Cannot get VLC Player App to discover files on shared device over LAN? Windows 10 [FIX]

VLC Player App won't discover shared content over LAN via Upnp or SMB?

Firstly check that your Windows 10 device sharing options are set correctly:

1. Open your start menu and search "control panel" and open the app.
   
2. Now click on "Network and Sharing Centre".
   
3. On the left pane (upper left), click on "change advanced sharing settings".
   
4. Set your Private network options as follows:
   - Turn on "network discovery" (inc. the automatic setup of network-connected devices).
   - Make sure "File and printer sharing" is turned on.
   
5. It is up to you whether or not you turn on the Guest or Public network settings. I do not recommend turning this on if you are only sharing to specific devices connected to the same LAN as your Windows 10 device which is sharing your media content.
   
6. Under "All networks" set the following options:
   
7. Public folder sharing - This is up to you - I personally have this turned off.
   
8. Media Streaming - This is up to you - I this turned on so I can share my music.
   
9. Use 128 bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections (recommended).
   
10. Password-protected sharing - Turn this on!
    NOTE: With this option set you need to know the Windows 10 account login credentials as you will need to enter this later into the VLC app in order for the media files to be accessed.
    
11. Save the changes.

Secondly check that the media folder(s)/drive(s) that you wish to access, have the correct sharing settings set:

1. Rick click on each folder or drive and select properties.
   
2. Set the required settings under the sharing tab.

Thirdly, enable SMB 1.0 support.

1. Open your start menu and search "control panel" and open the app.
   
2. Now click on "Programs and Features".
   
3. On the left pane (upper left), click on "Turn Windows features on or off".
   
4. Scroll down the list to find a folder called "SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support".
   - You may need to click the plus and tick "SMB 1.0/CIFS Client" separately.
5. Tick the box, click OK and restart (even if not asked to).

If the above doesn't help, I had issues with network discovery after the latest major Windows update. To fix this I went to "File Explorer", selected "Network" in the left hand pane. Windows asked if I wanted to turn on "Network Discovery" (even though according to the Network and Sharing centre it was already on). So I did, restarted and then I could gain access in VLC.

Now when you next try to access the shared media via the VLC Player App. You'll be asked to login with the credentials mentioned earlier and you'll be able to access the shared media. If not, uninstall the VLC Player App, restart your device and then reinstall the VLC Player app.

How to ping a specific port / How to test a connection between two computers on a WAN

With Windows XP it was possible to use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, specifically Test DirectPlay to test a connection between two computers. It was mainly used as a gaming tool to establish which computer was blocking a connection.

However the best way to test specific ports is to use the telnet feature as you cannot "ping" a specific port. What telnet does is open a TCP connection on the port that you specify (if you don't specify one it defaults to 25). To do this is simple.

Firstly though if you are on Windows Vista / Windows 7 you need to enable the telnet feature (Windows XP users can skip this step). To do this; Click on Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down to Telnet Client and tick the box. It will take several minutes to install.

Now open command prompt  (Win XP click on Run in start menu and type in "cmd" and press enter / Win Vista and; 7 users simply type "cmd" into your start menu's search box and press enter). Now use the telnet command in the same way as the ping command.

For example computer 1 has an IP of 127.5.45.55, and computer 2 (ip of 225.36.52.2) is trying to connect to port 6667 in order to play Generals but they cannot connect. Computer 1 would type into command prompt "telnet 225.36.52.2 6667". Computer 2 would type in "telnet 127.5.45.55 6667". As you can see it is extremely similar to the ping command. The results will be relayed back to the user.