Client cannot find server (1 Viewer)

[jpcoh1]

As an "almost" beginner, I have just installed MP1 client and server v 1.37 unders Windows 11 in a brand new PC. The server is successfully set up and the client can link to it and display broadcast TV as required.
I have now installed the client only installation of v 1.37 on my laptop under Windows 10 (also 64 bit). Both computers are connected to my router by LAN cable.
The laptop does not recognise the server on the other machine when I try to configure the client. It keeps searching for a server on itself. This is pointless as there is no server installed. I have tried uninstalling (the full delete everything option) and reinstalling MP1 but nothing changes.
Can anyone see my obvious mistake or are there any good ideas to help me. I did previously have MP2 installed on the laptop as well as on my old desktop PC, and they talked to each other without a problem. MP2 was uninstalled from the laptop using the full delete option befoe I restarted on MP1.
Thanks

 

[jpcoh1]

I just thought to add one more piece of information that might be relevant. There is no icon in the system tray of the new computer showing that the server is running. There used to be one with MP2 on the old computer. ...and yet I guess the server is running because the client on the same machine is being serviced by it!!!

 

[CyberSimian]

The laptop does not recognise the server on the other machine when I try to configure the client

As Winston Churchill said:

Networking is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.​

Some random thoughts:

(1) The server system must have a static IP address.

(2) Can you connect from the remote client system to the server system using a drive letter in Windows? If you cannot, you should fix this first.

(3) Have you defined a logon password for the server system? If you don't have one, the remote client will not be able to connect (see (2) above). The password is for initial boot up -- you don't need to define a password for wake from sleep or hibernation.

(4) When MP1 is installed, a Windows firewall pop-up appears. This appears again on first use of "TV Server Config". Make sure that you deselect the setting that allows access from public networks. Windows imposes much more strict rules for public networks, to protect you from intrusion, but you don't need that on a home network.

(5) Are you using a non-Microsoft firewall or antivirus programme? If you are, you may need to define MP as a programme that is allowed through the firewall. The Windows built-in firewall/antivirus should already have been set (see (4) above).

(6) Are the server and remote client the same version of MP, and also the same bitness (i.e. both 32-bit or both 64-bit)?

(7) MP1 does not have an icon in the system tray for the server or client. To confirm that TV Server is running, you can use the Windows "Services" panel (look for the service called "TV Service"). However, MP does have an icon for the utility that allows MP to start using the START button on a Windows MCE RC6 remote control.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[jpcoh1]

I really do appreciate you taking so much troubly with your response. I have a feeling that Networking and Russia have little else in common, although they do seem to share the desire to makes ones life miserable.
I am however still baffled. Running through your numbered points.
1. When you refer to my Server |System, I assume you are referring to my PC on which the MP server is running. Its IP address is set by DHCP although anytime I have looked it is 192.168.1.2. I have tried using Network Connections to set an IPv4 address to a manual figure. I got confused when I was next asked for subnet mask settings but accepted the default. No change in the end result.
2. both PCs can read and write files on each other through file explorer
3. My server PC does not require a password to boot up. Do note that with MP2, my client PC has no problem finding the MP2 server over my home network, so I cannot see why or how MP1 is behaving differently.
4. You suggest deselecting allowing the windows firewall from allowing access from public networks. My principal reason for selecting MP1 over MP2 is that there is apparently an Add on which will permit the client to access the server over the internet so that, when I am abroad and have left my server PC running, the client can still hook up with it. Presumably your suggestion might fix the private home network issue but won't solve my main requirement. I have reviewed the firewall inbound rules and MP is enabled.
5. I am using Windows Firewall. Switching off my anti-virus software has no effect on the problem
6. Both server and client are 1.37. However the server is a 32 bit machine and the client is 64 bit. This does not cause any problem in MP2.
7. Yes, I can see that the service TV Service is running. As I mentioned, the client installed on the same PC as the server is properly connected to and working with the server

Any further thoughts

 

[CyberSimian]

When I am trying to get some hardware or software to work and I am experiencing problems, my usual procedure is:

simplify, simplify, simplify.​

That means avoid making choices that may not work; instead make the "standard" choice, which is often simply accepting the default.

I assume you are referring to my PC on which the MP server is running. Its IP address is set by DHCP

A static IP address is known to work with MP1. An address allocated by DHCP may not work (I don't know). So avoid making the choice that may not work, and instead allocate a static IP address for the MP TV Server system. You may need to learn how to do this correctly.

One thing that you do need to do is log on to your broadband router as the Administrator and allocate a range of IP addresses for static use. Your router may already be setup to do this, in which case simply make a note of the range of addresses that have been allocated for static use. Then pick one of the static addresses and use that in the Windows dialogue on the TV Server system.

My server PC does not require a password to boot up.

Early on in my use of an HTPC, I did not allocate a logon password for the HTPC system, and I was never able to connect my laptop to the HTPC -- Windows simply never found it on the network. I got fed up having to transfer files using a USB memory stick, so eventually I gave in and defined a logon password, and Windows on my laptop then connected immediately to the HTPC.

I note that you say that you can transfer files between your two systems, so you may have found the setup magic that I never found. But if you continue to have problems with the MP client connecting to the MP server, you might want to try defining a password simply as a test, to see if it makes a difference.

my client PC has no problem finding the MP2 server over my home network, so I cannot see why or how MP1 is behaving differently.

MP2 and MP1 share no code other than TV Server. So just because something works on MP2 does not mean that it will work on MP1.

You suggest deselecting allowing the windows firewall from allowing access from public networks.

You may be able to access MP1 over the internet, but I have never tried that. But to get local access working, I would suggest that you disable access from public networks. Once you have got that working, you can then experiment with enabling access from public networks and seeing if it still works.

the server is a 32 bit machine and the client is 64 bit.

Again, I would suggest that you don't make the choice that may not work. Mixed bitness may work, but uniform bitness definitely works. If one of your systems has 32-bit Windows (so cannot install 64-bit MP), then use 32-bit MP on all of your systems (32-bit MP can install and work on 64-bit Windows).

New Suggestion
I have one further suggestion that I became aware of only this morning. I have been trying to use MP's WOL capabilities to wake and connect to my NAS. But despite typing the network share address correctly, the MP client simply could not see the NAS. Reading some posts on this web site from several years ago revealed the problem.

My HTPC has two wired network adapters. MP was not written expecting that, so MP simply uses the first network adapter that it finds. So there is a 50% chance that MP will use the wrong adapter, and hence be unable to find the NAS. The solution is to use Windows "Device Manager" to disable the wrong adapter, and then run "MP Config".

If your laptop is not too old, it probably has both a wired network adapter, and a wireless network adapter. So one possible cause for your problem is that MP is using the wrong network adapter. If you are using a wired connection, then disable the wireless adapter and see if that allows the MP client to connect. I am not sure whether you need to use "MP Config" to setup the client connection (I don't use MP clients), so you may need to investigate that part yourself.

Finally, it is not obvious what will happen when you re-enable the wireless adapter after setting up the MP client config. The client may continue to work, or it may revert to not working. (With my NAS, I encountered other problems, so I never tested what happens when the wrong adapter is re-enabled.)

-- from CyberSimian in the UK