[Multiple Networks/NICs] No Joy, worked about 40 hours

[Cavebat]

Win 8 phone HTC 8X, Win 7 HTPC. My Media Center installed fine on phone and HTPC. Phone is connected to HTPC Wi-Fi. App did work for about 40 hours after messing with it for a couple. Don't know what I did to get it working. When it was working, and I left both HTPC and Phone on, after an hour or two, it would stop working, loose connection with HTPC and would not connect until I reset the Phone, then it would select my HTPC. Would not and still does not locate my PC via Wi-Fi search, had to add it manually. Used My Media Center Configuration Tool on HTPC to find internal and external i.p. addresses. Ran Diagnostic test, "everything looks good here", with valid settings. Ran, Test Port Forwarding, Results, Port is NOT properly forwarded, please validate your router settings. Wi-Fi search for PC in My Media Center finds my manually added HTPC, selecting it, I just get the connecting to pc error.
I've tried resetting HTPC and Phone multiple, multiple, times. Ensured date and time are synced between the two, (time zone is correct). No password specified or used.
I'm unclear as to what external i.p. port number to use. It says if port is zero, (it was), the internal port will be used. Does that mean I should leave the port number at zero, or change it to internal port number 5832 and save? Either way I've tried both, still no go, and yes, I reset both HTPC and phone multiple times. Don't know what "Port is NOT properly forwarded' means, or how to validate router settings. Not sure if that is relevant, since I was able to get it to work for a little while.
I've looked for answers here and could not find anything relevant. Hope I'm missing it, can anyone point me in the right direction or provide me additional support for this (for the few hours I've used it) great looking app that I gladly paid for?

[foxwood]

Forget about port forwarding for now. It's only purpose is for accessing the PC when you are not at home.

The first thing to check is whether your phone is maintaining a reliable connection to your home network. If it's dropping off your home network, and accessing the internet using the phones 3G or 4G connection, then port forwarding would be one way of solving the problem, but you'd probably be better served fixing the WiFi problem anyway.

So, does your phone give any indication of which network it is using?

If you open the web browser on the phone and try to connect to http://<htpc-ip-address>:5832 do you get a response?

[Cavebat]

I opened web browser on phone, entered 192.168.254.82:5832, 192.168.254.82 was found in Network Discovery in My Media Center Configuration, does not work, "We're having trouble displaying this page." So, no response!?
Now what? Feeling really dumb and frustrated.

[foxwood]

Does your phone indicate whether it is connected to your home WiFi network?

What type of phone is it? (iPhone, Android, WindowsPhone)

Do you know how to check what IP address it thinks it is using?

[Motz]

So everything foxwood said are great first steps.

On our htpc open up Chrome and type in:
http://localhost:5832

You should see a message like "move along here nothing to see".

You would want to do the same on your phone but with http://<ip-address>:5832, which it looks like you did.

So if it works on your HTPC and NOT on your phone this means that something on your HTPC is blocking the outward communication. If this is the case do you have any antivirus or third party firewalls installed on the HTPC?

[foxwood]

So if it works on your HTPC and NOT on your phone this means that something on your HTPC is blocking the outward communication.

or the Phone is dropping the WiFi connection, and connecting to the Internet (and not the LAN) via the Phone network, rather than WiFi.

[Motz]

That is completely possible as well, which in that case viewing it on the browser would not work. A better test would be to go to http://<ip-address>:5832 on a separate PC in the house that is on Wifi. This will actually ensure that it is working properly, if the other pc can't communicate to the HTPC than there is an issue.

[Cavebat]

Does your phone indicate whether it is connected to your home WiFi network?

Yes, I believe so. The phone has a Wifi icon on the top bar when connected. It's displayed. (So is the LTE/4G icon though)
I can also go to the phones Settings, System, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi networking is set to ON, It searches available networks, finds mine with Network name, says connected, WPA2 enabled, Proxy Off, IP address 192.168.2.50, Subnet mask 255.255.255.0, Default gateway 192.168.2.1, DNS 192.168.2.1, also the suffix and MAC address.

The Wifi software on my HTPC (conectify) also indicates that my phone is connected as a client with the same address 192.168.2.50

So, I think that is an indication that my phone is connected to my home WiFi network.

What type of phone is it? (iPhone, Android, WindowsPhone)

Windows 8, HTC 8X (like Gwen Stefani has)

Do you know how to check what IP address it thinks it is using?

Well, I know what my phone says the IP address is, through my Wifi connection, as indicated above, 192.168.2.50
I know how to display my IP with a Run Command Line, ipconfig /all, results are below, with tunnel adapters omitted;

C:\Users\Philip>ipconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Philip-HTPC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : local
Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 3:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-1F-8F-E5-50
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8184:62d3:b49c:6210%14(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 469770015
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-84-8C-7B-6C-F0-49-79-18-15
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Edimax 802.11g Wireless PCI Card
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-1F-8F-E5-51
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 6C-F0-49-79-18-15
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2162:e5e4:3fb4:1023%10(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.82(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:43:18 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 21, 2149 11:45:35 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.254
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.254
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 242020425
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-84-8C-7B-6C-F0-49-79-18-15
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.254
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 3:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : local
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Ceton InfiniTV Network Device #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-2C-FF-FF-FF
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::c03e:acd6:a291:adfb%44(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.200.2(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:43:18 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, February 22, 2013 2:43:17 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.200.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 939532844
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-84-8C-7B-6C-F0-49-79-18-15
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

So everything foxwood said are great first steps.

On our htpc open up Chrome and type in:
http://localhost:5832
You should see a message like "move along here nothing to see".

OK, I downloaded Chrome, (didn't have), typed in http://localhost:5832
Here are the results;
This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<error xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ado/2007/0 ... s/metadata">
<code/>
<message xml:lang="en-US">Nothing to see here ... move along... move along</message>
</error>

You would want to do the same on your phone but with http://<ip-address>:5832, which it looks like you did.

I did yesterday with these results;
"We're having trouble displaying this page."
Same today.

So if it works on your HTPC and NOT on your phone this means that something on your HTPC is blocking the outward communication. If this is the case do you have any antivirus or third party firewalls installed on the HTPC?

I'm only running Windows Firewall.

[Cavebat]

That is completely possible as well, which in that case viewing it on the browser would not work. A better test would be to go to http://<ip-address>:5832 on a separate PC in the house that is on Wifi. This will actually ensure that it is working properly, if the other pc can't communicate to the HTPC than there is an issue.

Unfortunately, I have no other PC in the house. My 6 year long girlfriend got booted out of my house for infidelity, took the laptop. (That's for another forum) Microsoft only had a couple of new Surface Pro 128G's available on launch date for my whole city of approximately 800,000. people. (That too is for another forum). So, no other PC.

Sorry for the long post, what should I do?

[Motz]

Which IP did you enter into your phone:
192.168.254.82 or 192.168.2.1?

Perhaps it is broadcasting on the 192.168.2.1

[foxwood]

Which IP did you enter into your phone:
192.168.254.82 or 192.168.2.1?

Perhaps it is broadcasting on the 192.168.2.1

Ah, the old 2 networks problem!

The PC appears to be connected to both "Edimax 802.11g Wireless PCI Card" on 192.168.2.1 and to "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" on 192.168.254.82.

(and to "Ceton InfiniTV Network Device" on 192.168.200.2, but that should not be a problem).

Why is your WiFi network different from your Ethernet network, and why is your PC connected to both of them? Unless you have a very explicit reason for setting things up that way, it's probably a bad idea - it will certainly cause confusion and frustration when trying to connect to devices in your home.

Which IP address did the My Media center tool on the desktop say it was using?

[Cavebat]

Which IP did you enter into your phone:
192.168.254.82 or 192.168.2.1?

Perhaps it is broadcasting on the 192.168.2.1

I believe you are correct. I went to My Media Center on my phone, edited the selected pc internal ip to 192.168.2.1, selected it, bling, came right up.

Thanks

[Cavebat]

Which IP did you enter into your phone:
192.168.254.82 or 192.168.2.1?

Perhaps it is broadcasting on the 192.168.2.1

Ah, the old 2 networks problem!

The PC appears to be connected to both "Edimax 802.11g Wireless PCI Card" on 192.168.2.1 and to "Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller" on 192.168.254.82.

(and to "Ceton InfiniTV Network Device" on 192.168.200.2, but that should not be a problem).

Why is your WiFi network different from your Ethernet network, and why is your PC connected to both of them? Unless you have a very explicit reason for setting things up that way, it's probably a bad idea - it will certainly cause confusion and frustration when trying to connect to devices in your home.

Which IP address did the My Media center tool on the desktop say it was using?

OK, yes, 2 networks = bad. Why is my WiFi network different from my Ethernet? I don't know? I messed around with my HTPC over a year ago to try and get a WiFi connection working for my girlfriend. Obviously I didn't know what I was doing, but eventually got her connected. Aint broke don't fix it attitude. I originally bought the Edimax PCI card for my HTPC build and I couldn't figure out the software that came with it enough to get it working. Someone directed me to Connectify software, so I use it, cause I got it to work for my girlfriends WiFi connection.

Why is my PC connected to both of them? Again, I don't know. I do not have an explicit reason (certainly not "very") for it being set up this way. More like a stab in the dark to try and get a connection for my girlfriend (urgent). Again, just left it that way.

So, not probably a bad idea, it seems like definitely, and certainly causing me problems right now.

Which IP address did the My Media center tool on the desktop say it was using? It says 192.168.254.82, but I changed it to 192.168.2.1 and everything works.

Any help or suggestions on cleaning up the mess I created on my HTPC network would be appreciated.

[Motz]

I believe we just display the top one in the list and it is dependent. Although if the wifi scan was working than it would probably pull in both. Not sure why the WiFi and Ethernet are listed? Do you have both the WiFi turned on&connected and also the Ethernet plugged in?

Glad we fixed the issue. I will rename the topic to be specific to the issue.

[foxwood]

Any help or suggestions on cleaning up the mess I created on my HTPC network would be appreciated.

Without knowing the details, my guess is that you added a WiFi-router to your existing LAN by plugging the WAN port on the WiFi-router into a port on your wired network. The WiFi-router acts as a dhcp server for WiFi clients (on the 192.168.2 network) and your cable router acts as a dhcp server for the wired clients on the 196.168.254 network.

As a general rule, if you're adding a WiFi router to an existing wired LAN, you are better off giving the new router a static address in the same network as the existing network, and disabling the DHCP function on the new box, and then connecting the new box to the existing network using a LAN port, and ignore the WAN port entirely on the new box. When a WiFi client connects, it will ask for an IP address, and that request will be sent out over the LAN ports, and the dhcp server on the original wired router will supply it.

That way all your wired and wireless clients are part of the same LAN, and share the same pool of network addresses.

You should disable the WiFi card in the PC - it won't be happy having two different connections to the same network. And make sure that the static IP address that you assign to the WiFi router isn't going to be assigned by the dhcp server.

[Cavebat]

Wow foxwood, I’m going to have to take some time and absorb what you just said there!
First, thanks for both of you assisting me, very promptly and courteously. The app works, and I love it.
Maybe it would help to explain my HTPC hardware setup concerning my internet connection and network. Built my own HTPC, and thought ahead that I did not desire to have another box siting around, so I installed a PCI 150Mbps Wireless 11n adapter, so I did not have to have an external Wi-Fi router, it would be built into my HTPC. My intent was to hard wire my internet connection to the HTPC motherboard Ethernet LAN port, and have the PCI Wi-Fi adapter act as a “hotspot” or wireless access point. That’s what I wanted and by bumbling around under some pressure to get it working, I did.
I realize that I probably mucked up my network configurations, but, it worked for my needs at the time. Obviously I’m NOT too learned in network configuration. Maybe I should do some more research outside this forum and thread about this. I was thinking of uninstalling and reinstalling the Wi-Fi adapter software, wiping out my networks, and starting over. I think that’s what you might be alluding to in your technical reply to me anyway.
Thanks again

[foxwood]

I can't see any advantage to having the PC provide wireless access - it's complicated (which leads to frustration when things don't work as expected), expensive (you're running a PC drawing 60-150 watts, rather than a dedicated device drawing 5-10 watts) and doesn't offer any flexibility or control.

[Motz]

I can't see any advantage to having the PC provide wireless access - it's complicated (which leads to frustration when things don't work as expected), expensive (you're running a PC drawing 60-150 watts, rather than a dedicated device drawing 5-10 watts) and doesn't offer any flexibility or control.

The only time you would need something like this is if you were in a hotel or somewhere that only supplied wired internet and wanted to create a hotspot for your other devices. Although inside a home it doesn't make too much sense.