Problem Sharing Mac OS Files in Bootcamp

[stevejs2]

I have a Mac Pro (early 2009 Quad Core" 2.66 Nehalem) with two hard drives. On one drive I have my Mac OS and files, and on the other hard drive I have installed Windows XP in Bootcamp. I also have a Macbook Pro (early 2008 Core 2 Duo" 2.5).

My problem is that I am unable to open in Bootcamp certain types of Mac Pro files that are located on my Mac OS drive. However, I can see and navigate to all these files in Bootcamp. What's more I can open certain types of files in the very same folder as files that I can't open. For instance I can open TXT files, PDF files, JPEG files, and HTML files. But I can't open DOC files, XLS files, PPT files, or QDATA files. What's more the very same file types that I can't opened in Bootcamp when they are on my Mac Pro, can be opened in Bootcamp when they are stored on my Macbook Pro.

I'm sharing all my files on the Mac OS side, and I can open all Mac OS and Bootcamp drive files on my Macbook Pro when I am booted to Mac OS on the Mac Pro. However,when running Bootcamp on the Mac Pro the entire Mac OS drive is invisible to the Macbook Pro, although files on the Bootcamp drive can be seen and accessed.

I think that my problem accessing Mac OS files in Bootcamp may be some type of funky Network permissions problem, but I can't figure out what it might be - and I've been trying for days. The whole pattern of the problems just don't make sense to me. If anything, I would have expected that Bootcamp access of Mac OS files would be simple and direct from the machine that hosts Bootcamp. If sharing problems were to occur in Bootcamp, it would seem more likely that it would be in accessing files from the Macbook Pro and not the other way around.

Any suggestions would be most welcome. I've spent a lot of time trolling the web for help - and have not been able to find any solutions. I think I'm doing everything that I'm suppose to do to get the sharing to work, and have run out of ideas.

 

[balamw]

I'm sorry, you lost me.

Can you be really explicit about what it is that you are trying to do.

Your description seems to be mixing and matching local and network usage, to the extent that I don't know what works and what doesn't.

(BTW you sound like an ideal candidate for a NAS to host all of those files you want access to from two machines and two OSes.)

Example:

Client: MBP 5,1 running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Server: MP 3,1 running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Trying to access file hosted on HFS+ partition of server via UNC path over SMB/CIFS.

Simple question. Assuming that both machines are running Windows when this doesn't work. Do you use the same username and password on both machines?

B

 

[stevejs2]

Mac Pro (Drive 1) - Bootcamp, running Windows XP 32 bit
(Drive 2) - Mac OS, running Snow Leopard

Macbook Pro - Mac OS, running Snow Leopard

I boot up Windows XP from the Mac Pro (Drive 1). I'm in the Windows Explorer trying to open files that are on Mac Pro (Drive 2) in the Users/Steve/Documents folder. I can open up PDF files that are in the folder, but when I try to open XLS or DOC files I get a message that says, "the file may be read-only, or you may be trying to access a read-only location. Or, the server the document is stored on may not be responding."

Still in the Windows Explorer of the Mac Pro running Window XP. I am able to open all files that are located on the Macbook Pro in the Users/Steve/Documents folder including XLS and DOC files.

The Users/Steve/Documents folder on Mac Pro (Drive 2) mirrors the Users/Steve/Documents folder on the Macbook Pro as they are synchronized with each other using Chronosync. So I can open the file copies that are located on my laptop, but I can't open the very same file files that are located on my Mac Pro (Drive 2).

 

[balamw]

I can open up PDF files that are in the folder, but when I try to open XLS or DOC files I get a message that says, "the file may be read-only, or you may be trying to access a read-only location. Or, the server the document is stored on may not be responding."

The HFS+ drivers that come with Snow Leopard provide only read-only access to the drive. You should be able to copy the file to your XP Documents folder and edit it fine there.

You either need to

a) abstract that with a network (as you do when accessing the same files on the MBP, or a NAS as I suggested)

b) Add a third party read/write HFS+ driver like MacDrive http://www.macdrive.com/

c) quit using Microsoft Office which is stupid enough to get confused when it tries to open files on read-only resources.

d) Add a shared FAT32 resource for shared documents. When I was switching OSes more frequently, I kept an SD card in the slot for this purpose on top of my NAS. On your Mac Pro this could be a third HDD or a USB key ...

B

 

[stevejs2]

I don't know how to, "abstract the files on a network." Can you offer specific steps that I can take to do this?

For my Macbook Pro I didn't do anything special to make the files available other than share them in System Preferences. The Macbook Pro files then appear on my Bootcamp Windows under My Network Places, and I am able to read/write to them without any problems. By contrast, The Mac Pro HFS+ drive appears in Bootcamp Windows as a separate drive under My Computer, but does not show up under Network Places. I tried, but couldn't find any way to get it to show up in Network Places. Is there a way to do this? If I could do this would I then have read/write access?

Interestingly, I have also run my Bootcamp Windows in a Mac OS boot from VMWare. When running it under VMWare the Mac Pro HFS+ drive is shared as a NAS. I can read/write to the HFS+ drive when running Bootcamp Windows on VMWare. This works as fine solution except when I am using resource intense GIS applications which run better when I boot Windows directly into Bootcamp.

I've read mixed reviews on Macdrive. Some people seem to love it and others complain that it has corrupted their drives. I'm a little bit worried about this corruption problem that some people have experienced.

I don't have any choice but to use Microsoft Office because I bring home files from work where this is the standard.

I don't think that I would need to setup a FAT32 share. A simpler work around for me is to access the files (in Bootcamp Windows) from the Macbook Pro, and then sync them back to the Mac Pro when I next boot the Mac Pro under Mac OS. However, it bothers that I haven't been able to get read/write access to the Mac Pro HFS+ files when running under Bootcamp - but, accessing them from the Macbook Pro has been my work around.

 

[balamw]

I don't know how to, "abstract the files on a network." Can you offer specific steps that I can take to do this?

The problem is that you cannot access HFS+ resources from Windows. So what you need to do is not store the files you need access from Windows on the Mac Pro on a local HFS+ resource, but instead on an SMB/CIFS resource where the underlying filesystem (NTFS, HFS+, FAT32, EXT4, ...) is irrelevant (i.e. abstracted away). [This is exactly why it works in a VM, but not in Boot Camp]

This could be a shared directory on your MBP if that is convenient.

An easier approach would be to deploy a simple NAS. If you have an Airport Express, just stick a flash drive or HDD in the USB port. Or get a dedicated NAS like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822319017, and plug it into your router. Or, if you have a spare PC lying around turn it into a FreeNAS box.

B