Users folders on network computer

[Bob Moroz]

Our house has two macs, the Old Mac (running Panther) and the New Mac (Tiger).

Four family members share both Macs.

When we installed Tiger on the New Mac, we copied the Users and Applications files from the Old Mac to the New Mac when prompted.

All User accounts are now on both Macs, and everything works on the individual Macs.

But what we want now is for both Macs to use the same Users folder, the one on the New Mac (which is always running), so that each user's documents and settings are available regardless of which Mac he uses.

We don't have OSX Server and don't really want to buy it for two computers.

We know how to share files.

"Synching" is not the solution we want.

We know this can be done, but we are not technicians. We need step-by-step "for Dummies" instructions.

Can anyone help us?

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Yes, this can be done, but only with Mac OS X Server.

This is virtually impossible to do without either Mac OS X Server or "syncing", which you've specified you don't want to do.

With Leopard, it's relatively simple:

http://nunojob.wordpress.com/2007/12...ent-partition/

With Tiger, it's a little different:

http://maczealots.com/articles/home/

Be aware that "sharing" a home directory between different versions of Mac OS X can have unexpected results. Some applications may not work, and it may even render your user account unusable on either system, since there may be slight differences in the way Panther and Tiger handle your home directory. I would do a full backup before attempting any of this, and, if it doesn't work, I'd be prepared to need to reinstall the operating system on one or both of the computers.