[YShin]

I'm trying to make Pi access a Windows Network shared folder, but for some reason bigger than my current understanding, it's proven to be a very difficult task.

First I've tried OpenELEC. After setting wifi network up I've tried to make the Pi retrieve movies from my PC through Windows Network but it couldn't connect. It keeps asking for username and password that it doesn't accept. Even with password protection disabled on Windows Network options, the same thing happens. No mattter what.

Then I decided it could be an OpenELEC issue but there was no deal either.

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

In system info the Pi has an IP and I can control it form iPhone with Constellation.


Please help!

[Bosse_B]

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

I had similar problems regarding add-on repository access and flakey network operations too.
It turned out to be a power supply problem.
Please check the voltage on the Pi between TP1 and TP2, if it is low (like 4.8V or lower) you are also experiencing this problem.
In my case it was caused not by a bad power supply but by a bad Micro-USB cable, which had too thin wires so it dropped the voltage from 5.2V at the power supply to only 4.64V at TP1-TP2!
Took a while to find that!

Solution
I solved my problem by cutting off the two connectors from the cable with only about 5 cm remaining at each connector. Then I soldered in two thicker wires between the black-black and red-red wires, the other wires are not needed. Made these wires long enough to fit between the power supply and the location of my Pi.
After this the TP1-TP2 voltage raised to 5.2V and the Pi works perfectly!

[DBMandrake]

I'm trying to make Pi access a Windows Network shared folder, but for some reason bigger than my current understanding, it's proven to be a very difficult task.

First I've tried OpenELEC. After setting wifi network up I've tried to make the Pi retrieve movies from my PC through Windows Network but it couldn't connect. It keeps asking for username and password that it doesn't accept. Even with password protection disabled on Windows Network options, the same thing happens. No mattter what.

Then I decided it could be an OpenELEC issue but there was no deal either.

You don't say what version of Windows ?

If the guest account on the Windows machine is disabled (which it is by default on Vista and Windows 7) the Pi won't be able to enumerate the shares as it won't have rights to access the share list, however you will be able to directly connect to a known share name which is protected with a username and password.

What do your source entries look like ? Another factor is you will get a much more reliable connection if you give your PC a static IP address (easiest to do this with a static DHCP reservation on your router if the router supports it) as name resolution can be intermittent.

So in your video source you would have an entry like this:

smb://192.168.0.10/sharename

Substitute your Windows PC's IP address and the name of the share. When you press OK it will attempt to connect and should prompt for a username and password.

Note: it's ok to add a sub folder as a source (for example to separate Movie and TV Shows folders so they can be scraped correctly) by doing something like smb://192.168.0.10/sharename/Movies however smb://192.168.0.10/ without any share name in an attempt to access all shares with one entry won't work.

[YShin]

I'm trying to make Pi access a Windows Network shared folder, but for some reason bigger than my current understanding, it's proven to be a very difficult task.

First I've tried OpenELEC. After setting wifi network up I've tried to make the Pi retrieve movies from my PC through Windows Network but it couldn't connect. It keeps asking for username and password that it doesn't accept. Even with password protection disabled on Windows Network options, the same thing happens. No mattter what.

Then I decided it could be an OpenELEC issue but there was no deal either.

You don't say what version of Windows ?

If the guest account on the Windows machine is disabled (which it is by default on Vista and Windows 7) the Pi won't be able to enumerate the shares as it won't have rights to access the share list, however you will be able to directly connect to a known share name which is protected with a username and password.

What do your source entries look like ? Another factor is you will get a much more reliable connection if you give your PC a static IP address (easiest to do this with a static DHCP reservation on your router if the router supports it) as name resolution can be intermittent.

So in your video source you would have an entry like this:

smb://192.168.0.10/sharename

Substitute your Windows PC's IP address and the name of the share. When you press OK it will attempt to connect and should prompt for a username and password.

Note: it's ok to add a sub folder as a source (for example to separate Movie and TV Shows folders so they can be scraped correctly) by doing something like smb://192.168.0.10/sharename/Movies however smb://192.168.0.10/ without any share name in an attempt to access all shares with one entry won't work.

Sorry for not specifying the Windows version. It's 8.1.

The guest account is indeed disabled but it never gave me any trouble before. I have another XBMC HTPC on my living room running XBMCbuntu and it works like a charm with the same share from the same PC. The intriguing question is why is Raspberry Pi, running both OpenELEC and RaspBMC, the only one unable to retrieve files from the same windows share.

The name of the share is the same of the folder it shares: "MOVIES and SERIES". I thought the spaces on the name might cause some trouble but the XBMCbuntu machine seems to have no trouble finding that same share.

And I separated the movies and tv shows on separate folders inside "MOVIES and SERIES". I would point to the subfolders if I could open the share.

Also, it may be useful to point out: I cant see OpenELEC share on Windows Explorer. If I type \\OpenelecIP\ on Windows Explorer it works but I can't open it normally on WE.

---

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

I had similar problems regarding add-on repository access and flakey network operations too.
It turned out to be a power supply problem.
Please check the voltage on the Pi between TP1 and TP2, if it is low (like 4.8V or lower) you are also experiencing this problem.
In my case it was caused not by a bad power supply but by a bad Micro-USB cable, which had too thin wires so it dropped the voltage from 5.2V at the power supply to only 4.64V at TP1-TP2!
Took a while to find that!

Solution
I solved my problem by cutting off the two connectors from the cable with only about 5 cm remaining at each connector. Then I soldered in two thicker wires between the black-black and red-red wires, the other wires are not needed. Made these wires long enough to fit between the power supply and the location of my Pi.
After this the TP1-TP2 voltage raised to 5.2V and the Pi works perfectly!

Thank you but I've tried a different cable, a Samsung phone charger and the same thing happened.

[Bosse_B]

Thank you but I've tried a different cable, a Samsung phone charger and the same thing happened.

Did you actually MEASURE the voltage across TP1-TP2 on the Raspberry Pi?
If that voltage is 4.8V or above then you do not have my problem.
But I too tried different power supplies and Micro-USB cables unsuccessfully before I actually measured the voltage and found it to be much too low (4.6V).
The strange thing is that all of my available cables had too thin wires, thus causing the voltage drop.
That is why I went to the action of cutting the cable to get the connectors and replacing the wires between the connectors.

Notice that most phone chargers are incapable of supplying the current that the Pi needs, for example my Samsung charger is rated at 0.15A, which is WAY too low for the Pi! You need a 1.5-2 A power supply.

[genka]

Your Samsung charger must be really old. All Samsung charges for Android phones are rated at least 0.7A

[DBMandrake]

Your Samsung charger must be really old. All Samsung charges for Android phones are rated at least 0.7A

Which is barely enough to run a Raspberry Pi with no USB devices plugged in and no over-clocking, as the Pi itself at standard clock rates needs 700mA, USB device current drain and over-clocking is in addition to this.

Really you shouldn't be looking at anything less than 1.5A for powering a Pi if you want it to be reliable even when plugging in USB devices and over-clocking. Myself I use a regulated 5.25v 2amp supply and it has coped with everything I've thrown at it (even hot plugging devices like the xbox 360 USB wireless receiver) without any crashes or problems.

[Bosse_B]

What kind of cable do you use?
Before I went into cutting the USB cable and splicing in a heavier gauge wire I tested by powering my Pi via a wire to the I/O connector P1 (pins 2 and 6).
That completely solved the voltage problem, but I was advised that it was not a good solution since it bypassed the fuse on the Pi.
So that is why I modified the USB cable to have a better wire size.
My power supply is rated 2.1A and now that the voltage reaches the Pi everything works fine.

[genka]

Your Samsung charger must be really old. All Samsung charges for Android phones are rated at least 0.7A

Which is barely enough to run a Raspberry Pi with no USB devices plugged in and no over-clocking, as the Pi itself at standard clock rates needs 700mA, USB device current drain and over-clocking is in addition to this.

Really you shouldn't be looking at anything less than 1.5A for powering a Pi if you want it to be reliable even when plugging in USB devices and over-clocking. Myself I use a regulated 5.25v 2amp supply and it has coped with everything I've thrown at it (even hot plugging devices like the xbox 360 USB wireless receiver) without any crashes or problems.

I have 0.7A and 1A rated charges, the Pi works exactly the same on both. Probably the extra power is needed when Pi powered peripherals are attached- things like remote sensors, USB sticks, keyboards, etc.

[petemacsydney]

Hi Yshin
How did you go, did you fix your problem?
i have same problem here!
cheers p

[JustinBeaird]

I think I am having a similar problem I posted the below on openelec site. will post it here if its ok?

I am trying to access my windows 8 share(SMB) from raspberry pi. when trying to add share as source I can get to path \\HTPC-1\ and see all the shared folders but when i try to go into \\HTPC-1\Movies\ i get a error message invalid argument, i can access my files from all my other computers just not openelec

[calev]

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

In system info the Pi has an IP and I can control it form iPhone with Constellation.

I have had the same problem and it turned out that i had a network but no internet. The reason being I live on a college campus and all network devices have to be registered through a web browser first. Are you using a home internet connection or some kind of enterprise network like i was using?

For the network shares, you should be able to use you windows user name and password. Enter the ip address of your computer, then under the shared folder, enter just the shared folder not the full address and enter your windows username and password. This should work if everything is typed right.

This guy on youtube walks you through it. I have noticed the pi is a little more picky. On all my other systems including ouya I can just browse. http://youtu.be/dTBspxh7CgI

[CharlenePaul]

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

I had similar problems regarding add-on repository access and flakey network operations too.
It turned out to be a power supply problem.
Please check the voltage on the Pi between TP1 and TP2, if it is low (like 4.8V or lower) you are also experiencing this problem.
In my case it was caused not by a bad power supply but by a bad Micro-USB cable, which had too thin wires so it dropped the voltage from 5.2V at the power supply to only 4.64V at TP1-TP2!
Took a while to find that!

Solution
I solved my problem by cutting off the two connectors from the cable with only about 5 cm remaining at each connector. Then I soldered in two thicker wires between the black-black and red-red wires, the other wires are not needed. Made these wires long enough to fit between the power supply and the location of my Pi.
After this the TP1-TP2 voltage raised to 5.2V and the Pi works perfectly!

For the soldering-challenged the problem can be solved by buying decent cables. We discovered the issue when our smartphones wouldn't charge unless we used the oem cable that shipped with them. Ordering one from Samsung (in our case) will cost about the same as the Pi, but you can find them on fleaBay for perhaps $3. Takes some effort to get a worthy product - one seller advertised "Samsung p/n xxx" and delivered the usual trash - but as noted, worth it.

[CharlenePaul]

I'm trying to make Pi access a Windows Network shared folder, but for some reason bigger than my current understanding, it's proven to be a very difficult task.

First I've tried OpenELEC. After setting wifi network up I've tried to make the Pi retrieve movies from my PC through Windows Network but it couldn't connect. It keeps asking for username and password that it doesn't accept. Even with password protection disabled on Windows Network options, the same thing happens. No mattter what.

Then I decided it could be an OpenELEC issue but there was no deal either.

If not enough, it seems none of them are able to retrieve addons from the repository. When I try it shows an empty list.

In system info the Pi has an IP and I can control it form iPhone with Constellation.

Please help!

Is the time display correct as soon as xbmc comes up? I had/have a problem with openelec/xbmc in that despite the setup item 'wait xxx seconds for network before starting xbmc' openelec just blustered forward so samba fails and leaves no path to Windows networking. In my case I'd first installed raspbmc which managed that correctly so your problem is probably different. You might try connecting to the *nix environment with putty and restarting the xbmc component, assuming by then the networking will have worked itself out.

[JustinBeaird]

Any fix I still can't get raspberry pi and android arm to access my samba shares in windows 8 tryed everything.

Other Windows machine's work just fine

The drives I am sharing are external drives not sure if that is relevant tho