EDIT: It seems I should have read all the comments. Apparently 2k3 lacks two services that won’t allow it to share media using wmp11. I set up sharing using my desktop to test if it was worth it, seems I see a tiny fraction of my media, it looks like only stuff in Microsoft format. So far the old xbox has been spared being moved from the entertainment center.

So when I discovered there was no easy way to stream any of that media to my xbox 360, I was a bit disappointed, but I didn’t give up. I’ve long been using my Xbox (1) to stream files to my entertainment center using the awesome, Xbox Media Center. Of course this meant if I wanted continued functionality, I had to keep both machines in the already over crowded entertainment center.

In order to share media with a 360, you either need a machine running XP and Media Player 11, or a media center pc. I had no desire to bring up yet another pc that was on all the time just to share files. With a bit of searching, I found an excellent article on getting WMP11 on to your 2k3 box. So far, I’ve got it installed, the only gotchya (if your sans-sleep) was that the search does not check hidden files and folders unless you specify to do so under “More Advanced Search Options.”

When I found the desired files I decided to copy them out on to my desktop, where I also pasted the article into a text file. This way I can burn all this to a cd and use it later, without the searching if I lose my OS. Install was easy, all files did need to be run in compatibility mode, and it was a bit scary restarting the machine remotely, but hey, WTH right?

So I got it installed, with the help of that article, and it has been configured to use my media, of which is a bit limited in file types. The next test will be to see if I can truly fire up the 360 and use the media, at least some of it anyway.