Today I decided to plug my Motif XF to my laptop, which has Windows 7 Ultimate (updated constantly with Windows Update) And yes, I’ve succeded on this =D

First, let me tell you some important points to consider about your PC:
1. You’ll better have administrative access on your PC. Otherwise, you may not be able to follow this guide.
2. I’ll consider you’ve successfully connected your PC to your network. It doesn’t matter if you’re connected by cable or WiFi. Indeed this point must stand as you’re now reading this post.
3. I’ll consider your PC gets its IP address automatically, so your router is using DHCP.
4. I’ll consider your Motif XF has the must up to date OS: now you can also use WiFi networks.
5. You can connect your Motif XF using cable or WiFi. In my particular case, I’m connected by WiFi and I’m using one of the reccommended USB adapters: Tenda.

When you success with this guide, you’ll be able to do the following:
1. Connect your Motif XF to your PC and then you can mount your shared folders (on your PC) as devices (on your Motif XF), so you can use those on File mode.
2. Connect your PC to your Motif XF and you can get read-only access to “media” folder, your plugged USB, and write access to the “theme” folders: here you can see/modify all the 8 different themes and colors combinations for your Motif XF interface so you can make your very own color combinations! (oops I may have better not told you)
3. Connect your Motif XF to your Motif XF and again you’ll have access to “media”, “theme” and your connected USB folders. Yes, you can connect your Motif XF from your Motif XF and this is a nice way to test some of your settings on the Motif XF.

And, before you give up or begin blaming, consider that:
1. We are not “network geeks” and neither we are Windows 7 experts or IT experts. So please be patient and consider this requires some configuration on your PC to work, and from a technical (network) point of view, Windows 7 is way more complex and (probably) it’s really an unknown beast to us.
2. You can’t compare this setup with your “Internet ready TV”, your iPod, your BluRay, etc. which all of them get easily connected to Internet. Make yourself clear that those devices don’t usually interact between them in order to exchange files (any file from your PC) and those aren’t really part of a Windows network. This is another completely different layer of communication/interaction. Altought I must say Yamaha may consider some solution like Samsung’s AllShare which lets me access my photos, videos and music from my PC directly to the SmartTV and without hard efforts.
3. You’ll get access to a Windows network and AFAIK Motif XF is based on Unix, so the client for the Motif XF is not exactly the same as the one you find on Windows (specially Vista and 7). The same thing happens with Mac (also based on Unix). Maybe for this reason, I have the perception that it’s considered “easier” to connect the Motif XF to Mac.
4. If after trying hard you just can’t connect… well use an USB stick and I can tell you, you’ll get the same functionality…

Well, lets begin with some of the Motif XF network configuration screen (you find this on Utility mode, function General, subfunction Network), in order for you to understand it. Before reading further, take a time to read the reference guide, page 221. I’ll explain some of the parameters from a Windows point of view.
[Function Section]
- DHCP Client: you’ll only set it to off if you’re having troubles getting a valid IP address from your router. You know you’re not getting a correct IP address if you press INFO button and the “IP Address” has something like “169.254.x.x” Doing this requires you to fill the Address section. More on this later.
- File server: set this to on if you want to connect your PC to your Motif XF. Doing this requires you to specify the “File server account” and use the Password button to set the user/password for your Motif XF. More on this later.
[Address Section]
As I said before, you’ll only fill this if you can’t get a valid DHCP Address. One way to fill this is by using your PC as a model. Open a run command window (Windows Key + R) and type “control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter” without the double quotes.
Yes, this screen I’ve attached (NetworkStatus.GIF) is the Network and Sharing Center but because here are members from all around the world, it’s better to use commands that will work no matter your location. Now clic on the name of your network (1) and use the detail button (2) to get the screen I’ve attached
You’ll copy the parameters to your Motif XF except the IP address (in my case 192.168.1.68) For this parameter (3), just change that last number (68) and also avoid using the last number (4) from your DNS, DHCP and Gateway (in my case the number is always 254) Make your guess and I reccommend not using similar numbers (in my case 70 for example) because this number may be in use by other devices. Now, in order to try your number, check it’s availability on your PC by using PING (make a search on Google if you don’t understand how to do and interpret this)

I ran out of characters, keep reading on my next post.

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

[SMB Section]
You won’t change this section except if you’re on a corporate network: specifically, you’re part of a Windows Domain, Active Directory Domain or something like that. If this is the case, I see two posibilities:
1. You’re not the domain administrator and therefore you have no idea of the network infrastructure. “Call your network administrator” (the support guy) and make him fill the parameters for you. Just tell him it’s likely your Motif XF is a Samba (Unix) client (hope he’ll understand) because some configuration may be needed on the domain controllers to support this type of client.
2. You’re the domain administrator. I don’t think you really need to read this guide… probably you’ve your Motif XF already connected and you’re just checking if I’m making some mistake…
[Mount user name]
You don’t really need to fill this parameter. This parameter will just fill the user name every time you try to connect to any computer on the network (this will appear even when you connect to your Motif). Consider this parameter as a way to avoid writing the user name when you want to access your PC.
[File Server Account]
This is the name of the user for your Motif XF. Just use letters and (optionally) numbers (begin with a letter) Because this is Unix, the user name may be case sensitive. Try something like “motif” and make sure the user name is not the same as the “Host Name”
[Password subfunction]
Set the Password for the user defined on “File Server Account” It’s very important you remember this password because there is no easy way to reset the password if you forgot it. You need to set this in order for the “File Server” to work (so your Motif XF can be accessed from other devices on the network) I think you can use up to 8 letters or numbers. Take the password seriously, you don’t want someone to mistakenly erase files on your Motif XF.

We’re done with you Motif XF, press ENTER and wait for the configuration to be applied. Remember, the most important parameters you’ll usually set:
- File Server = on
- File Server Account = motif (make sure it’s not the same as the Host Name)
- Password subfunction = motifxf (you can use up to 8 characters and never, never forget this password)

At this point, you may want to press STORE to save this configuration. Also, you can try to “autoconnect” your Motif XF in order to check your user/password for the Motif XF. More information on the mount procedure on page 240 of your reference manual. I’ll tell you the specific steps:
1. Go to File Mode and use the function Mount.
2. On the Host list, select your Motif XF (you’ll see the “Host Name” you specified before). If you can also see your PC, you’ve just succeded!! there’s (likely) no need to keep reading =D
3. The “User Name” will be the “File Server Account” you’ve specified before.
4. The “Password” will be the “Password” you’ve specified before.
5. Press ENTER.
6. The “Sharing Point” list will be filled by at least two folders: “media” and “themes”. You can also see your USB. Select any of those and press ENTER to mount it.
7. Once you’ve mounted a folder (try mounting “theme"), you can see it on the “File” function. The name for the device will be the same “Host Name” you specified, an underscore (_) and then the name of the folder ("theme" on this example)
8. If you mounted the “theme” folder, now you can see a “skin” folder and, if you open it (select it and press ENTER), you’ll see 8 folders, named “01, 02… 08”

Now we’re going to validate your Motif XF is really connected to your TCP/IP network. You have to know that there are two levels of network connection:
1. The TCP/IP network. This is the network used to access Internet (for example). This is the network that your TV, Bluray, iPod, etc. get connected. If the Motif XF doesn’t get connected here, it can’t further connect.
2. The Windows network. This is the network used by computers to exchange files. Not every device will connect to this network and, if a device gets connected to the TCP/IP network, this doesn’t mean you can have for granted a connection to the Windows network.

So, in order to check if your Motif XF is connected to TCP/IP, you need to do the following:
1. On Motif XF, go to the Network configuration screen and press INFO button.
2. Take note of the “IP ADDRESS” for your Motif XF.
3. On your PC, open a Run Window (Windows Key + R) and then type “cmd” without the double quotes. Then you’ll get a CMD window (remember how to open this window, we’ll need another later)
4. On your PC you’ll have a new window (black background and white letters, just like your Motif) and you’ll type: “ping” followed by a space and the IP ADDRESS from your Motif XF. On my example (the screen I attached) I would type “ping 192.168.1.81” and then press ENTER key.
5. You’ll get something similar to the screen I’ve attached (PING.gif) This is in spanish, but the important point is that the output is showing you that your PC is sending 32 bytes, and how much time in ms (milliseconds) those take to arrive your Motif XF. If you get different messages (like host not available, not reachable, etc.) and none of those packages arrive (usually there are 4 tries), your Motif XF is likely not connected to the TCP/IP network.
6. In my case, the Motif XF doesn’t respond every time I send PING to it. Maybe because I’m using WiFi network, maybe because my WiFi adapter enters “power saving mode"… If you don’t get response, this not necessarily means you have issues with your connection, but this means you need to pay attention and double check your settings. In your case, it also may be your Firewall blocking the PING request. Try to disable your Firewall TEMPORARILY and check if you can connect. Disabling your Firewall represents a security threat. Enable as soon as you can and disconnect the Internet while it’s disabled.

Keep reading the next post.

Again,

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

Once you’re certain that the Motif XF is connected to the TCP/IP network, you can try to connect your Motif XF from your PC (windows network). You may need to configure your firewall to allow “File and printer sharing” services. Otherwise, your firewall could block the connection, which is the most likely scenario if you can PING the Motif XF but you can’t connect to it from Windows. If you succeed with this, it’s likely you’ll be able to connect to your Motif XF from any computer on your windows network, given you configure those PC.
1. On your PC, open a Run Window (Windows Key + R) and then type “\\” followed by the “Host Name” you specified. For example “\\MOTIF_XF-6d9708”
2. You’ll get an authentication window like the one I’ve attached (AuthXF.gif) As you can see, the name of my Motif is at the top of the screen.
3. Set the user name to your “File Server Account” and the password to the “Password” you specified for your Motif XF.
4. Once you’ve authenticated with your Motif XF, you’ll get access to the shared folders (at least two) and you’ll get a window like the one I’ve attached (MotifXF_from_Win7.GIF) As you can see, the name of my Motif XF is on the address bar and it’s on the Network zone.
5. Remember, the Motif XF is not always available on the network. If you’re getting error messages and you can’t ping your Motif XF (see previous section), go to Network configuration screen (on the Motif XF) and press ENTER just to refresh the network connection on your Motif. Wait some seconds after Motif XF completes the configuration. Then try again to connect. Also, you can go to File mode and “automount” your Motif XF. The important point here is that we’re trying to activate the network connection of the Motif XF.

We’ve come to the last stage of this guide: now we want to connect your Motif XF to your PC, in order to mount the folders you’ve shared on your PC. From this point, there’s nothing additional you can do on the Motif XF to connect to your PC. If you’ve “autoconnected” the Motif XF and you’ve connected your Motif XF from your PC, then your Network settings (on the Motif XF) are correct and now you can’t blame Yamaha anymore about connection problems: if you can’t connect it’s because of your PC. Please don’t change anything on the Motif XF. This whole configuration needs to be done on your PC, and you must understand that you may have to configure every single PC you want to connect.

You need certain requirements on your PC in order to be accesible from other devices (computers, the Motif XF, etc.)
1. You need to have a user and a password on your PC. If your user has a blank password (no password), Windows won’t allow you to connect from the Motif XF and neither from any other computer/device on Windows network. This is for your own protection: otherwise anyone could just break into your PC and get full access to all your files, configuration, everything… Check your Windows help to create/set your password and make sure you know which one is your user: this is not the Name you see when you’re on the logon screen. You can find out your user by getting a CMD window (I’ve explained before how to do this) and then typing “whoami” followed by ENTER key. Then, you’ll get something like “computer\user”. As you can see, your user is the text following the “\”. Also, take note of your computer’s name, because this name will appear on the Host list on the Mount screen of the Motif XF.
2. Optionally, disable (uncheck checkbox) the sharing assistant. I never use this, so I don’t know if you’ll be able to connect your Motif with this. In case you can’t connect, follow instructions on the screen I’ve attached (SharingAssistant.gif) The first screen is from the “Control Panel” and the options about “Personalization and Appearance”
3. If you’re using any type of Firewall which is different that the one Windows includes, make sure it will allow “Windows network browsing (examination)” and “printer and file sharing services”. The first service is needed in order for your PC to appear as a Host on the Mount screen. The second service is needed in order for your PC to allow remote connections to your files. If you just don’t find how to do this… well disable the Firewall but you better learn how to enable just those services, because disabling a Firewall is a serious security threat.
4. Make sure your network is configured as “Private”, “Home” or “Work”. For this, go to the “Network and Sharing Center” (I’ve explained before how to get there) and check the icon for your network. In the screen I’ve attached (HomeNetwork.gif) you can see a “home” icon on my network (1) If you don’t have the “home” icon, then clic on the link (1 on the photo) and on the next screen, choose the “home” icon (2 on the screen) You’ll need administrative privileges to do this. Once you finish the settings, you’ll get back to the “Network and Sharing Center”
5. Check if the Home network allows “file and printer sharing”. For this, clic on link to configure “Home Group” (3 on the screen) and you’ll get a new window which I’ve attached (ConfigHome.gif) On this screen, you’ll configure settings for “advanced sharing” by clicking on (1) as shown on screen.
6. You’ll have a new screen (ConfigSharing1.gif), and you’ll make configuration for the Home/Work networks (expand the options as shown in 1) Basically, you’ll enable network detection (first option, number 2 on screen), enable file/printer sharing (second option, number 3 on screen)
7. Scroll down the window and finish your settings. Now you’re going to enable password protected sharing and you’ll use standard Windows accounts/password to access your shares.
8. You’ll need administrative privileges to apply those changes.
9. Lastly, share some folder on your PC. Check Windows Help to do so. Please avoid sharing the whole disk, because this is a security threat

Click thumbnail to see full-size image

I hope that now you’ll be able to access your PC from the Motif XF.
1. On the Motif XF, go to File mode, use the Mount function and you should be able to see your PC on the Host list.
2. The host will be the computer’s name you took note with WHOAMI (text before the \). Select it and then you’ll specify your Window’s user and password.
3. The User Name will be the one you checked with WHOAMI (text after the \) The password is the one you specified for your Windows account (if you don’t have password, you won’t be able to connect)
4. Now you should have access to the shared folders (if any) on your PC.

Thanks MarPabl for the post.

Do you use Windows seven 64 bits?

If yes, then as posted on motifator, you have to uninstall Windows live in order to make the network working.

Wow.  Thanks for this detailed post!  I will try it when I get home.  I have been having problems connecting with my Windows 7 box..

maahou - 12 September 2011 10:52 AM

Thanks MarPabl for the post.

Do you use Windows seven 64 bits?

If yes, then as posted on motifator, you have to uninstall Windows live in order to make the network working.

Regarding Windows Live, I have the 2010 version because the 2011 version doesn’t connect through a proxy server I have in my office. Try using 2010 if you can’t connect.

I don’t have access to 64 bits but this should also work because there’s no Yamaha specific software needed on the PC for this to work.

Thanks for this. THe post was very informative and confirming how I thought it should work… my problem though is the the motif XF does NOT retain whatever I set in File server and File server account so everytime I access it re asks for credentials

I have set to File server on, let the workgroup in Security and Domain, PDC is empty, then I set a password (=motif) (otherwise cannot set file server to ON), set file server to ON, then I set the file server account (=motif). and then I store.

I go to file, browse my computer (so I know network is fine), try to access the share, it asks for network credentials !

back to utility, file server is reset to off and server account is empty (as if never set).

Running 1.20 latest update.

This is annoying as any reboot I am forced to reenter credentials

Any ideas ?

sscherrer - 18 September 2011 05:30 AM

Thanks for this. THe post was very informative and confirming how I thought it should work… my problem though is the the motif XF does NOT retain whatever I set in File server and File server account so everytime I access it re asks for credentials

I have set to File server on, let the workgroup in Security and Domain, PDC is empty, then I set a password (=motif) (otherwise cannot set file server to ON), set file server to ON, then I set the file server account (=motif). and then I store.

I go to file, browse my computer (so I know network is fine), try to access the share, it asks for network credentials !

back to utility, file server is reset to off and server account is empty (as if never set).

Running 1.20 latest update.

This is annoying as any reboot I am forced to reenter credentials

Any ideas ?

As soon as you finish setting file server on, the accounts and the password, press STORE button on the Motif XF. Otherwise, those settings will be lost.

maahou - 12 September 2011 10:52 AM

Thanks MarPabl for the post.

Do you use Windows seven 64 bits?

If yes, then as posted on motifator, you have to uninstall Windows live in order to make the network working.

Maahou,
I arrived at the end of the fantastic MarPabl’s guide but unfortunately I keep reading the message “Can’t access to the host” on the display of my Motif XF6, when I try to mount the shared folder placed on my PC desktop.

Given that I have Win7 64bit and Windows Live installed, before to uninstall it (I use many of its tools) could you please tell me exactly what was your problem? Did you get stuck in the same point as me ("Can’t access to the host” message)?

Ahem… never mind, I found some answers here http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/453016/P15/

Is there any update if the problem is solved or not with the 1.20 OS? Because I didn’t upgrade yet. Apparently it is related only to wireless issues.

Hi Ozio01,

“Can’t access to the host” : yes it’s the message.

I don’t use wireless, i use wire. When i deleted windows live it finally connected and worked good.

But you will see that it’s difficult to remove windows live definitively from windows. Just uninstall every windows live from windows7, and when windows7 asks you to reboot, say ‘no’. Next try to connect it should work.
Maybe it will ask you an account and a password, it’s the one of your session windows.

Thank you for the confirmation. Now I know for sure that Windows Live is my problem. But I prefer to wait for some update instead of uninstall it. I spent too much time in setting Live Mesh to sync my 3 PCs, etc. Hope that somebody at Microsoft will fix it soon or later.

ozio01 - 02 November 2011 10:36 AM

Thank you for the confirmation. Now I know for sure that Windows Live is my problem. But I prefer to wait for some update instead of uninstall it. I spent too much time in setting Live Mesh to sync my 3 PCs, etc. Hope that somebody at Microsoft will fix it soon or later.

I certainly had to delete Windows Live 2011, and I have Windows Live 2010 and I can connect with Motif XF. Try Windows Live 2010 and see if you can connect =D

MarPabl - 02 November 2011 01:58 PM

ozio01 - 02 November 2011 10:36 AM

Thank you for the confirmation. Now I know for sure that Windows Live is my problem. But I prefer to wait for some update instead of uninstall it. I spent too much time in setting Live Mesh to sync my 3 PCs, etc. Hope that somebody at Microsoft will fix it soon or later.

I certainly had to delete Windows Live 2011, and I have Windows Live 2010 and I can connect with Motif XF. Try Windows Live 2010 and see if you can connect =D

Too scared about the consequences. :-)
I’ve just got rid of iCloud and the nightmare of the wild multiplication of my outlook entries “thanks” to it is still too present in my mind!

Any news about some fix for the file sharing problem with windows7 running Live? Has Samba been updated?

Thank you.