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Are we on the same network? ... quick question

mgpg89

mgpg89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 31, 2008
970
16
Belgium
A friend of mine has got this setup:

modem > router > Vista PC (ethernet)
Airport Express

He also has a macbook ... That's why he uses the Airport Express.

Now ... are the MacBook and the PC on the same network?
I started wondering because the vista PC won't show up in the 'shared' section of the Finder ...

And how can they be on the same network, if the macbook must use wireless and the PC must be connected with an ethernet cable?

thanks in advance!
 
Can you give me a clearer picture of his network topography here? Is the router wired or wireless? Is it physically connected to the AirPort Express? If not, your friend is probably running two networks which will be unable to connect to one another. Regardless, the routers are redundant, and the other should be eliminated if possible in favour of the AirPort Express.

Of course, I don't say this because it's an Apple product and therefore superior. Personally, I think that Apple's wireless products are overpriced and undervalued. However, the AirPort Express does have features that the other router will not, and is therefore to be preferred when eliminating one.
 
Yeah, that would make things a little easier by way of troubleshooting, not to mention ensuring that advice doesn't get lost in the telling! (No offense meant to you, of course, but explanations have a tendency to become shorter and more confusing when repeated. Look at my school notes as Exhibit A.)
 
BlueRevolution said:
Can you give me a clearer picture of his network topography here? Is the router wired or wireless? Is it physically connected to the AirPort Express? If not, your friend is probably running two networks which will be unable to connect to one another. Regardless, the routers are redundant, and the other should be eliminated if possible in favour of the AirPort Express.

Of course, I don't say this because it's an Apple product and therefore superior. Personally, I think that Apple's wireless products are overpriced and undervalued. However, the AirPort Express does have features that the other router will not, and is therefore to be preferred when eliminating one.
Click to expand...

The router is wired and is physically connected to the AirPort Express with an ethernet cable.
Do you need to know anything else?

And my friend can't post it here himself, because he knows even less about the subject than I do (if that's even humanly possible)
He just wants to be able to do some file & screen sharing at home, so he asked me if I could figure something out.
 
mgpg89 said:
A friend of mine has got this setup:

modem > router > Vista PC (ethernet)
Airport Express

He also has a macbook ... That's why he uses the Airport Express.

Now ... are the MacBook and the PC on the same network?
I started wondering because the vista PC won't show up in the 'shared' section of the Finder ...

And how can they be on the same network, if the macbook must use wireless and the PC must be connected with an ethernet cable?

The router is wired and is physically connected to the AirPort Express with an ethernet cable.
Do you need to know anything else?
Click to expand...

They are on the same network. You need to have a shared folder on the PC, and enable Personal file sharing and Windows file sharing from System Preferences on the Mac. Make sure both computers are in the same workgroup folder found in the Network settings.

http://guides.macrumors.com/networking_mac_and_pc

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8201.html
 
If your friend isn't too technologically adept, all the more reason to help directly. Better that it be "dumbed-down" once instead of twice, and we help people of all levels here. :)
 
One final question:

I've managed to connect to the Vista PC with the MacBook ... but I can only establish a connection if the admin account is password protected. (which it usually isn't)

So how can I connect to the PC if the admin account has no password enabled? Leaving the password field empty doesn't work ... is there some sort of 'standard' password then?

Thanks in advance
 
Leave the admin account with a password enabled. Please. If you can access files without a password, so can everyone else. They can also write to whatever they want. Your friend does at least have an encrypted wireless network, right?
 
Yes, the wireless network is password protected.
So you say it would be safer to enable a password, but turn on automatic logon?
 
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