If you’re like most people, you probably have a lot of movies stored on your computer. But if you’re using Windows 7 Media Center, it can be a pain to find and add folders to the library so you can watch your movies. In this article, we’ll show you how to add folders to the movie library in Windows 7 Media Center. First, open the Media Center window by clicking the Start button and typing “Media Center” in the search box. When Media Center appears in the list of results, click it to open it. Next, click the Library tab on the left side of the window. In the Library list on the right side of the window, click Add Folder. (If there are no folders in your library, Media Center will create one when you click Add Folder.) In the Add Folder dialog box that appears (Figure A), type or paste a pathname for a folder where you want to store your movies. For example, if your Movies folder is located on your C: drive at C:\Movies\ , type C:\Movies in this dialog box and press Enter . Or if your Movies folder is located on an external hard drive connected to your computer, type its full pathname (for example, D:\Movies ). Figure A: The Add Folder dialog box lets you specify where to store movies in Windows 7 Media Center. ..
You can add any number of folders to your Media Center Libraries. Even if you have videos or movies stored in a variety of locations, including other Windows 7 computers on your network, they can be added to your Media Center Movie Library.
Supported Video Files
Windows Media Center supports the viewing of the following file formats by default.
Adding Folders to the Library
Open WMC and click on Tasks \ Settings…
Click on Media Libraries…
Select Movies and click “Next.”
Select Add Folders to the Library and click “Next.”
Now you’ll need to select the folder location of your movie files. Choose “On this computer” if you are adding a folder from a local hard drive, a folder on mapped network drive, or a folder from USB attached hard drives.
You can also choose to add folders from other Windows 7 computers on your network by selecting “On another computer.”
Note: You’ll need to setup media streaming before you’ll be able to view video from another Windows 7 computer. You can find a link to our article on how to setup streaming media below.
Browse the file directory for the folders of your choice. Click on the the plus (+) symbol to view sub-folders. You won’t be able to “see” the video files themselves, only the folders, so you’ll need to know where your videos are located ahead of time. Click to the check box to the left to select each folder.
Click “Next” when you’re finished.
Media Center will confirm your changes. Only the first five media directories are shown on the screen. Scroll to see any additional folders by clicking the up or down arrows. If you want to add more folders, click “No, I want to make more changes” and repeat the process to add your additional folders.
When you are done, select “Yes, use these locations” and then click “Finish.”
Your video files should now appear in your Movie Library. Depending on the amount of files you are adding, it may take a few minutes for Media Center to add and display all of them.
Then simply browse for any of your selections and click to play them.
Now you are setup to enjoy your entire movie collection from directly in Windows Media Center. Check out our previous tutorial if you need help setting up streaming media from other Windows 7 computers.
