Firewalls and Extenders
Extenders for Windows Media Center use network ports to communicate with PCs running Windows over your home network. If you're having trouble setting up your Xbox 360, it could be because these ports can be blocked by firewalls running on your PC.
Here's the information you need to troubleshoot firewall issues.
This tutorial covers the following topics:
These firewalls are configured to automatically work with Windows Media Center Extender:
Follow the instructions on this page to find out which firewall your PC is using, and how to configure it to work with a Windows Media Center Extender.
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:
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Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Security.
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Click Security Center and Expand the Firewall section if it's not already expanded. This will tell you which firewall is protecting your PC.
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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.
Windows Firewall is automatically configured to enable your Media Center Extender to connect to your Windows-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 -based PC will be disrupted.
To manually configure or verify the configuration of Windows Firewall:
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Click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click Security.
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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.
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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.
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Click the General tab, and make sure that the Block all incoming connections option is not selected.
Windows Live OneCare needs to be configured to enable your Windows Media Center Extender to connect to your Windows-based PC.
To manually configure or verify the configuration of Windows Live OneCare:
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Launch Windows Live OneCare.
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Under Common Tasks, click Change OneCare settings.
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Click the Firewall tab, and then click the Firewall connection tool button.
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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).
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.
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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.
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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.