Mac and Windows Networking

Hi all,
I am in a bit of a stupid situation. I have 2 network locations, one for each workplace, so let's call them Workplace A and Workplace B. On Workplace A, I have a Windows XP PC, that is used as a file server. The network is provided by a Linksys wireless router, I'm connecting through wi-fi and the PC is connected by Ethernet cable. Everything is fine there, I can see the shared folders in Finder and I can connect to it. The problem is with Workplace B. There are 4 Windows XP PC's and I cannot see any of them under Shared in Finder. I connect to the network via Ethernet. I can connect to them using Connect to Server..., but it is very annoying to do it all the time. I have double-checked every setting, that I can think of: Workgroup name, NetBIOS, Firewalls, File Sharing, etc. Can someone help me to solve this?

Hi Jbiedlin,
I think that I have found some articles that might help you with your connection problems. First is a basic article about Networking with a Windows PC. It goes through step by step different ways of communicating with a PC. The other is about File Sharing with Different OS. There are tons of articles on the Apple Knowledge Base that will help. You can connect many ways to a PC, from ethernet to FTP server.
I hope that helps,
Jon

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Mac and Windows Networking Problems

I work in a public access TV studio. We have a Mac Pro in one room and several Windows machines in the other room. They are all connected to the same network (NOT wireless). One of the Windows computers is used for actual work. The other three are used for broadcasting. The one used for work is called "PCM-DATA". At one point in time, we were able to see the Mac from the PCM-DATA computer. We set up a Shared folder on the Mac so that files could be exchanged. Then it disappeard after a few days. Then we were able to see PCM-DATA from the Mac, so we set up a Shared folder there. Then it disappeared. Now there is no connection between the two computers. I can still see the three other Windows computers from the Mac, but I can't see PCM-DATA, and PCM-DATA can't see the Mac. Why was it working before, but then suddently stopped, and how do I fix it?
Richard

Hello,
Maybe this site will help. .
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/24950/how-to-share-a-folder-in-os-x-with-windows/

Server File Sharing unstable on mac and windows network on Mavericks and OSX Server 3.0

Since I've updated our mac mini server from Mountain Lion and OSX Server 2.X to Mavericks and OSX Server 3.0 we are having sharing issues with Windows (7 and 8) and OSX Mavericks users, not being able to access files on the mac mini server.
What I've notice is that OSX Serer 3.0 stop working and I have to restart the Mac Mini Server to make things start working again.
This was not happening with Mountain Lion and OSX Server 2.X.
On the Windows and OSX users what happen is the computers keep trying to connect to the server and are not being able to open or copy files. Again this is intermittent, and I suspect it might be a OSX Server bug.
Any one having the same problem or can give us and advice would be great help.
Thanks.
Andre Tenenbaum

I too am having this exact problem as well as a few of my network administrator contacts that have gone through the Mavericks / Server 3 upgrade.
It may be worth noting that before the upgrade I had run a mac mini server (core 2 duo) that never had any unintentional downtime, and the current mac server had never gone down or lost connection so I know it has nothing to do with user or network configuration.
NAS server hardware:
- Mac Mini core i5
- 16 GiB ram
- Promise Pegasus Raid5 external drive (thunderbolt)
I am NOT running time machine as the backup.
Everyting posted above is occuring although the rate at which my users lose acces is sporadic. Sometimes the server will stay up 24-36 hours and sometimes it will only stay up for around 4. Every user, every group loses acces AT THE EXACT SAME TIME EVERYTIME to EVERY SHAREPOINT...all of my local users as well as my remote users. All of my users are on Windows machines (mostly win7, but a couple of XP and 8 users as well). The share is accessed via a mapped drive using the format x.x.x.x/share and I have had 0 issues with getting users connected. The problem is 100% keeping them connected. When the users lose access the get the "drive cannot be accessed" error on their end, however when I check the server 3 app, it still shows all users connected and I have let it run for a few minutes and the idle times do change.
I also cannot see any spikes in the Activity monitor that might indicate a memory strain issue on the server side, but I assume that is because I am not watching the Activity Monitor at the moment everyone loses access.
Let me say that the SMB2 protocol does work much better when it actually works, much faster, but intermitent connectivity is a VERY SERIOUS ISSUE and has resulted in several corrupt files for my workers already. Also, because I was one of the unfortunate people that had the upgrade lock up on me and I had to restart it, I lost my 10.8.x recover backup and so I would have to do a clean install in order to restore my server back to its original state. I am also hesitant to do this because I would most likely only be able to download the Server3 app from the app store and I have not heard from apple or any other power user group on whether the bug is with the app or the OS.

Mac and Windows networking over AE

I hope everyone is having a great Holiday so far. I am running a AE at home which both my wife and I share. She has an older Toshiba (Windows XP Pro. with the latest updates) and I have a PB G4 also with the latest updates. I am trying to share some files between the two of us on our network, but in looking at the network pane in finder, I am unable to see her computer and have had trouble connecting our machines. Does anyone know what configuration to do on both the PC and my Mac to allow us to see each other on the network and connect to each other's machines?

Hi Jbiedlin,
I think that I have found some articles that might help you with your connection problems. First is a basic article about Networking with a Windows PC. It goes through step by step different ways of communicating with a PC. The other is about File Sharing with Different OS. There are tons of articles on the Apple Knowledge Base that will help. You can connect many ways to a PC, from ethernet to FTP server.
I hope that helps,
Jon

Setting up a small business network using mac and windows pcs

Setting up a small business network using mac and windows??

Ok that sounds great. What is your actual question as it relates to AirPort networking? Is it: Can I set up a wired/wireless network with an AirPort base station that support multiple Mac & PC clients? If so the answer is yes.
If, instead, it is how to I configure an AirPort network to support a small business you will have to provide more details on both your networking & computing equipment in order for any of us to help you.

I have partitioned my time capsule, but I can't get it to work as a Time Machine back up and permanent media server for both mac and PC. What format do I need to partition the drive to so that it works for both mac and windows and so that it will be visab

I have partitioned my time capsule, as I want part of it to act as a media server for both mac and windows. However I don't know what format that I need to partition it to. I also can't make it a permanently accesible drive. I want to restore the drive to the original format (which I don't know) and start again and re-partition the drive in a format that can be used for media by both mac and PC and for time machine back-ups and make the media part of it permanetly accesible so I can add and acccess my files.
Thanks

You are mixing up a couple of things here.
The TC drive cannot be partitioned without removing it.. did you do that?
If you partition it you must use a Mac disk utility and use the HFS+ ie standard Mac format. And GUID partition table not windows type.
You can select erase disk in the airport utility.. that will take the disk back to original format. No partitions. TC is deliberately not partitioned as it is not a media server.. it is a backup device for TM. Over time .. the disk will be filled with TM backups so you have a long history of file changes to your computer.
There is no media server in the TC.. it is merely disk storage.. you can serve files from it to a media device.. but the TC itself is dumb as dumb.
Now the actual format of the drive is irrelevant to the PC.. The TC offers SMB file services to the network. You can copy files to and from the TC as if it was a local disk without caring one iota about the format. The TC handles that .. it is not a local disk .. it is a network drive.
Although you cannot partition the TC. you can still copy files to it.. this does have implications for TM.. but as long as there is plenty of free space should not be a major issue.
You can create a disk image via the disk utility in a Mac.. and as stated you can create partitions if you do it on a Mac with the disk directly connected which means breaking warranty if any exists on the TC.

VPN -- different behavior between Mac and Windows XP clients.

Hi,
Background:
I have a Mini server serving L2TP IPSEC vpn with both Mac and Windows (all XP, so far) clients.
The mini sits behind a Netopia router/firewall/NAT box that port forwards L2TP traffic to the mini.
The mini has a public but unrouted address (unrouted in the public Internet, that is.) The same Netopia serves as the router for outgoing public connections. DNS is served by other servers.
The VPN clients are distributed addresses from the unrouted public address space.
Client <-> NAT <-> Public Cloud <-> NAT <-> Private (with public addresses) <-> Mini (VPN)
Mac clients work happily, accessing internal and external hosts.
The XP clients have a registry value set to allow NAT traversal:
under HKEYLOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IPSec, AssumeUDPEncapsulationContextOnSendRule is set to 2 to allow dual Nat traversal.
The XP clients happily access internal hosts, but hang accessing some, but not all external hosts.
For example, most Google services are quickly displayed, whereas www.comcast.net or www.llbean.net hang. It appears to be more frequent accessing third-party hosts while processing the initial page. Some Google web services, e.g. some Google Map plugins do eventually hang.
An XP host internal to the network configured with the above registry key set to 0 (No NAT traversal)
exhibits the same behavior when using a VPN connection
Public Cloud <-> NAT <-> Private (with public addresses) <-> Mini (VPN) <-> Pvt. <-> Client
Same host without VPN works fine.
Clearing the XP checkbox that routes all traffic to the remote (VPN) router makes external hosts work
as you would expect.
So my questions are:
a) What's XP doing?
b) Can it be fixed? (besides routing public traffic away from the VPN.)
Thanks Jonathan
p.s. MrHoffman, I almost asked this in the HP Forum as well, till I noticed you were here. (Assuming you are Hoff.)

Hi soccerdude21490-
+Is this possible?+
Theoretically yes. However, it would be up to the school to allow you access through their network.
The first step would be to contact the school's IT department and ask them if they will allow such a connection, and if so, could they please provide you with the settings (ip address etc.).
Luck-
-DP

Screen Share Mac and Windows

Hi,
Sometimes I'm asked to help friends and family with stuff on their computers. It would be handy if I could help them remotely but I've yet to find a way to screen share between a mac and windows machine over the internet.
Is it possible?

HI,
A Leopard 10.5 tutorial here might help...
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10329122-263.html
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071023174751182
Sharing your screen with other computer users
You can set up your computer to allow others to view your screen and control your computer. While your screen is shared with another computer, a user of the other computer sees what’s on your screen and can open, move, and close files and windows, open applications, and even restart the computer.
To set up screen sharing:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences and click Sharing.
Select the Screen Sharing checkbox.
To specify who can share your screen, select one of the following:
All users: Select this if you want to allow any user with a user account on your computer to share your screen.
Only these users: Select this if you want to restrict screen sharing to specific users.
Click Add + at the bottom of the Users list and select a user from Users & Groups (accounts you have set up in Accounts preferences), Network Users (users on your network), or your Address Book. Or click New Person and enter a name and password to create a sharing account. Then select that user from the list and click Select.
Click Computer Settings and set the following options:
Anyone may request permission to control screen: Select this to allow anyone on your network to request to share your screen.
VNC viewers may control screen with password: Select this and enter a password that VNC viewer applications can enter in order to control your screen.
It’s recommended that you not set a password if you only share this computer’s screen using the built-in screen sharing viewer in Mac OS X.
For more information go to your Finder and click Help from the Menu Bar. Type in Screen Sharing in the search field.
I use the same instructions for screen sharing betweeen a Mac running 10.6 to a Mac running 10.5 and a Mac running 10.4, so hopefully the above instructions and links will help.
Carolyn

InDesign Mac and Windows troubles

Hi,
We got 2 different shares on our Windows Server. One share for InDesign documents and one share for pictures. The pictures are used in the InDesign documents.
We use InDesign CS6 for Mac and for Windows. If we create the InDesign documents on a Mac and open it on a Windows InDesign the picture links are broken. Same thing happens when we create the InDesign documents on Windows and open it on a Mac. Between 2 Macs or 2 Windows computers there isn't any problems.
If both the InDesign document and the picture we link to is on the same server share there's no problems too.
Shouldn't it be possible to edit the same InDesign documents on both Mac and Windows without breaking the links when they are stored on different shares?
Thanks!
Best regards
Brian

Sounds like either a problem with the path separators (Mac style vs. PC style), or possibly the network protocol used to link to the server on the Mac side.

Do I need two separate licenses to be able to use Flash Builder on Mac and Windows?

Does my Creative Cloud subscription allow me to install Flash Builder on both Mac and Windows machines?

Hi,
I know it has been a while since you replied to me. I tried it at the time and sadly it didnt work and I got frustrated and ignored it for a while. I have just tried what you suggested again and this is how it went:
• I have connected both the AX and iMac via ethernet cables to the O2 box.
• This time my iMac did detect the AX and it automatically opened the AirPort Utility window.
• I followed your instructions on the setting and connected it to my existing network etc.
• It asked to restart the AX.
• After a long wait this message appear:
"Airport Utility was unable to find your Apple wireless device after restarting.
The settings for this Apple wireless device have been successfully updated, but there was a problem rejoining the wireless network or finding the Apple wireless device. You may need to select your network from the AirPort menu and try again."
I tried this and now when I click Rescan in the AirPort utility it just says that it cannot detect any devices. And in the meantime the AX is still flashing orange.
Do you think that the AX is faulty. Although it was functioning perfectly in my previous flat. I just don't understand how one minute the iMac detects it and the next it doesn't even though the settings have been supposable successfully updated. Very frustrating.
Thanks for your time,
Louca

File transfer between Mac and Windows

I am running Windows on my Mac and I transfer files between mac and Windows alot using my external hard drive. I was wondering if there was an easier way to do this than having to use my external hard drive like a networking solution or something. Thanks...

i also run windows on my mac (for work). The issue i had was that when booted in osx, i could see the windows partition, and copy files FROM it to the mac side, but i could not copy files TO the windows partition.
As i understand it, this is because the apple NTFS driver (to read the windows partition) only allows read access (not read and write access). It was easily solved with MacFuse (which is an open source way to add different disk file systems to your mac, kind of like teaching it a new language), and NTFS-3G for mac osx.
http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/
scroll down a bit for the download link. The installer will put in MacFuse and NTFS-3G, so it's the only one you need.
After a reboot, i can read/write to the windows partition while booted into macosx (and it's free).
i hope that helps.
p.s. the efi boot manager download is NOT required.

Can a mac and windows share a wifi connection?

can a mac and windows share the same wifi and network conenction
and if it's yes
what should i configure or what are the parametres needed to set up?
Say "Thanks" by clicking the Kudos Star in the post that helped you.
Although I work for HP my posts and replies are my own
Please mark the post that solves your problem as "Accepted Solution"

Yes, Windows and Mac computers can share the same Wi-Fi network.
Are you setting up a new network or are you adding devices to an existing network?
Regards / Jim B / Wireless Enthusiasts
( While I'm an embedded wireless systems engineer at work, on this forum I do not represent my former employer, Hewlett-Packard, or my current employer, Microsoft )
+ Click the White Kudos star on the left as a way to say "thank you" for helpful posts.

Using Time Capsule with Both a Mac and Windows PC

All ... is it possible to backup both Mac and Windows computers to the same Time Capsule? My current networked devices include:
1 Windows 7 desktop (wireless/ethernet capable)
1 MacBook Air (wirelessly connected to home network)
1 New iPad (wirelessly connected to home network)
2 iPhone 4S (wirelessly connected to home network)
1 Airport Extreme (currently hardwired to my Windows 7 desktop)
Thoughts/comments on leveraging the Time Capsule as purely a backup storage solution for all the devices listed above? Is it possible? Please advise. Thanks!

I use a backup software to save backups to the TC from windows... it is no big issue.. but the TC should never get any where near close to full.. TM takes a lot of space to work efficiently.. so make sure there is still more than enough space.. since TM will do hourly incremental backups it can grow rather quickly if you do lots of big file edits on the Mac.
Hanging a USB hard disk off a windows desktop is a better solution in lots of way.. it can be formatted native windows NTFS.. and is faster than TC without adding to network bandwidth.
But the TC is great for wireless with windows laptop same as Apple side.

How can I make an icon that links to a webpage that works with Mac and Windows??

Hi!
I burn CDs with my photos and send them to clients. Besides the photos folder, I would like to include a file (similar to the .webloc files on the Mac Desktop) that can be clicked and it will be linked to my website - it will open up a browser window and go to my website . Is it posssible to make one of these icons that works with both Macs and Windows machines? Thanks!

Now it works! Thanks, Denico!
The reason I saved to text: The first time I followed your instructions, it did not work. I tried to figure out what I did wrong and saw that you wrote to "save as plain text." I did not know what this means and there was no option available to save a plain text. So I looked around and saw "save as stationery" and I guessed that maybe that was what you meant. And after that, it worked! But the next thing you know, the icons started duplicating themselves.
I guess I had made a different mistake in the beginning and I fixed it without knowing what it is.
Thanks for clearing that up.
But just one question. WHY does saving as "stationery" make an icon duplicate itself?

What format for my external drive allows use with Mac and Windows?

I got an external hard disk (1 tr) and i want to used it for my windows and mac, i read i can have two partitions one for mac and one for windows, but i dont really want to have two parts, and I read i can format it by fat32 and i can write and read on both os, is that true?
I want to use it for movies, os backups, and files..
Is it true that i can only save files up to 4 GB when the format is fat32?
please advise..

It this case you would need to to go to "Disk Utility" on mac and select 3 partions which will be under the Parition Layout in my screen shot below. "Current" is grayed out that will drop down select 3 partitions and make one NTFS, second Mac OS Extended, third FAT32. Using the FAT32 for both Mac and Windows but the files have to be under 4GB each.

Mac and Windows Networking

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