I have read just about every problem there is with the XBOX 360 and Vista, and tried just about everything.  I have attached my pc and xbox 360 directly, and both to a router, and its making me more and more frustrated. 

 

Here's what happens.

1) Start up computer and XBOX 360

2) Vista says "XBOX 360 extender found, would you like to set it up now?"

3) I click yes, and enter in the correct 8 digit password, with the xbox on the correct screen, waiting for the pc

4) "Media extender not found"

 

It just found it before, during, and after the setup attempt.  I can see the XBOX 360 on the network map, my network places, and with the media player.  I disabled the vista firewall, and don't have a 3rd party firewall.  I opened manually all the ports required in my router, and tried it both ways.  I've restarted everything numerous times, and everytime they both show up hooked into the same hub on the network map. 

I don't want to re-install vista, and really it doesn't seem like that should be the problem.

XBOX Live works, the pc can see the xbox, and for some reason, the xbox can't see the pc. Something I should have also mentioned.  When I try to set up media sharing, the XBOX can't see the PC. 

 

This may be due to the fact that they are both directly connected to each other, and the router. They use network over power lines, so the pc, XBOX, and router are all plugged into the wall.

(picture)

XBOX-------\

                       }------------router---dsl---the internet

PC-----------/

 

Unfortunately, I cannot hook the media center pc directly to the router, they're in different rooms (actually even on different floors) and there's nothing I can do about that.  The XBOX is in a third room, which can't be connected to the router either.

 

Is there anything anyone can think of to try to fix this problem? (It's rediculous that one part of the computer can find it, while another can't)

If you have any Symantec antivirus/security products installed, try disabling or uninstalling them.  Also check your router configuration and make sure if there is an option for Multicast filtering that it is not turned on. 

Another thing to check would be the rights to your c:\users\ folder.  That might cause problems if the id that the 360 uses to "login" doesn't have the proper access to write info there.

i once had a problem getting my 360 to connect to my pc as well - however, i dont think it was on the network map.  after multi tries reinstalling vista, my problem was solved by installing different ethernet card drivers.  My pc was an older dell, and had to go through them to get better working drivers.

You don't have to open any ports on the router for the connection between the PC and the XB360. The firewall on the router sits between all the devices on your LAN and the internet.

I would look at your Anti Virus package. I know I had problems with McAfe, so I ripped it out and installed Windows One Care.

Thanks to everyone who responded so quickly, I will definately look at my anti-virus situation tonight when I get back home.  Then I will repost. 

 

I don't know if I made this clear earlier, but the network over powerline acts as a hub for the two components ( I will post a screen of the network map if I still can't get it to work) and I was wondering if anyone else has it set up that way.

I guess the picture is more like 

XB---(basement wall connection)

           (1st story wall connection)--Router---Internet

PC---(2nd story wall connection)

and that is something I was considering as a problem, since I don't see anyone else using that kind of configuration.  (feel free to speak up if you are) They are connected to the wall, which acts as the same line, and the wall is connected to the router.  They are connected to each other and also to the router.

Ok, time for an update.  I checked for multicast, but I didn't see an option.  I don't have any anti-virus (no wonder vista has been bothering me for some) and I updated my ethernet drivers.  To be blunt, none of that worked.

I would add my network map if I could post a picture.  (how would I do that, the link says I don't have permission)

Are there any entries in event viewer when you try to connect up with the 360?

Do you have any folders named MCX1 or MCX2 or anything like that in c:\users\ ?

I'm getting an error with the

Alright, last post of the night.  This is what I know.

1) XBOX can get on XBOX Live.
2) PC can see XBOX on network maps, network places, and prompts me to set up extender because it finds it with however it does that
3) PC actually found the XBOX when it was wirelessly connected, then wouldn't complete
4) XBOX doesn't see PC, whether media sharing or media center
5) I have no anti-virus/firewalls

Thanks to everyone for their help, I'm not giving up yet.

i am just going to take a stab in the dark here because i am in no way an expert.

i found that i had problems with my setup when vista was using both the ipv4 and ipv6 network protocol. one of the main reasons was that ipv6 was always changing ipaddresses. to avoid that problem, i disabled ipv6 in vista and told my router to give my htpc the same ip address every time it connects to the network.

when you said that the pc connected to the xbox when it was wireless, suggests that it works with that mac address. do you happen to have an "alternate mac address" setup for the lan portion? i found this article out on the internet but it looks like it has multiple suggestions for your error code...

http://forums.xbox.com/11496426/PrintPost.aspx

Thanks for the suggestion, I disabled my ipv6 and checked the xbox for alternate mac, but there was no alternate MAC, and the ipv6 didn't work.

Hi, I don't use an extender myself but have you got network discovery enabled on your Vista box?, this option allows network resources to be discovered from your Vista machine looking out and from other machines looking in.  A stab in the dark I know but maybe worth a look.

One last point - switch ipv6 back on if you can because some Vista features need ipv6 enabled to work.

EDIT: The fact that you can use the network map option in Vista does suggest that network discovery IS switched on, best to check though

 

Network discovery is switched on, and it's even in the super-accessible mode that vista doesn't reccommend.

So I almost had a breakthrough when I found out that the slinglinks were based on an Intellion chipset which had known problems with the XBOX and media center pcs in firmware version 1.5.  I figured, perfect, I update the firmware to 1.6, then back on easy street.  I find the firmware version, and it's already 1.6, so in the spirit of Edison, I have one more wrong answer, and I'm one closer to the right answer.

I would very much like to get this running as soon as possible.  My situation is a lot like another thread where it is set up on a switch, a thread which was never concluded.

I tried again connecting either the xbox or the pc to a switch before connecting them to the slinglinks.

XBOX -switch-slinglink network

This made it appear that both of them were attached to the switch, but unfortunately, this didn't help either.  I am running out of ideas.