File sharing between OS X and Vista

[squeezy]

I've searched the forums, but couldn't find a tutorial explaining how to set up file sharing between OS X and Vista. My roommate just got a new Compaq laptop, with Vista Home. I'm running OS X Leopard. A simple Google search pulled up this site;

http://forums.mactalk.com.au/showthread.php?p=225903

Problem is, that doesn't work for Vista Home, gpedit is not available in it. I found where someone mentioned the registry key to edit, and I tried that, but had no luck.

So here is my setup. We have a wireless Linksys wireless-b router (BEFW11S4) connected to my DSL modem. Both my Mac Mini and the laptop connect wirelessly through the router.

I would like to setup a connection between my Mac and the laptop, since the router is wireless-b. The files I want to share on my Mac will all be on an external USB hard drive. The files on the laptop will be on it's internal drive.

As it is now, my Mac doesn't show up in Network Places, and the laptop doesn't show up in my Network. Both have file sharing enabled (to the best of my knowledge).

Any suggestions, links or directions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mike31mets]

I'm trying to find out the same thing as well.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/407095/

 

[Consultant]

You guys need to learn how to use google.

google: file sharing between mac and vista

If the results are too broad, you probably want to list the specific version of OS X , such as 10.4, tiger, 10.5, leopard

 

[Eraserhead]

There is the guide: [guide]Networking Windows with Mac OS X[/guide] but that doesn't cover Vista...

If you enable Remote Access (Remote Login on Leopard) in System Preferences==>Sharing, and get the IP address of the Mac (System Preferences==>Network, though it will be given after the @ on the Sharing screen. Then you can use WinSCP to connect to your Mac.

Its not the easiest setup, but it does work every time.

 

[squeezy]

You guys need to learn how to use google.

google: file sharing between mac and vista

If the results are too broad, you probably want to list the specific version of OS X , such as 10.4, tiger, 10.5, leopard

Problem with those results are, they say to do the exact same thing that I linked to in my original post. It does not work with Vista Home.

Remote Access is way too complicated, I just want something simple that she (a computer novice) could easily figure out each time, like a mapped network drive.

Thanks for the help so far, but I'm getting the general idea now that there is no *easy* way to share files between OS X and Vista Home.

 

[ayeying]

For vista, there's a security issue that blocks sharing with macs. It'll detect the computer but won't let you log into it. It'll say over and over again that the password/user name is incorrect. To bypass this, in Vista do the following:

Goto Control Panel > Administration Tools > Local Security Policy

Here, in the Local Policy > Security Policy, search for "Network Security: LAN Manager Authentication Level". Double click that, change the setting to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session if negotiated"

This would let you access when you type in the password/user name. To enable sharing in OSX, its in the system perferences.

To map a network drive, goto my computer, and should be an option "Map A Network Drive" at the top. Click it, the link should be \\COMPUTERNAME\SHAREDFOLDERNAME (ex. \\MacBook\Public). To find the computer name, its also in the "Sharing" preferences in OSX

Edit: I noticed you know about the security block. For the gpedit.msc, its available, just type it in the "Search" box in the start menu.

Edit2: Its not hard. Its not time consuming either. Its pretty simple once you learn it. I take less then a minute to map a network drive sharing my entire home folder from my macbook to boot camp and my desktop. Network drive is possibly the easiest method. You could try to navigate through the "Network Places" to find the folder/share but it doesn't work every time in my experience.

 

[commadelimited]

Ayeying...

The problem with your method is that it requires higher level versions of Vista. I've found online that Home, and Home premium do not even include the "Local Policy" app that your post mentions.

On my wife's computer, trying to set her up to connect to my Mac Mini file server, I walked through your post and got blocked here:

Goto Control Panel > Administration Tools > Local Security Policy (this file does not exist on her computer.

Anyone else?

 

[ayeying]

Ayeying...

The problem with your method is that it requires higher level versions of Vista. I've found online that Home, and Home premium do not even include the "Local Policy" app that your post mentions.

On my wife's computer, trying to set her up to connect to my Mac Mini file server, I walked through your post and got blocked here:

Goto Control Panel > Administration Tools > Local Security Policy (this file does not exist on her computer.

Anyone else?

Alright, I recently downgraded to Windows Vista Home Basic on my desktop because I find the extra features to be.. non useful at best. (Don't use media center, movie maker, aero, or any of that "eye candy" crap, plus since its just for gaming, it saves a lot of space for a "new" game.)

Because of this downgrade, I lost the Local Security Panel also.

To fix this, you need to edit the registry,

1. Start > "regedit"
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Lsa
3. Change the "LmCompatibilityLevel" to "1" (my default was 3)
4. Reboot the computer
5. Network Drive should work with Windows/Mac now.

 

[commadelimited]

When you say "should work now" are you saying that I should be able to go into the Network section of My Computer, browse to "TheMini", all the way into my user folder, and access items there? If so, that doesn't work. Yes, I did double check the setting, but it's not working.

I was, however, able to connect using a network pathing method:

\\192.168.0.5\Andy Matthews

and providing the login credentials.

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[ayeying]

I'm not sure about the Network section because that part never worked for me, ever, in windows networking. I've always used either \\IPADDRESS\Shared Folder or \\COMPUTERNAME\Shared.

 

[kisinzcemm]

teamviewer

I ve tried networking home and leopard too and I gave up ....but I found teamviewer (pc and mac )which is free and it pretty easy you can transfer files and remote desktop too

 

[pyth]

Alright, I recently downgraded to Windows Vista Home Basic on my desktop because I find the extra features to be.. non useful at best. (Don't use media center, movie maker, aero, or any of that "eye candy" crap, plus since its just for gaming, it saves a lot of space for a "new" game.)

Because of this downgrade, I lost the Local Security Panel also.

To fix this, you need to edit the registry,

1. Start > "regedit"
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Lsa
3. Change the "LmCompatibilityLevel" to "1" (my default was 3)
4. Reboot the computer
5. Network Drive should work with Windows/Mac now.

Thank you SO much. I've been looking for what feels like forever to be able to easily fileshare between my mac and my PC. You have no idea how much easier this makes my life. Thanks again!

 

[OFFiCiALSaVaGE]

Alright, I recently downgraded to Windows Vista Home Basic on my desktop because I find the extra features to be.. non useful at best. (Don't use media center, movie maker, aero, or any of that "eye candy" crap, plus since its just for gaming, it saves a lot of space for a "new" game.)

Because of this downgrade, I lost the Local Security Panel also.

To fix this, you need to edit the registry,

1. Start > "regedit"
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Lsa
3. Change the "LmCompatibilityLevel" to "1" (my default was 3)
4. Reboot the computer
5. Network Drive should work with Windows/Mac now.

This worked instantly. Thanks for your help.