How to use Windows File Sharing with XBMC

Written by DJB on the 24th of September, 2004

Introduction

This small document will show you how to set up File Sharing between your Xbox
and PC. It is very simple (even more simple than what a lot of people would expect).

Xbox Media Center has a nice little feature included called Samba. Basically, what

Samba does is provide a translation of Windows File Shares to Non-Windows
environments.

“Samba is software that can be run on a platform other than Microsoft Windows, for example,

UNIX, Linux, IBM System 390, OpenVMS, and other operating systems. Samba uses the
TCP/IP protocol that is installed on the host server. When correctly configured, it allows that

host to interact with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it is a Windows file and print

server.”

Quote taken from

http://us3.samba.org/samba/docs/man/Samba-Guide/

So, all these other programs that stream data from your PC are not necessary, you

have everything you need within XBMC and Windows already.

I have tested this configuration on Windows XP Pro, but it should work on Windows
2000 Pro/Server and Windows 2003 Server as well. For Windows 98 and ME users, I

am not certain about this, but it’s still worth testing. Maybe some of these users can
leave feedback reporting if it works or not.

Anyways, I hope this helps some of you out…

Configuring the File Shares

Firstly, make sure you have Administrative privileges (or log in to the Administrator’s

account) on your PC. You will not be able to set up shares otherwise. By default,
XBMC uses the workgroup name WORKGROUP as the location to look for Samba

shares, usually Windows will now set the default name as MSHOME (only Windows
XP and later), make sure that you either change the xboxmediacenter.xml file, or set
your workgroup to WORKGROUP in Windows. This is what the section of code looks

like in the xboxmediacenter.xml file:

<samba>

<workgroup>WORKGROUP</workgroup>

<winsserver>-</winsserver>

<debuglevel>0</debuglevel>

<defaultusername>-</defaultusername>

<defaultpassword>-</defaultpassword>

</samba>

It’s pretty obvious what you need to change, just leave the other settings default.

With Windows XP Pro, it’s as
easy as right-clicking on the

folder or drive you want to
share, and selecting

“Sharing & Security”.
Other Windows versions

might want to try just
selecting “Properties” then

“Sharing”.

This is a screenshot of the

window that is shown on
Windows XP Pro:

In the Network sharing

and security section, tick
the box that says “Share this

folder on the network”.
Then, The Share name box
will light up, giving you the

option of selecting a share
name. Windows will

automatically generate a
name for you, which is OK to

use, but if you want to have
customized share names,

this is the place to do it.
After this, Click Apply then
OK. Your folder is shared…

Accessing files on XBMC

When you browse for files with XBMC, you will see this option in the menu where you

select the drive / share location: Workgroups (SMB)

This is where your new shares are located. When you click on the above location,

there are a few folders to navigate through:

<Workgroup Name>

- This is the name of your Workgroup

<Computer Name(s)> - This lists the names of the PCs on your Workgroup

<Share Name(s)>

- This lists the shares available.

Once you’re in your desired share folder, you should see all the files that XBMC can
recognize.