File transfer W2000 to OS X

karavite

karavite

Registered
I know there are a million threads on this because I have spent the last hour reading through them looking for a *clear and simple description* of how to transfer files between my G4 and a PC running Windows 2000 - both of which are connected to a Linksys router.

I have tried every combination of "Go - Connect to Server... samba...." you could possibly imagine and get the message "No file services are available at..."

I know my PC machine name, workgroup name, logon name and I have directories set to share on the PC - I even set the whole dang c drive to share. I have restarted both machines numerous times - I have done everything I have read about (that made sense) on these forums with no success.

Please, if someone can spell this out in exact steps and/or help me trouble shoot, I will be eternally grateful. Nothing fancy, just swap some files now and again - that is all I want to do.
 
this works for me right out of the box everytime, with no third party software:

go to, connect to server, and this:
smb://workgroup;username@netbiosname/share

have you entered it exactly like that? it works for me every time, and my windows boxes run w2k as well

anyway here is apples official howto. it tells you how to do serving and client
 
If I'm an idiot, please forgive me, but I have downloaded SMB Browser and I don't know how to get this to work.

Under "Domains/WorkGroups Found" it lists:
smb://

Does that mean it sees my Windows Machine or not?

If yes or no, what do I put under:
User Name: - My Windows 2000 user name? Did it.

Password: - My Windows 2000 user name password? Did it.

Domain/Workgroup - My PCs workgroup name? Did it.

WINS Server (IP Address). - Did not do it. Where the heck in Windows 2000 do I find my current ip of my windows machine - it is set to get one automatically, but does not list my address - only the DNS address is the only thing I can find. Tried it out of depseration - of course, it didn't work.

I get the error message: "You Must select a server-share and enter a username and password>" no matter what I do. What does "server-share" refer to? Can't they just name one of the fields listed above? No, let's call it something different!!!

I don't want to, but I'm about ready to dump the $150 for Dave. The trial version of Dave was a snap. I guess I should know more about networking, but I'm not a complete idiot and the whole process seems to be over complicated and/or very poorly explained by the apps I have tried. I'm going out to shoot some hoops and blow off some steam! Thanks.
 
If you're just doing some file transfers, have you tried using FTP? I enabled FTP access on the Mac, and was able to connect from the Win2K box I had at the time with no problems.
 
Thanks nkuvu - another dumb question. I know how to ftp, but what would be the ftp address of my two machines and/or how do I find them?
 
When I was in the Network preferences pane, I set up my Mac to have a manually-defined IP address for the Ethernet card. I used 10.0.0.2 (in the reserved-for-LAN range, easy to remember).

On the Windows machine I just did ftp 10.0.0.2 IIRC. I logged in with my regular login and password, but you could also set up a new user for this.
 
Originally posted by karavite
Or....

Where do I find my netbiosname on my Windows 2000 machine?
Click to expand...

right click on network neighborhood
left click on properties.
Click the Identities tab.
There you'll find both your workgroup and your computer name
 
right click on network neighborhood
left click on properties.
Click the Identities tab.
There you'll find both your workgroup and your computer name
Click to expand...
\

Thanks, but I think there are too many names for too many things. I know my workgroup and computer name - but what is my netbiosname?
 
okay, let me try and start over.

Let's say...

My workgroup is "lazy"
My PC's name is "pieceofcrap"
My PC user name is "reluctantuser"
My PC username password is "pcpswd"
A directory on my PC that I set ot share is "c:\$user"
My Macs name is "mymac"

How do I swap a few files between these two machines that are both connected to the same Linksys router? What would I type if I used the Finder -> Go -> Connect to Server?

Does having "NetFirewall" selected/enabled on my PC cause a problem?
 
:D I like your PC names, karavite.

When I needed more than just file transfer, I ended up using PC MacLan. I only used it for a while, so I only used the trial version. But I was able to get things running fairly smoothly.

Other than that, I'm at a loss. I still think FTP is easier. :)
 
When I needed more than just file transfer, I ended up using PC MacLan. I only used it for a while, so I only used the trial version. But I was able to get things running fairly smoothly.

Other than that, I'm at a loss. I still think FTP is easier
Click to expand...

Thanks nkuvu,

I think you are right - dumb question # 547 - how can I set my Macs ehternet address to 10.0.0.2 without losing my connection to my cablemodem that is using DHCP? Am I missing something here? Do I use the same "Location" in sys prefs - Networking?
 
nkuvu,

You know what? - I used the temporary IP address provided by the DHCP server and it worked fine. I don't mind looking this up every once in a while when I need to swap files (not often) and Apple sure does make it easier to find the IP address than MS. As far as the smb and smba crap, someone needs to put a halfway decent UI with a few clear explanations this and sell it for a heck of a lot less than DAVE.

THANKS!

I'd still like to know how to use the Finder to connect to my PC if anyone cares to explain it to me.
 
Ah, yeah, forgot the cable modem part of the equation. Sorry.

The only reason I set the IP to be static was so that I didn't have to look it up all the time.

Heh, I had no problems finding the IP address on Windows. Of course, I found it in another place and it was different, then in another place it was different from the first two, then... Grr. Will the real IP address please stand up?
 
Why don't you just setup "Personal Web Sharing" on the mac? This is easy and all you need is the ip from the mac. Type it in a web browser and away you go.

have you tried this one?
smb://jsmith@johnsmith/john

Where jsmith is a user who has an account on the machine with the netbios name "johnsmith" with a share (a folder you set up to share) named "john".

After you set up the folder to share make sure to go to the folder properties and allow sharing for everyone. It has not worked others ways for me.

HTH...
John
 
under your router setup "192.168.1.1" if its a linksys. Go to the DHCP tab and disable it. on your machines give each one an IP address of 192.168.1.*. * bieng any number 1-99(1-99 is important if you want to use ip forwarding). If you really want to get tricky under advanced and IP forwarding add port 21 to be forwarded to you OSX box and you can access your computers FTP server any place anytime. If you have a dynamic IP address go to dyndns.org sighn up for the free dynamic dns service and download the free ip auto updater for OS X . that will give your IP address a name like you.dyndns.org. it comes in kinda handy. if you need help contact me and I will give you a hand. It took a long time for me to get all this stuff figured out but it works well..
 
nkuvu - thanks again!

have you tried this one?
smb://jsmith@johnsmith/john
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I tried this and I receive the no services message. I have tried every possible combination and suggestion on macosx of smb:// user name, machine name, workgroup name and shared folder name I can think of and I either get the no services error message or nothing at all. Maybe there is some little thing on my PC that I need to have on or off? I give up on smb.

b4tn - thanks for the advice. I think this is what I need. I believe you when you said it tool a long time to figure this out!
 
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