SMB to Win8. Is it possible?

[bat123man]

Hello,

I have been successfully running XBMC on my original XBOX for 8 years. It used to connect to the basement computer running Win7 via SMB shares without a problem. I just installed Win8 on a new SSD drive, and shared the same folders I used to share. I created the same username as well (xbox) and the same password. Using my Win7 laptop, I can log into Win8 using the xbox loginname and see the shares via SMB. It all works from that computer. But when I try to login from the xbox, it always comes up with "Could not connect to network server". When I use the SMB option in Add Sources, I can see my new Win8 computer come up, and I can see all the topmost shares. I pick one of them, and it asks for my login credentials (again). I put them in, but it won't go the final step and let the share work. I remember a few years ago finding it challenging to connect to Win7, but eventually got it to work. Is there something special I have to do to use SMB shares with Win 8?

Thanks,
BM.

[bat123man]

Here is the log :

http://pastebin.ca/2252846

This appears to be the critical element from the file above :

17:34:21 M: 39034880 DEBUG: CApplication::OnKey: 256 pressed, action is 7
17:34:21 M: 39321600 DEBUG: CGUIMediaWindow::GetDirectory (smb://xbox:xbox@192.168.2.99/FromMarcel/)
17:34:21 M: 39321600 DEBUG: ParentPath = []
17:34:21 M: 38981632 DEBUG: XFILE::CSMBDirectory::OpenDir - Using authentication url smb://xbox:xbox@192%2e168%2e2%2e99/FromMarcel
17:34:21 M: 38981632 ERROR: SMBDirectory->GetDirectory: Unable to open directory : 'smb://xbox:xbox@192%2e168%2e2%2e99/FromMarcel'
unix_err:'16' nt_err : 'c0000008' error : 'Invalid handle'
17:34:21 M: 38981632 ERROR: XFILE::CDirectory::GetDirectory - Error getting smb://xbox:xbox@192.168.2.99/FromMarcel/
17:34:21 M: 38981632 ERROR: CGUIMediaWindow::GetDirectory(smb://xbox:xbox@192.168.2.99/FromMarcel/) failed
17:34:21 M: 38981632 DEBUG: CGUIMediaWindow::GetDirectory ()
17:34:21 M: 38981632 DEBUG: ParentPath = []
17:34:21 M: 38981632 DEBUG: CFileItemList::Sort, sorting took 0 millis

[BuZz]

the log doesn't help. also please use pastebin or similar service for logs (and always post complete logs not snippets)

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=143775

I believe the issue can be fixed with changes on the windows 8 side. see threads like http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=143775 for tips.

[bat123man]

Hi BuZz,

It worked! Oh glory days, it worked! Been fighting with this for some time, but it is now working. My 3-year old is happily watching Road Runner cartoons via the SMB Share to Win8. Thanks for your reply, although as it turns out, those links you provided didn't contain the answer. But it did make me read an awful lot about SMB on Win8, and likely helped me along the way. It turns out the answer came from Microsoft. This technote : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177078/en-us

The default for IRPStackSize in Win8 is 15. You can set it as high as 50, but 32 seems to be the optimal setting where XBMC is involved. The value specifies the number of stack locations in I/O request packets (IRPs) that are used by the operating system. The recommendation is to bump it by 3 until it works, but I found other posting which suggest 32 is good for XBMC, so that is all I tried. And it worked!

So in case anyone else has this issue, follow the technote above. If you still have issues, remove the share on Win8, and create it again. Go into the folder's Properties - Sharing - Share - and ensure EVERYONE is listed with Read/Write access. If you don't see Everyone in the list, click the dropdown, add it, and OK OK OK. Should be good to go at that point.

Thanks,
BM.