Firewalls and Media Center Extender

Find out which firewall is running on your PC

If you're not sure whether Windows Firewall is running on your PC, or whether your PC came with another firewall installed and running, here's how you can check to see which firewalls are installed on your computer:

1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Security.

2. Click Security Center and Expand the Firewall section if it's not already expanded. This will tell you which firewall is protecting your PC.

   

3. If you see that multiple firewalls are running on your PC, click Show me the firewall programs on this computer to bring up the complete list of firewalls that are installed and running on your PC.

   

   

Note: It is recommended that you only run one firewall at a time on your PC.

Configuring Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall is automatically configured to enable your Media Center Extender to connect to your Windows Vista-based PC using Windows Media Center during setup. However, if the settings are changed after setup has completed, connectivity between your Media Center Extender and your Windows Vista-based PC will be disrupted.

To manually configure or verify the configuration of Windows Firewall

1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Security.

2. Under Windows Firewall, click Allow a program through Windows Firewall. Because this task requires Administrator rights, you will see a User Account Control dialog box.

3. On the Exceptions tab, scroll down the list and locate the entry for Media Center Extenders. Select the check box next to this entry, if it is not already enabled, and click Apply.

   

4. Click the General tab, and make sure that the Block all incoming connections option is not selected.

Configuring Windows Live OneCare

Windows Live OneCare needs to be configured to enable your Windows Media Center Extender to connect to your Windows Vista-based PC.

To manually configure or verify the configuration of Windows Live OneCare

1. Launch Windows Live OneCare.

2. Under Common Tasks, click Change OneCare settings.

3. Click the Firewall tab, and then click the Firewall connection tool button.

4. Locate the entry for Connect my Xbox 360 or Media Center Extender to my Media Center PC. Select the check box next to this entry if it is not already enabled, and then click Apply.

Additionally, the firewall protection level can affect connectivity. If the protection level is set to Restricted, connectivity between the Windows Media Center Extender and Windows Media Center will be broken. The firewall protection level should be set to Automatic (recommended).

Configuring a non-Microsoft firewall

If you use a non-Microsoft firewall, you may need to manually configure your firewall to allow Media Center Extender applications access to the ports. A firewall vendor may ask you to configure the firewall in two different ways.

1. Some firewall vendors want you to configure the firewall for the actual application—in other words, to let the firewall know what application(s) can access the ports.

2. Some firewall vendors may want you to configure the port or ports the application is using.

During the firewall configuration process, you may also need to know what network the application or port needs to work with. In the configuration setting, a Local Subnet network means the application or port is for use on the local (or your "home") network. Internet means the application will talk to other computers on the Internet.

The following table shows the specific information you will need to configure some non-Microsoft firewalls for specific Windows Media Center Extender applications.

	Application	Protocol/Port	Direction	Network
	svchost.exe	UDP 1900	Inbound	Local Subnet
	svchost.exe	TCP 3390	Inbound	Local Subnet
	svchost.exe	TCP 2177	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	svchost.exe	UDP 2177	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	system	TCP 10244	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	ehshell.exe	TCP 554	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	ehshell.exe	UDP 5004, 5005	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	ehshell.exe	TCP 8554-8558	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	ehshell.exe	UDP 50004-50013	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	ehshell.exe	UDP 7777-7781	Inbound, Outbound	Local Subnet
	mcx2prov.exe	Random	Inbound, Outbound	Internet
	mcrmgr.exe	Random	Inbound, Outbound	Internet

The procedure for manually configuring a firewall is different for each firewall model and for each firewall manufacturer. For more information about how to configure your firewall, see your firewall documentation.