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All Apple computers running OS X (Apple's Operating System 10) can connect to Windows PCs instantly, without any additional software.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Getting Apple's new computers to connect to Windows PCs


June 5, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   How hard is it to get an Apple G4 computer to connect to a Windows PC?
   I've been asked this question many times. It's not hard at all.
   All Apple computers running OS X (Apple's Operating System 10) can connect to Windows PCs instantly, without any additional software. Each Windows PC on the network must be set up properly ñ each one must have at least one folder "shared" with any computer that wants to connect over the local network, for example ñ and each one needs a network interface card, usually called a "NIC" (pronounced "nick," not N-I-C). (Apple's G4 computers come with their own network cards, but most Windows PCs don't.)
   For step-by-step instructions if you don't yet have a working Windows network, go to www.helmig.com.
   The Windows workgroup name defaults to WORKGROUP ñ not much imagination in that -- but take an extra 30 seconds when you set up your network and give your local network group a real name, in CAPITAL letters. Choose something 12 characters or less in length that makes sense and is easy to remember, such as SMITHFAMILY or REPAIRSHOP.
   On each Windows PC, right click on a folder you want to share and choose "Sharing" from the menu. Follow the prompts, making sure the "sharename" for that folder is short and in CAPITAL letters. You can, of course, share as many folders as you want, or you can simply right click on the drive icon and share the entire drive.
   On the Apple OS X computer, click the "Go" menu in the Finder and choose "Connect to Server." (You're using a peer-to-peer network in which every computer is a "server," so that's why the menu command is written that way.) You need to enter the name of the Windows computer you want to connect to, plus the name of the shared folder or drive, prefaced by SMB (it stands for "Session Message Block," and is the protocol used to talk to Windows PCs).
   Here's an example. You would type this:
   SMB://COMPUTERNAME/SHARENAME
   So if you were trying to connect to a Windows computer named MYDELL, and the shared folder on MYDELL had the name PICTURES, you'd type the following:
   SMB://MYDELL/PICTURES
   That's all you have to do. However, do yourself a favor and click the "Add to Favorites" button at the bottom of the "Connect to server" window. That way, the next time you want to connect, you can simply choose the connection from the list of Favorites.
   Note that the connection you've set up is a one-way street. The Apple OS X computer can connect to the Windows computer, but the Windows computer can't initiate a connection to the OS X computer. (It can, of course, receive any files sent from the OS X side to the Windows side.) If all you want to do is share a few files, this is not a problem.
   But if you need complete networking, you'll have to add some extra software to the Apple. My choice by far is a $150 program named DAVE, which provides full networking between Windows and OS X computers. You can even share printers if they meet certain criteria.
   For more information on DAVE, go to www.thursby.com.