
Enabled. Click the DHCP Reservation button and reserve the IP address of
both the PC and the PS3 and save the settings. Return to the main router
window and click the wireless tab, under which, click the advanced wireless
settings tab. Disable the Frame Burst setting and save settings.

When I did this, the windows icons magically appeared on the PS3 Crossbar
menu and the WMP 11 media server was recognized by the PS3!! Eighteen months
of torture has finally paid off. I'm hoping that this hold up, as I have had
inconsistant results with the old Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router.

I hope that this works for any other people that have been pulling their
hair out, trying to get WMP 11 to share media to a PS3 wirelessly. Good
luck!!

As it turned out, I spoke too soon, in my excitement that for the first time
in a year since switching from a Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 wireless router, my
PS3 had finally found the WMP 11 media server while connected wirelessly to a
Linksys WRT160N wireless router.

(As noted previously, with the WRT54GS router, the PS3 found WMP11 maybe 5%
of the time, and half to those hits contained empty media folders, or
incomplete media folders).

After turning everything off, the PS3 again could not find the WMP11 media
server after re-booting, without going into the Linksys wireless advanced
router setting window and playing with the Frame Burst setting, which would
again reproduce the windows media icon on the PS3 crossbar menu until either
the PS3 or the PC was again turned off.

In Vista, I then accessed the Network and Sharing Center, opened up Sharing
and Discovery, and by clicking Change Settings, accessed System Properties,
and clicked the Hardware Tab. On the Hardware Tab, I accessed the Device
Manager and clicked Network Adapters, where I accessed Intel(R) PRO/Wireless
3945ABG Network Connection Properties and clicked the Advanced Tab.

On the Advanced Tab, I found that changing Ad Hoc QoS mode to WMM Enabled,
and/or changing the Mixed Mode Protection, also results in the PS3 finding
the WMP11 media, when the settings are saved, similar to when I disable Frame
Burst in the Advanced Wireless Setting router window. The saving of these
settings interrupt the wireless connection and for some reason allows the PS3
to find the WMP11 media.

Unfortunately, after I turning off and re-booting either the PC or PS3, the
windows icons fail to appear on the PS3 crossbar menu and a search for media
servers results in the PS3 being unable to find the media server.

Completely frustrated, I again called Linksys to have the router flashed
with new firmware. After explaining my problem, new firmware was added but
the Linksys service consultant could not correct the problem. He referred me
to a Linksys specialist which was to cost $69.99. I told the specialist that
I would agree to the charge if he could resolve the problem, and to my
surprise, he agreed.

After gaining remote control of my computer, he started disabling my McAfee
firewall, where upon I informed him that firewalls were not the problem.
After he tried a couple of things, including removing the N channel from the
router and changing to a BG mixed mode, which failed to resolve the problem.
He said he would call back today, after researching the problem.

I know I'm not alone with this problem. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. Microsoft, are you listening???

I think that I finally resolved the problem of my PS3 recognizing the WMP 11 media server wirelessly, via a Linksys WRT160N wireless router. Both the PS3 and the PC connect to the internet wirelessly. The problem is the router setting. Several months ago, Linksys support was unable to help with this issue.

As previously noted, Vista/WMP11 is fully set up for media sharing, as is the PS3. Network discovery is on, and the PS3 is recognized in the WMP 11 media sharing window as an unknown device to which media sharing is allowed. Media sharing settings are set to allow all media to be shared to the PS3 (“unknown device”).

In the PC’s Services window, Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), Plug and Play, PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator, DHCP Client, SSDP Discovery, UPnP Device Host, Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service, are Started Automatically. IPsec Policy Agent is set to Manual start up. My McAfee firewall is set to allow WMP 11 media sharing.

Connecting the PC by Ethernet to the router produced a second unknown device icon in the media sharing window which is the router, as confirmed by the MAC address of the icon, which is obtained by right clicking the icon and going to properties. Set the PC to allow media sharing with both unknown device icons if both icons appear, after confirming that both icons are in fact your hardware with the proper the IP addresses for the PS3 and the router.

When using a Linksys Wireless Router, access the router at http://192.168.1.1/. The Setup tab and Basic Setup should be open when you access your Linksys router's settings window. DHCP Server should be Enabled. Click the DHCP Reservation button and reserve the IP address of both the PC and the PS3 and save the settings. Return to the main router window and click the wireless tab, under which, click the advanced wireless settings tab. Disable the Frame Burst setting and save settings.

When I did this, the windows icons magically appeared on the PS3 Crossbar menu and the WMP 11 media server was recognized by the PS3!! Eighteen months of torture has finally paid off. I'm hoping that this hold up, as I have had inconsistant results with the old Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router.

I hope that this works for any other people that have been pulling their hair out, trying to get WMP 11 to share media to a PS3 wirelessly. Good luck!!

You could easily check if it was a WMP-side problem by directly wiring the
PS3 and the PC. If it's only when the routers in the building, you'd have
to debug it to pin the exact blame. If somebody wants to throw blame,
they'd probably want to be specific.

I don't know if the WRT160N has the Certified for Windows Vista logo.
That's the kind of router that would be expected to work well for sharing.
Anything not going through that certification process - suspicion would be
on the router side.

If you're talking in caps, you might want to consider actual product
support. I'm only here in my spare time, and I definitely don't have that
router at my own house.

What happens if you try an Xbox 360? If the same network topology works
with a different device but not with one specific device, you really kinda
have to keep both concerns in play. Artificially limiting the discussion
based upon potential prejudice makes solutions take longer. This *might* be
a problem in WMP, but it *might* be anywhere at this point.

Most of the time when they can't *see* each other, it's a firewall-type
issue.

I believe Windows Media Player 11 was released previous to the release of
the Playstation 3. As such, I would use the "Certified for Windows Vista"
program as superior to any list - I believe the list you're pointing to is
the older list. Much like the old Xbox logo certification here is generally
superceded by that same logo program.

Absolutely no worries, mate. This forum is definitely not product support,
and the web is really bad product support, and since product support already
can be hit or miss....

If you're getting cross, take it to actual product support. I don't have
that router. I have a PS3 that's pretty much a paperweight due to my own
extreme personal prejudice against the PS3 design (BT instead of IR?
REALLY?!? lol), and I personally use a Roku to stream to. (I use my Xbox
360s for games, generally not for media sharing.)

.... which could be more fully tested by borrowing a mate's Xbox 360 and
seeing if that behaves better in that same environment, as far as removing
an element from the equation.

To be clear, I am here on my own time. You really sound like you want
product support. If there were "many" with a similar problem, "many people"
contacting actual product support is probably the best or only way to have
anything *really* meaningful happen.

I don't feel like there's anything here specifically identified that I could
take to anybody and say "fix this" - it's still too vague to work with.
It's easier with media files because there someone can say "this file
doesn't work" and you get that file and figure out why. With networking
issues -- you can't easily send those to me to test.

OK - the first chance MS really has to address this in the regular product
cycle would be in improvements in Windows 7. That would be the opportunity
to fix any problems on the MS side and/or account for problems on any other
side.

I believe there are some concerns about the wireless connectivity here. I
have a similar set up - my PS3 is dodgy wirelessly, my Xbox & Roku just
work.

Not trying to dodge any perceived bullet, I'm just trying to eliminate
possibilities.

If I connect the PC by Ethernet to the WRT160N router, and leave the PS3
connected to the LAN wirelessly, media sharing works properly. Therefore,
this is not a PS3 problem.

Secondly, I previously used a Linksys WRT54GS ver.6 router which did not
work. After consulting with Linksys, their opinion was that the router may
be defective. This was why I purchased the WRT160N.

I would note that Microsoft claims that Linksys WRT54GS V5.0 works well with
WMP11. See: "Which routers are compatible with media sharing?"
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...q/sharing.mspx

I'm not trying to "throw blame" or demean anyone regarding this problem. If
for any reason I have sounded curse, I apologize, and it is a result of
having spent hundreds of hours on this problem without resolution.

And I think that I have been very specific regarding how I've tested this
problem over time. But I am not a computer engineer with the ability to
fully analyze necessary corrective measures, if any are available.

As I noted previously, in Vista, I accessed the Network and Sharing Center,
opened up Sharing and Discovery, and by clicking Change Settings, accessed
System Properties, and clicked the Hardware Tab.

On the Hardware Tab, I accessed the Device Manager and clicked Network
Adapters, where I accessed Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Properties and clicked the Advanced Tab.

On the Advanced Tab, I found that by changing Ad Hoc QoS mode to WMM Enabled,
and/or changing the Mixed Mode Protection, results in the PS3 being able to
find the WMP11 media, when the settings are saved. The Windows Icon
instantly appears on the PS3 crossbar menu wirelessly.

The same result was achieved when I disable Frame Burst in the Linksys
Advanced Wireless Setting router window and save the settings. The Windows
Icon again instantly appears on the PS3 crossbar menu wirelessly.

The saving of these settings, either in the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Network Connection Properties, Advanced Tab, or in the Linksys Advanced
Wireless Setting router window, interrupts the wireless connection as the
settings are saved, and for some reason, allows WMP11 media to be found
wirelessly by the PS3.

Unfortunately, after I turning off and re-boot either the PC or PS3, the
Windows media Icons fail to appear on the PS3 crossbar menu and a search for
media servers results in the PS3 being again unable to find the media server,
as there is no wireless communication from the PC and/or router to be found.

I find it hard to believe that this is a router problem when Microsoft
recommends the use of a Linksys WRT54GS V5.0, and when both Linksys WRT54GS
ver.6 and WRT160N ver.1 routers do not work with my Gateway/Vista laptop.

This leaves the real suspect in my mind as the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Network card, which otherwise works properly, but which for some unknown
reason, is not completely DLNA compliant, or compatible.

In the alternative, it would seem to me to be some interplay between WMP11
and the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network card, which disabling Frame
Burst in the router settings is somehow able to affect.

A search of the net would seem to indicate that the wireless media sharing
problem also affects Xbox media sharing in a percentage of Vista operating
systems. As you know, this problem is separate and distinct from the PS3
bluetooth conductivity problem, which is a problem that affects PS3
controllers. Believe me, if Xbox had a blu-ray player, I would have an Xbox,
as I like the feel of the Xbox controllers much better than the PS3
controllers.

If MS realizes that there is a WMP11 / wireless card conductivity problem
regarding wireless media sharing that is affecting a sizable percentage of
Vista operating systems, it would seem to me that the first chance MS has to
address the problem should be a correction by Windows Update to the Vista
operating system.

People that have the WMP11 / wireless card conductivity problem should not
be required to upgrade to Windows 7 to resolve this problem. I believe that
this problem should be investigated by MS and corrected via Windows Update.

If there was a problem, people taking it to product support and having them
investigate it would be the proper way to get an update. You as a user
generally have more push/power than I do at this point for Vista.

Given that I'm not aware of any such problem on the MS side, either people
are talking to each other instead of MS or product support, or there's
something else up. Given that the problem is about *discovery* of the PC
sharing client, that to *me* would mean that there's something awry on the
client (Sony) side.

Regardless, this sounds like something you should take to either Sony or MS
product support. I can help you with actual media player problems, but as
regards a client not discovering the sharing service - that's not my focal
area. If it happens with Windows 7, that would be more interesting - but
again, this isn't really a product support forum here, so you're probably
barking up the wrong conversational tree. =\

I think that this is probably the end of the road for this my inquiry and
for this thread.

As a work-a-round, I guess I am forced to play with the wireless card
settings in the PC's Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Properties, Advanced Tab, or to play with the Router Frame Burst setting, as
previously described in this thread, in order to initiate wireless media
sharing between WMP11 and my PS3.

Unfortunately, I cannot pay $259.00 for advanced product support which I
believe would be required for this type of MS support problem, according to
the MS Support guidelines.

I think that this thread will establish a high probability for the reader
who may have a similar WMP11 media sharing problem, (which appears to be a
relatively common Vista/WMP11 complaint), that when the PC and Router are
wireless, and when the wireless client (Sony PS3 side) fails to find the
WMP11 media server, the reason for this is that there is simply no wireless
WMP11 shared media information that is available for the PS3 to *discover*,
as no media information has been *broadcast* by the PC.

This conclusion is based on the fact that when the PC and Router are
connected by Ethernet, and the client (Sony PS3 side) remains wireless to the
LAN, the wireless PS3 is able to instantly *discover* the WMP11 media server
and shared media information.

As you know I had updated the PC's Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Driver in
March to the latest driver on the PC's "Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network
Connection Properties", "Driver" tab, which is located under Network adapters
in the Vista "Device Manager".

But I was surfing around the other day and ran into the Intel Download
Center: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/

At the Intel Download Center, I searched for downloads by putting "Intel
945GM" in the download search box, as this is the Intel wireless chip in the
PC. This gets you to a second Downloads page at:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Prod...+%23.&x=22&y=5

There I clicked on the second option: "Mobile Intel® 945 Express Chipset
Family".

This gets you to a third Download page at:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Prod...=2300&lang=eng

Here you select your operating system. In my case this is "Windows Vista
Home Premium, 32-bit version" Then I hit "GO" and made a sucessful download.

I did not check media sharing right away, because I thought that I had
probably downloaded the updated driver again, as the Download page isn't
specific. But apparently this is most likely a software download.

And low and behold... my media sharing problem has been completely
resolved!!!!

Interesting conclusions, however I configured my friends PS3
successfully using wireless, with the media library stored on his
wireless laptop, so I know it *can* work.

That reduces the probability of failure to connect to only 50% (from a
sample of 2 users)

The probability of failire is slightly lower assuming you consider
that not all video types / codecs are supported by both WMP *and* the
PS3 in addition to any connection problems.

Its a little hard to work out who can best address this, as the
infrastructure (windows, PS3 OS) fall between 2 stools, though both
devices are supposed to be DNLA enabled, that's (still) not a
guarantee of compatibility, though it should be.

My friend also had independent success when using TVersity which he
managed to configure without assistance

Well I'm glad it's now working, and you found the correct wifi drivers
at last. Happy viewing !

just like to say all you guys need to do is download the free version of
TVersity, it replaces windows media player as the default media sharing
software and it finds all files on your computer without much work, hope this
helps... you can find the download at www.TVersity.com

[johnbernard]

I have had a similar problem with windows 7. I resolved it by going to 'turn windows features on or off' check the WMP box, the computer prompts to restart. When done simply turn WMP back on and set WMP to share media again. This did the trick for me. It did kick me out a few times afterwards but just repeat the process and it seems to get used to it.

I wish I had a good answer for you. If it's ANY consolation, your detailed explanation of everything you did to solve your problem helped me with my problem with the same symptom of Network Discovery automatically turning itself off.

My "UPnP Device Services" was not running and my streaming worked after I enabled that, changed Network Discovery to ON and it actualy saved. However, I had to turn both my computer and PS3 off, start the computer, then start the PS3 in order for it to find my laptop.

I sure hope you find a solution!

[ewitkows]

This is one of the oddest issues I ever ran into. Long story short, I had been receiving issues similar to what was posted above. No other PC's\Devices could see my Win XP machine sharing media. The system event viewer, whenever I attempted to share media through Media Player, would show error messages no attempting to start the sharing service.

I somehow fixed this issue, and I think it was a combination of giving the sharing service access to log on as the local system account. The second action was to uninstall Windows Media Player 11 (which actually rolls it back to version 10), and then I re-installed version 11.

Here's where things are fuzzy, it didnt immediately work for me. I eventually shut down my PC, and the next day I restarted it. At that time, I started up a second PC on my local network, started media sharing on the second PC, and noticed that my Pc with actual stuff to share was finding network devices and requesting that i share media. From here I checked the event viewer again, and sure enough I wasnt receiving any error's.

Sorry I cant be more specific, but Im hoping this helps piece this problem together for anyone else having issues, I know this is pretty darn frustrating..

[skoonch]

THIS IS THE ANSWER TO MANY CONNECTIVITY ISSUES: If you cannot see the "unknown device" listed or when you click on "turn on media streaming" and nothing happens, DO THIS:

1. Navigate to: C:\Users\%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player
2. Delete all of the *.wmdb files
3. Try again.
4. Smile and give praise to the Skoonch