network path not found

[MotorcycleBetty]

Hello,

I'm trying to network my Snow Leopard to a Windows XP SP3 machine. I can successfully ping, and access the files on the Windows machine, but the Windows machine can't ping the Mac nor see the shared folders - although it /can/ see the Mac itself.

The error message I get on the Windows machine when I try to access the Mac is:

\\Computer is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was not found.​

I'd really like to get these two machines talking to each other. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[satcomer]

Did you set up System Preferences->Sharing on the Mac? Are both computers on the same time? Try using the same time server (probably a third party time server).

Lastly is there any firewalls on other machines?

 

[MotorcycleBetty]

Yes, Sharing was set up on the Mac.

Not sure about the computers being "on the same time" - do you mean are the internal clocks set to the same minute? (one minute difference) or are they in the same time zone? (yes) Don't know anything about time servers.

The Windows machine does use a firewall, which I temporarily disabled to test whether that fixed the networking problem (it didn't).

I forgot to mention before that both computers access the internet through a router.

 

[smirk]

I've had a lot of problems with sharing files between a Mac and a Windows PC if my user accounts and passwords were different. Do you have the same user IDs and passwords on both machines? Also, are both machines using the same workgroup? It might not work if the Mac is set to WORKGROUP and the PC is set to MSHOME, for example. You can adjust the workgroup on Mac OS X 10.6 by going into the Network system preference, clicking the Advanced button, and clicking on the WINS tab.

Also, I've had mixed results for some reason depending on how I try to access the Mac. Sometimes it has worked when browsing through Windows Explorer where you expand the network, then the workgroup, then the computer. Sometimes it has worked when just keying in the UNC path ("\\iMac\Share" or "\\192.168.1.103\Share").

 

[MotorcycleBetty]

Both machines are using HOME as the workgroup, but I haven't been able to get the Windows machine to prompt for a password - the user accounts have different names, but the passwords are the same.

I don't know where the UNC path is, but I went into >Map Network Drive and typed in the local address (192.168.1.10) and got the message that a connection couldn't be made because no network was found.

And just to make matters more difficult, the Windows machine is no longer showing up on the Mac. :-(

You know, off and on I've been trying to accomplish this for about 3 years. I'm beginning to think it's never gonna happen.

 

[smirk]

I think your problem is that the two machines have different account names. Why don't you temporarily create a new account on one of the systems that has the same password as the account on the other system, enable file sharing for that account, and see what happens?

Oh, by "keying in the UNC path" I meant opening Windows Explorer and typing "\\192.168.1.10" in its address bar.

 

[MotorcycleBetty]

I think your problem is that the two machines have different account names.

Is what you're telling me that different machines need to have the same account names before Mac & Windows can share? Setting up a separate account for sharing seems like a lot of trouble to go to for something that /should/ just work! I'll give it a try, tho.

Oh, by "keying in the UNC path" I meant opening Windows Explorer and typing "\\192.168.1.10" in its address bar.

I'm afraid I can't get the address bar to display properly. I've got it selected, but it shows up on the right side of the window under the red X, and it's grayed out. Is there another way to "key in the UNC path"?