Minimserver is Offline

[Ogh]

I use Minimserver on my home network main PC, with a library of music files, that I can play on the Teac NT-505. Some days ago it stopped working. I got the message "Offline: Minimserver" and could not access the library, even though Tidal streaming still worked. This message appeared in the Lumin app (and the HR Streamer app) that I use to control the Teac from a phone and an Ipad. I got no warning or error message on the PC itself. Various tricks - rebooting, rebuilding the library, resetting the wireless and router, etc - did not work, and I got a sinking feeling that I would have to send the Teac in for repair (some of these units had known network problems, in the beginning). Luckily I thought about the firewall on the PC. I turned the firewall (Windows 10 Defender) fully off, and discovered that Minimserver was online again, the error gone. I then discovered that Windows 10, for some reason, had turned my home network from Private to Public. And that the Public setting won't allow "outsiders" to access Minimserver (even if it runs without error on the PC itself). I don't know why the network profile was changed to Private - maybe, due to a change of router on our home network, or maybe some over-eager Windows security update.

This firewall issue is probably described somewhere already, but I could not find it, so my post is maybe useful. In my case, Minimserver was already installed, leading to the "Offline: Minimserver" message, but in a new installation it might lead to - simply - Minimserver not being found, in the Music library setting in the Lumin or HR app.