Can't connect to a computer I can see on the network

Question

I have 4 machines connected to this wireless network. 2 Macs, 2 PCs. Both MACs are running Tiger OSX 10.4.7. The PowerBookG4 using Airport Extreme and the G5 running a direct LAN connection. The wirelss router is downstairs and the G5 Mac is upstairs. I am using a buffalo WLI-TX4_G54HP wireless ethernet converter. It picks up the wireless broadcast signal from the router and provides 4 hard wired LAN connections for the machines upstairs. When I click on the Network Icon in the finder, it shows a workgroup "My Network" and another one MSHome for the PC. From my Powerbook downstairs I can click on the Network/MSHome/my PC and it connects like it always did. But when I click on Network/My Network/G5, I get a message that says..... "The Alias "G5" could not be opened, because the original item cannot be found"
It offers me 3 buttons...Delete Alias....Fix Alias...and OK.
When I click Fix Alias, it opens a finder window to choose an application to "fix the alias". But I don't know what that would be. If I try to Delete Alias, I get another pop up menu box that says I don't have sufficient privileges to delete that alias file.
Now, if I go upstairs and use the G5, I can click on the Network/My Network/PowerBookG4 and it will mount it up just fine. I just can't get it to work the other way.
Any suggestions?
PS: This really started to become a problem when I moved the router downstairs and installed the Buffalo ethernet converter. By the way, this is also intermittent. Sometimes it does connect, but at least for the past two or three days, it will not. My printer is connected to that G5 machine upstairs and I use it to print from my PowerBook downstairs.

Answer 1

Tony,
The dialog box you're seeing is a standard offer coming from OS-X. If you "fix" the alias, the Finder offers you top relocate the original it should point to (thus the dialog box). To "delete" the alias is not possible, as in this case it is a network alias created by the Finder itself...you need to be "root" to delete it but deleting it would make no sense anyhow...so just click OK and forget it!
Onto the connectivity problem : If I understood well, you cannot connect to your G5 unless the G5 itself initiated a network connection. My first thoughts are : firewall...check if your firewall is activated (SysPrefs>Sharing>Firewall) and look for the port(s) of the services you want to connect to in the list it shows...are they "allowed"?
Another trick : Have you already tried to access your G5 by entring its name, for example in the Finder : Connectto>MyG5name.local (.local is important)? It should connect it straight to your machine with no browser interposed.
Keep me posted to your results or enlighten me when I misunderstood your problem!
Hth
marc.
PowerBook G4 15", XServe Bi 2.5 G5, PowerMac 4xG5,…   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  
PowerBook G4 15", XServe Bi 2.5 G5, PowerMac 4xG5,…   Mac OS X (10.4.7)