So you got yourself a brand new Windows Home Server. Pretty cool, huh?

Do you have an xBox 360 hiding somewhere too? Did you know you can connect these two together and totally show it off in front of your friends?

Yup, xBox 360 and your Windows Home Server are compatible devices that can work together. And today I’ll show you just how to do that … connect your xBox 360 to your Home Server that is, not how to show it off.

The setup is quite easy and it takes only a few minutes. When you’re done, your xBox 360 will be able to do these awesome things:

• create a photo slide show with pictures that are on your Home Server
• play music that is located on your Home Server — even from your iTunes
• watch videos that you have saved on your Home Server

Basically your xBox 360 will become a multimedia extension of your Home Server. You can stream music, photos and videos from your Home Server to your Xbox 360 and you don’t even need any additional software.

So if you think that watching your family vacation photos on the big screen sounds like fun, or rocking out to your favorite iTunes without leaving your couch is something you’d like to do — then follow these easy steps and do what you’re supposed to do with your Home Server — connect! Now let’s get to it!

Physical Connection

Before you start your configuration, you will need to physically connect your xBox to your Home Server. There are two ways you can do that:

1. Use an Ethernet cable - connect one end to your xBox and the other into your router, switch, or an internet jack, if you have one nearby.
2. Purchase a wireless add-on device and connect it to your xBox. The xBox wireless network adapter allows for easy integration with your home network and eliminates cables. This is what I am going to use in this example.


Pictured below is the wireless network adapter and how it fits into your xBox:

xBox 360 Configuration

1. Once the physical connection is in place, go ahead and start up your xBox.





2. Move over to the System blade.





3. Move over to the Network Settings option and click A to select it.





4. Move down to the Edit Settings option and again, click A on your xBox controller to select that option.





5. This is the place where we are going to be able to see the console’s networking configuration settings.





6. If you physically connected your xBox to your router, you should be able to see all your settings here, like your IP Address, Subnet Mask, Gateway, etc.
   
   If you are using the wireless add-on, you will see exactly what is on the screenshot above. No worries — we can fix that. What we need to do next is to configure the wireless connection and we will be all set.
   
   Move down with your controller, to the Wireless Mode option and select it.





7. xBox is going to search for wireless networks in your area. Once finished, it will display the results in a window.
   
   Go ahead and pick your wireless network and then click A to select it. In our example we are going to select theLowes network.





8. If your wireless network is protected by a WPA key, go ahead and enter it now. If you do not have a key for your wireless network, your xBox is going to connect now. In our example, we need to enter the key.





9. Once you connect, go ahead and select Test Media to make sure everything is working.





10. Your xBox will perform a number of tests and then display the results.





11. Now you can go back to your Network Settings window and you will see that all the networking information is there.

Piece of cake, huh? Now you can enjoy all your favorite music, videos and photos right from your living room!

All you have to do is … well, how about I’ll let Scott Lowe, our Windows Home Server Training instructor, show you how to access your multimedia from your xBox.

Watch the Windows Home Server Training preview now!

Get the Most Out of Your Home Server with Windows Home Server Training Videos!

Turn your Home Server into a DVR, access your documents from any PC with an Internet connection, easily share your photos, music, videos and more!

Let us show you how to take advantage of every feature!

2 Responses to “How to Connect Your xBox 360 to Your Home Server”

• David Lawlor Says:

  March 10th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

  I have have set this up at the house and it truly works well. The only difficultly I found was that the 360 doesn’t support all the codecs that a PC normally does and it isn’t just a quick download to fix the problem. If you are having issues with certain video playing you might want to check this faq: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/systemuse/xbox360/digitalmedia/videoplaybackfaq.htm

  Dave

• Connect Your xBox 360 to Your Home Server « MS Windows Home Server Says:

  March 11th, 2008 at 12:56 pm

  […] Read it here. […]

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