Pc/imac file transfere question

[mercmanuk]

Ive 3 hdd's ntfs format on my pc running windorws 7.ive an imac running osx lion.how can i access the 3hdd's on the pc on the imac,the two computers are on a wired/wireless network.basically want to watch films/music on both computers.advise needed online guides

 

[LTD]

NAS is your friend.

Have the HDDs as shared storage for both your PC and Mac.

 

[John]

I think the NAS option might be easier.

However, if you like a challenge, it is entirely possible to connect from Lion to the 7 PC as Mac OS X supports SMB.

You could probably use Homegroup in Windows 7 to setup the necessary shares and open up the firewall for SMB (port 443 IIRC), then within Lion you just 'CONNECT TO SERVER' and do a smb://<IP OF YOUR PC> e.g. smb://192.168.0.2

 

[mercmanuk]

well half way there,i can access the hdd that contains windows 7 on the pc from the iMac,i can see video's,music etc.but i can't see the two additional hdd's that contain movies and music.
this is complicated but getting there

 

[mercmanuk]

i can see the two hdd's on the mac now and they have the same names as on the pc but when i open them they are empty any ideas
cheers all

 

[LTD]

You may need to have the drives formatted to a spec that can be seen by both OS.

Sometimes it is easier setting the blind system up and offering one file as a test than trying to establish an existing protocol.

My advice is to ensure all data files are backed up to some form of storage and get the system in place from the ground up.

 

[bolide]

You may need to have the drives formatted to a spec that can be seen by both OS

That only pertains if you are trying to mount the drive directly. If you are sharing a drive to the Mac via SMB then it doesn't matter to the Mac how the drive is formatted

If the files are playable by an application by the Mac - if they are MPEGs, etc - then if the sharing setup is correct then the Mac will be able to see and play them. Sounds like the problem lies in how you have sharing set up

I recommend VLC as a video player

Nick Froome

 

[balge]

Mac 101: File sharing

Apple says WINS and homegroups work?

cheers

 

[John]

The fact you can see the drive names means you are very close.

If you can't see anything on the drives, my guess is it is the permissions for the shares or the permissions on the drives themselves.


For simiplicity, it is easier to set all permissions (share and file) to EVERYONE and tick everything in the permissions list (usually FULL CONTROL, MODIFY, READ for shares, and a lot more for file).

Ultimately, you can create a 'Mac' user on the PC and then bolt down shares to that if you want to although it is not really necessary on a local network. However, I recommend you use WPA2 for wireless and have a strong key - because if you aren't and someone accesses your network, they can potentially access your PC in the same way your Mac.

You need to look at Joining a Microsoft Windows workgroup in that article onwards - the first bit is sharing files on the Mac.

Also, you wont have a WINS server at home so ignore that bit.

To find out your workgroup, right click on COMPUTER on the start menu and choose PROPERTIES, then ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS in the next window and click on COMPUTER NAME.

It will be MSHOME or WORKGROUP (I guess MSHOME if you are using Homegroup) probably as the article says.

EDIT: Under the first section in the Homegroup window, there is a link to change the advanced settings, and within that, you might need to ensure FILE SHARING is turned on if it is not.

 

[Nik_Endeavour]

Also OS X will see the HDD if they are formated in NTFS but will not be able to write to them. You will need to install a utility called Tuxera to enable writing to NTFS

 

[John]

I would presume that is only the case if they are mounted locally.

I have 4 Macs running 10.5.8 which write to an NTFS-formatted drives hosted on a Windows box using SMB.

As long as the share is connected to using a user (specified in CONNECT TO SERVER) with appropriate permissions if EVERYONE is not specified, it is fine.

 

[balge]

Your Windows 7 box can be set up as a WINS server though...

Control panel / Network & sharing centre / Change adapter settings ( on the left ) / Right click - 'properties' on the icon for your connection / double click or highlight and select 'TCP/IPv4' / 'Advanced' / 'WINS' tab then 'Add' the IP address of your PC

to find IP address - type 'cmd' into the 'search' box in start menu, then " ipconfig " into the console.

cheers

 

[mercmanuk]

after hours of fun it turns out there is a bug in lion that is causing my problem,loads of links with the same problem,apple disagree but are looking into it.i reloaded snow leopard and all is fine ,works a treat.
thanks for all the help and advise

 

[John]

You should not need a WINS server for this to work. That technology is from the dark ages and should really stay there.

This is not the first time Apple have f**ked up on the basics.

I remember we had Tiger boxes connecting perfectly, and a right nightmare with Leopard shortly after, having been setup in the same way.

Was fixed with a subsequent patch release IIRC.