Networking a PC with a Mac

[valdok]

I use a PC to type papers and such, (not to mention download music) and I was wondering if there is any free way (i.e. not buying DAVE or whatnot), to network them to transfer files. The PC has no CD burner, and I don't want to buy one for it. I already have a router at home, and it's connected to it. The PC is running windows 98 and the Mac is running 10.2.

Thanks.

 

[uoba]

OSX Jag has SMB built in (Samba), the Windows file sharing system. Goto File Sharing in System Prefs to turn it on. However, I still can't connect to my XP laptop with it, but that's just down to my PC niavity

 

[kuroyume]

Yes, Samba. Go to the Finder Go menu and select "Connect To Server". Enter something like this into the Address field:

smb://computername/sharename

where computername is the name of your computer as shown under System Properties->Network->Full computer name. Be wary: the name is case-sensitive and the name given here and the NetBIOS name may not be the correct case. To verify the name, go to My Network Connections and see what your computer name shows there for the case that will work using SMB.

Sharename is the name of the drive or folder you have shared on your Windows PC. No spaces allowed.

This is a one-way connection (unlike Dave); you can only see Windows files on the Mac and not vice versa.

Good luck,

Kuroyume

Addendum: Windows file/print sharing must be enabled for the connection that you'll be using. Also, you may have to wait until the Mac connection establishes its IP address and mask from the DHCP server depending upon your setup. Unless you set these up manually on both machines, they'll negotiate addresses (which can take a minute or two). When you see that the connection has an IP address (Mac: System Preferences->Network), you've got the connection and continue with the "Connect to Server".