A playlist created in Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer is not available to Windows Media Center Extender devices

After you create a playlist in Windows Media Center on a Windows Vista-based computer, the playlist is not available to Windows Media Center Extender devices. The playlist does not appear in the music library of any device.

This issue may occur if the Media Center Extender device does not have access to the Rip folder. Windows Media Center saves all playlists to the Rip folder that is defined by Microsoft Windows Media Player for the user account that you use. By default, Media Center Extender does not have access to this folder. However, when you install Media Center Extender on the Windows Vista-based computer, you are asked whether you want to add the folders of the user account that you use. If you choose to add the folders, the folders are added to the list of watched folders in Media Center Extender. If you choose not to add the folders, Media Center Extender cannot access the Rip folder and the playlists.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Change the Rip folder to a folder that the Media Center Extender user account has read access to. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Open Windows Media Player 11.
   2. Right-click the Windows Media Player toolbar, point to Tools, and then click Options. The Options dialog box appears.
   3. Click the Rip Music tab.
   4. Under Rip music to this location, click Change.
   5. In the Browse for folder dialog box, click an existing folder. Or, create a folder and then click the new folder.
   6. Click OK to close the Browse for folder dialog box. Then, click OK to close the Options dialog box.
      
      Note You can redirect the Rip folder to the Public music folder. If you redirect the Rip folder to the Public music folder, you do not have to add the Public folder to the list of watched folders in Media Center Extender. This is true because the Public folder is already added to the watch list of the Media Center Extender device. However, all new playlists and ripped CDs are available to all users of the computer and to all Extender devices. To avoid this condition, select a folder that only the current user and the current Media Center Extender account can access.
2. Manually add the folders to the list of folders to watch in Media Center Extender.
   Note This procedure is optional if the Media Center Extender device is already watching the Public music folder.
   1. Start Windows Media Center on the Media Center computer.
   2. Click Tasks, and then click Settings.
   3. Click Library Setup.
   4. Click Add folder to watch. Then, click Next.
   5. Locate the folders that contain media, and then click to select the check box next to each folder that contains the media that you want to add.
   6. Click Next. Then, click Finish.
      
      Note After you add the files, it may take several minutes for the files to appear in the library.
   7. Let the Adding Media process finish on the Media Center computer.
      
      Note This step can take more than an hour, depending on the content that you add. If you cancel the Adding Media process, the process restarts the next time that you access the media gallery.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: