Streaming Media from Windows 7 to Android

This article is a compilation of solutions for several issues (most of them) faced in setting up a streaming environment in your home wireless LAN.

Situation:  The idea was to primarily access media files on the PC from a phone and a tablet, all of them on the wi-fi network. But, I do not use a dedicated media center hardware or a suitably enabled external hard disk for this. My network has a wireless router, a Windows PC and a couple of Android devices. I wanted to create a streaming environment from my Windows desktop.

Basic Set-up: 

The following article is comprehensive and easy to follow. ES Explorer is probably one the best things that has happened to an Android phone. If you have already tried this and got stuck, skip to ‘Problem 1’.

Else, follow the steps shown in this article: APC Magazine article

By now, you should be streaming videos or music onto your tablet/phone. For me, the fun began at this stage. I faced all of the following issues and sorted them one by one. See where you are getting stuck and take it from there.

Problem 1: Basic permissions are not in place and/or sharing is off

This should help you check if any or all of the steps are in place:  

Windows 7 'How to' on Microsoft site

If you have done this and still unable to connect to the PC, you might wonder if you need a Windows domain.

Problem 2: You are unable to create a HomeGroup or Join a HomeGroup

If you are using Windows 7 Home Basic (or Starter) you cannot create a HomeGroup. Unless in your Wifi LAN you have a PC with a higher version of Windows Home, you will not be able to join a HomeGroup. But, you do not need one- you will have to rely on Public Folders.

Problem 3: You cannot locate Public Folders

The following helped sort this issue out: Microsoft Answers / Windows 7 Forum thread

Problem 4: On setting sharing permissions on Public Folders you see the error “You folder can’t be shared”

This can be quite frustrating since you will go over all the steps one by one and end up realising you might not have missed any of the above. One cannot be faulted for interpreting this error message as ‘something is missing in the way the folder is shared’. The message has to be simply understood as ‘There is no need to share this folder’. After all it is a public folder! So, if you are stuck here even after fixing sub folder level issues, it is likely not an issue at all. see if the following issue is causing the problem. The next step solved my problem.

Problem 5: Firewall!

Since it is the PC which is not accessible, check the firewall on your Windows PC. I use one of the sleekest (light on memory and network requirements) internet security packages – Kaspersky. By default, Kaspersky puts all the computers (read devices) on your wifi LAN under the Public Network category.  Maybe every firewall does. If you are using any other firewall/internet security, see if you can trace these steps on that.

1. Open the Kaspersky Client and click ‘Settings’ 
2. Look for Firewall under the ‘Protection Center’ menu
3. In the FireWall Setting screen look at the list in ‘Networks’. This is a list of various network access hardware devices and Windows network profiles
4. Scroll down to locate the primary device in use for wifi access on your PC. It will be the name of the Wireless Adaptor in use.
5. The Anroid devices connected to the Wifi Router will be listed here. Most probably, the devices would be seen carrying values ‘Public Network’. Change these values to ‘Local Network

By now, ES Explorer LAN view on your Andriod device should be able to see all the shared files on your Windows PC. Have fun!