How to Become a Network Guru
Mac & PC Networking Overview
Overview
As time passes, the number of networks that include both Macs and other PCs continues to increase. Each different computer, whether a Mac, Windows PC, or whatever, is known as a different platform; and a network that combines multiple platforms is known as a mixed network. Setting up a mixed network presents its own unique challenges, since you need to know something about each platform involved.
Mixed Network Hardware
When you set up a mixed network, Ethernet is the most practical hardware option, as you can readily find Ethernet parts for any kind of computer. If you have a LocalTalk Mac network and want to add PCs, now is a good time to consider an Ethernet upgrade for your Macs.
A second option to consider is one of the new home phone line networks, detailed in Faux Pas Ethernet: Home Phone Lines. The downside to phone line networks is the lower speed, which is about an eighth of 10BaseT Ethernet.
A third possibility is a wireless network, based on Apple’s AirPort or another compatible wireless connection. There are wireless products available for both Macs and PCs that allow network communication, although you’ll probably need to add software to your setup that helps the platforms further understand each other.
Sharing Files and Printers
The main obstacle in putting Macs and Windows PCs on a network is sharing files and printers with each other. The Mac OS and Windows have very different networking systems, so sharing files or printers on a Mac doesn’t mean a thing to PCs on the network.
There are, fortunately, programs that will translate from the Mac network to the Windows network (or vice versa). Which program you use will depend on what you need your network to do.
If you need to make a Windows PC work on a Mac-centric network, you have two options.
These programs differ somewhat in their features, but both have a downloadable demo to let you try them out first.
If you want to attach a Mac to a network based on Windows, you’ll need to pick up Thursby Software Systems’s DAVE. DAVE allows your Mac to access Windows file servers and printers through the Mac’s Chooser, just like AppleTalk.
If you’re using a Unix box with an NFS file system, Thursby Software Systems also makes MacNFS for networking your Mac to the Unix box.
Can I Connect Macs and PCs for Free?
If you don’t need share files or printers, you can set up a TCP/IP network between Macs and PCs for just the cost of the hub and Ethernet cables. Mac OS, Windows, and Unix all have built-in support for TCP/IP, making this network setup possible.
Creating this kind of connection allows you to perform basic file functions: primarily moving them back and forth between computers. Some types of files—such as text files, many image formats, and some video formats—work equally well on both platforms. Application-specific formats like word processing files, however, many not work as you want them to. If you want to share application-specific files across platforms, you need to make sure you have the application on both computers and also be sure the application is capable of opening the other platform’s files.
To set up a TCP/IP network, first set up a switched Ethernet network. Then you can configure TCP/IP and use FTP to share files between your Macs and PCs.
Copyright © 2002 Matthew Glidden,
mglidden@atpm.com.
Also in This Series
- Mac to Windows: Troubleshooting the “No Logon Servers Available” File Sharing Error · October 2004
- Using WEP Security on an AirPort Network · July 2004
- Whatever happened to…Threemacs.com? · September 2003
- Clandestine Wireless Networking and MacStumbler · July 2003
- Learning to Share With Others: Sharing Preferences Overview · April 2003
- Serving Files Using FTP in Mac OS X · December 2002
- Switching Between Networks in Mac OS X · November 2002
- The Audio/Video Quadras (660av, 840av) · September 2002
- Thoughts on Apple’s Xserve · July 2002
- Complete Archive
Reader Comments (213)
Please can someone tell me how to do this since I don't understand.
Regards,
Flynn
John
The iMac and one of the PCs have ethernet cards. The other PC is a laptop. I have a hub and some CAT3 cable, but no idea how to go about connecting them and getting them to network.
I also have installed Virtual PC on the iMac running Windows 98. This works, but is slow.
Any help would be appreciated.
Best regards,
Mac Novice
This is driving me nuts. I have a Windows PC laptop running XP connected to a DSL modem connection and want to share files with my G4 Cube at home. I have set up an ethernet connection between the Mac and PC and accomplished this after battling with SMB briefly. Now, what I would like to do is browse the internet on my Cube, but whenever I try and access the net through any browser (Chimera, Opera, Mozilla, and Explorer) I get a message saying that the specified server cannot be found. What am I doing wrong? What network settings do I need on XP and OS X to share the one connection? Please help.
Connect the ethernet output of your DSL modem to the WAN port of a router, and connect ethernet cables from any of the numbered ports of the router to each computer. None of the ethernet cables should be crossover -- all standard. Configure each computer to obtain network information automatically via DHCP and check the router's manual on how to access its configuration pages. 90% of the time, you don't have to do a thing to the router, but you might find a few settings that you want to try tweaking.
In brief, your ethernet cable coming out of the broadband modem will connect to the router's WAN port, and you connect each of your computers, again with a standard ethernet cable, to one of the numbered LAN ports on the router. I'll hold on setting up the router for now, pending knowing which one you buy. The included instructions generally are pretty helpful. Feel free to e-mail ATPM's help box if you have trouble.
Next, decide which G4 is going to be the host computer, open its System Preferences, click on the Sharing icon, and turn on FTP access.
Finally, after you've determined what the host Mac's local IP address is (you'll see it in the Sharing panel where it says "Network Address"), just load an FTP client on the PC and connect it to the Mac's IP, and log in with your OS X short user name and regular password. If that user is an admin user, you'll have access to the entire drive. Otherwise, you'll only have access to your own Home folder and other public locations within OS X.
To connect to your Mac from work (it won't make any difference if your work PC is behind a firewall), you'll need to go into your router and forward ports 20-21 to the local IP used by your host Mac. Next, you need to know what your public IP address is (the one the world sees). Simplest way is to just go to www.whatismyip.com and it'll tell you. Then, from work, you just connect to your home computer the same way, except that you'll use the public IP instead. Forwarding those ports (20-21) in your router is what lets the incoming FTP request through the router's firewall and to your computer.
Thanks!!
P.S. I'm no good at computer jargon!
While doing this, it might be a good idea to make sure those settings are exactly what your internet provider say to use ... especially the part where you enter in domain name server (DNS) addresses.
To share the connection, you need to buy a broadband router. I personally own a Linksys 4-port broadband router, which is perhaps $120-130. Linksys doesn't officially support Macs, but the router works just fine with both Macs and PCs.
A friend recently told me about this Netgear router that's only $72.95 after rebate. I can only imagine it, too, works fine with Macs. Routers, in general, don't care what computers are attached to them. If the router is like my Linksys and is configured via a private web interface, then your Mac will be able to set it up. Some routers use proprietary software and that software tends to only have a PC version.
Unfortunately, I lost the info in the iMac's TCP control panel and the software manufacturer's web site is no longer working. Is there any way to find out about those TCP/IP values for the iMac? Can I achieve internet access and/or file sharing in any other way using this hardware? The iMac used to run OS 9.1 but is now running OS X.
What is critical when choosing a server? Processor speed? Storage capacity? RAM?
Thank you in advance. Cool what you do for people. If we all help people using what we're experts on, this would be a fantastic world!
Admittedly, however, while I did manage to make it work, I felt it could have been easier, and I could only make the PC connect to my Mac—not vice versa. A networking guru friend of mine thinks I had something fouled up with the workgroup or domain or something.
What would actually be easier is to just turn on the Mac's FTP server, which is also available in OS X versions prior to 10.2. Then, you just connect to it with your PC using your favorite FTP client. And you can go the other way around using your favorite FTP daemon for Windows.
I am quite certain you will not be able to burn files directly from your PC to the Mac's SuperDrive over the network connection, but you certainly can transfer files to the Mac and then burn them from the Mac to the SuperDrive.
Matt
The iMac will already have an ethernet port, so no card is needed there. You'll have to check your PC to determine whether it already has an ethernet card installed. If not, they're pretty inexpensive and can be picked up or ordered just about anywhere.
It's a different matter to tell you at this time what to do in the router because it varies depending on your router. My suggestion is to go ahead and select one and follow the instructions, then feel free to ask us if you run into a snag...either by a new comment, or directly e-mailing help@atpm.com. Shop around for router brands. Netgear and Linksys are great ones. Other people swear by SMC.
OK, here is my issue. I am a PC guy by trade and have recently fallen in love with the elegance of the Macintosh. I am not a rich person, so I basically looked around 'till I found a decent Mac for $50. It is a PowerMac 5400/180 running OS 8.0. In a previous life, it was in an educational institution's Mac lab on an Ethernet network running DHCP. I know that the network card works. My wife has a Windows XP PC that also has a network card, but connects to the internet through a modem and a dial-up connection. I have a hub and all the crossover and patch cables you could want. I would like to use her computer as a gateway for my Mac to connect to the internet. I have done this on PC's, but Macs are a little foreign to me. I would like to use a program like Proxy from Analog X on the PC or something like it. Can anyone help me with the steps to set this up? I appreciate your help a lot!
You already know that ATPM.com is a Macintosh venue, so we don't really have much assistance available for Windows topics. What you are wanting to do is strictly a matter of configuration on your PC because once it is set up, it doesn't matter if another PC or a Mac attaches to it. You generally just set up the TCP configuration for DHCP unless you specify otherwise.
What you want is Internet Sharing. If the protocols for this aren't already installed on your XP box, you should be able to add them with the Add/Remove Windows Components menu. You'll be configuring it to see your dialup connection and share it through the ethernet card. You can either use a crossover to go between the two computers directly, or use two standard cables going through the hub.
You'll need to dig through Windows help or find a Windows forum for specific details about configuring Windows Internet Sharing.
Then, you simply connect your cable modem to the router's WAN port, then connect your computers to one of the numbered LAN ports on the router. For most people, this will work automatically if your computer already obtains TCP/IP information from the cable modem automatically. Otherwise, the user manual in most routers can generally tell you what to do. If you still have trouble ... just ask here!
You may have to get specific PC help elsewhere since ATPM is a Mac forum, but if your router is handing out IP addresses automatically (confirm this by seeing if your Mac's networking is set for Automatic via DHCP) then you simply have to set the PC's Networking control panel to also receive info automatically. When you open the PC's Networking control panel, find the TCP/IP adapter, right click it and select Properties. Peek through all the tabbed windows of those properties and confirm it's set for automatic. Then close it out, saving your settings and reboot the PC.
I currently have 2 PCs connected to a Linksys 54G Wireless router which is connected to my cable modem. I'd like to get my PowerBook on the net, but I'm having trouble. In the AirPort network settings, it shows 'linksys' as an available network to join and it actually shows a signal strength that I can see move every now and then, so there must be a connection! But I got a server error with every web page I try to load.
It's very strange as I it actually worked ONE time. It loaded the Apple home page, but nothing after that.
Please help! Thanks!!
It's best to have Apple's AirPort card (the pre-Extreme version) instead of a 3rd party wireless card because 1) you won't have the card sticking out of your PCMCIA slot, 2) it's often difficult to find Mac drivers for these cards, and 3) if you have a desktop Mac, you can't use PCMCIA cards anyway.
You need to make sure your Mac model can accept an AirPort card. Let me know which model it is, and I can confirm that for you.
As you probably know, this router can share a broadband internet connection for both of your computers, as well. You don't have to have Apple's AirPort Base Station. I own a G4 laptop but use either my Linksys (at home) or my Netgear (on the road) wireless routers.
Once it's set up, you'll need some sort of software to let the two machines connect. both SMB and FTP sharing are built into OS X, but if you must stay on OS 9, PC-MacLAN or DAVE (mentioned above) should take care of it for you.
One member confirmed that your G3 does not support AirPort and wondered about the problem of ethernet cables since you can get them in huge lengths. (I personally have a 100-foot cable.) Though I understand sometimes you simply don't wish to have a cable stretched.
The other staff's response I'll paste in here:
If he has broadband, why not add a router/WAP to the G3 via an ethernet connection? There is a PCI card available from Belkin that gives wireless access to PCs which have a free PCI slot. The software is for Win 95 or higher.
I took a look at the screenshot in the manual for this product and the software seems to provide functionality for the PC that AirPort Setup Assistant would ignore if he were putting the card in his Mac.
If he needed dialup level net access, wouldn't one of the original AirPorts work in place of a router? There are probably lots of people, like me, who would part with their old AirPort cheap.
I was using that arrangement until recently. BTW, I was hunting MacMall a while ago and, just for kicks, I looked around for products that might solve this. I ran across a PCI card that gives PCs wireless access for $40-45 and a wireless router for about the same. I think the whole arrangement could be put together for roughly $100, assuming the computers are within range.
Here's the page for the PCI card.
Steve
1. There may be other manufacturers with similar cards (I think I saw a Linksys card as well as the Belkin).
2. Some, and perhaps all, of the PCI cards also have the option of disconnecting the antenna that comes with the card and adding a different antenna that sits on the desk as opposed to behind the computer. This might help if range is a problem.
Sharing files is much easier with Mac OS X. I'll advise you to follow the information in the above article to get started, and to post again here if you have specific questions/problems.
First, go to the Sharing preference pane on your Mac and turn on FTP file sharing. Then check the Networking pane and determine the IP address your router gave you (it'll probably begin with 192.
Next, on your Dell, launch an FTP client (such as CuteFTP or WS_FTP or whatever) and connect to your Mac's IP address use your same login password and the short version of your login user name. If you're not sure what your short user name is, just open your Mac's Home directory (where your Documents/Music/Pictures/etc. files are located) and look at the name of that Home folder.
Our goal is to network the three machines, basically right now simply to share the DSL internet connection. I have a Linksys Wireless B broadband router and a Linksys Wireless USB adapter for the notebook. I probably will just connect the router to the desktop (downstairs) via cable. What do I need to buy for the Powerbook to make it wireless? I assume the Linksys wireless USB adapter will not work (that would be too simple and cost effective as we could share the card between the two laptops).
So basically my question is, what kind of card do I need for the G4. A secondary question is, will we be able to share the PC's printer, or does that require PCMaclan like I have on my work network, which also features PCs and MACs.
The other option seems to be to use a wireless network card that plugs into the cardbus slot on the G4.A quick search of online vendors showed such products as the Aria Extreme from Sonnet as well as products from StarTech and SMC. Be caregul though I only found mention of Mac compatability for the Sonnnet card. Although some vendors are listing the others as Mac compatable, no Mac OS is listed in the supported operating systems. Asante makes AeroLAN™ AL5403-XG card which does appear to support both platforms.
I have been able to share a PC printer by using the print server feature built into my router. Linksys has several wireless print servers which might attach to your existing router. The printer could then be attached to the router. For an overview of what I had to do check out this article. The same process might wok if your printer uses PPD files or has Mac drivers
What kind of hardware do I need? I've been reading something about AirPort and I understand that I can buy some type of card to plug into my laptop. Can you help?
As for what you'll need, first pick up a wireless router. If you want the ease of setup, you can purchase Apple's AirPort Base Station, but they're not cheap, and it's very difficult to find the slower variant now. Apple itself probably only sells faster one. But since the wireless protocol is an industry standard, you can pick up any 802.11b or g wireless router. Linksys and Netgear are among the more popular brands.
Next, you'll need a wireless card for your computer. It sounds as though you're not planning on making your iMac wireless, so you probably don't need to pick up an Apple AirPort card. As for your PC laptop, you'll just need to look for a wireless card that slides into your PCMCIA (a.k.a. PC Card) slot.
Finally, you connect your DSL modem to the WAN port of the router using the ethernet cable that came with the modem, the connect the iMac to one of the numbered LAN ports, follow the instructions to open the router's configuration screens, enable wireless activity, and then you can configure your laptop to connect. If you live in an area where several other people are frequently nearby, you may wish to study up on ways to protect and encrypt your wireless signal.
Second - to access your PC from your Mac, you need to make sure that file sharing is turned on under Windows. You may have it turned on but you may not have set up the sharing preferences to determine which files, folders, drives etc. are shared. If is also possible that you have a firewall on the Windows machine that is blocking the iMac's attempts to connect. Turn off any firewall software on the Windows machine (you don't need it if the Linksys Router's firewall is turned on anyway) and see if that solves the problem.
Also - if you get PC MacLan to share the printer, you can use that to share files with the Mac. It will allow you to share your Windows files using AppleTalk which can simplify the process and also allow access under OS 9 (which does not support Windows File Sharing)
Yes some devices can be connected to the router and some to the switch. You could buy a four port switch and use both sets of LAN ports. However, the cost of an 8 port switch vs. 4 port is not substantially higher, and you would lose AT (see above) networking. Beyond that the repurcussions are negligible.
No special software is needed. However you should be aware that if you share a USB printer under OS X it will not be available to OS 9 machines. So you should share the printer on an OS 9 machine (like your G4 server) and then it will be accessible to all the Macs.
Hope this helps.
We're currently running a PC (Win2k) and an iBook (OSX 10.3) and have nothing but failure in all attempts to file share or connect to the 'net simultaneously.
I have a D-Link 300 adsl modem and have both a Netgear RP114 Router and a 16-port generic switch.
I've tried using;
- sygate server on the PC with two network cards connected directly to the iBook
- sygate server on the PC running single NIC mode directly connected to the iBook
- sygate server on the PC running single NIC mode connected to the switch (iBook also)
- ICS on the PC with two NIC's connected directly to the iBook
- PCMACLAN on the PC as gateway between modem and iBook
- Numerous other configurations
Just recently I've acquired the Netgear router and have been unable to get DCHP working to assign IP's nor been able to access the router's configuration via browser.
When I attempt to use DCHP on the iBook, it returns an IP outside of the IP's used by the router as well as using a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. By manually entering the correct data, I get OSX to recognise an internet connection, but still fail to access the router's config or recognise the PC on the network.
Most frustrating. More information is available.
Any help would be very appreciated.
mates have the latest windows nt professional). It
was a free version, but its giving me loads of guff with serial no.'s, does any one know how to sort it?
Or a different free ftp method (my tcp/ip does not give me the menu option of dhcp, although is ethernet hub system)
Under OS X you should be able to connect to your PC network out of the box, without any additional software, by using "Connect to Server" from under the "Go" menu in the Finder.
In any event. With regard to the firewall business. If the LAN you are on has a firewall, what's the problem? If there is either a firewall on the router, or if there is a software firewall of some sort on the LAN, the Mac is no different than a PC. Firewalls don't care what is behind them. They simply block packets and allow traffic through specified ports, mapped to specified IP addresses. That's it. It makes no difference if you are using a Mac, PC, Unix box, or a PDA. It's all just packets.
Now if there is no firewall on the LAN, and your IT people are (unwisely) depending on each and every client to provide its own firewall via the operating system or some layer installed over it... then technically they do have a legitimate concern beceause they are not familiar enough with a Mac to understand how to turn on and configure the firewall that is provided by the operating system.
OS X has as good a firewall as any other operating system, better than many (certainly more secure than anything Microsoft has ever come up with) and it is very easy to engage and configure. You should be able to demonstrate this to them in a few mouse clicks using the Control Panel. Again, this is totally unnecessary if there is a firewall on your LAN. It would be redundant. Any IT guru worth his salt should understand that.
As for controlling access... are they talking about controlling what the G5 can access on the network server(s)? Or are they talking about limiting access to files/folders on the G5 depending on who is logged in to it? These are different issues.
First of all, if they are concerned about controlling access to the server(s) - they shouldn't be. As with the firewall, the Mac is no different than a PC. Presumably we're talking about a Windows file server. The fact that you are logging on from a Mac is transparent to everybody. It makes no difference whatsoever. Set up an account on the server(s) with your name, password, and privileges. Log on from the Mac. Log on from the PC. No difference. You will have access to those files you are granted access to, and not those which you haven't been granted access to. It doesn't matter what computer you log on from. This is a SERVER SIDE issue not a client side issue.
If the concern is limiting access to data on the actual G5 itself, this is what the multi-user architecture of the operating system is designed to do. OS X has a UNIX based multi-user system which allows you do create users and configure their user experience, including which resources their privileges offer them access to. It is analogous to the Windows multi-user concept although it is, frankly, a bit more elegant in its implementation (how shocking that Microsoft could design something clunky and unintuitive by comparison)
In short your IT guys have no reason at all to be concerned. This whole "we don't understand Macs so we don't allow them" attitude is really obnoxious and gets me pretty fired up in case that hasn't come through in this reply. I am tired of going into work environments where Macs are excluded, or marginalized, purely out of ignorance. Ignorance on the side of people who are paid to understand such things... pretty lame.
You rock. Thanks so much for such a passionate and helpful response. This is a phenomenal site!
"you do not need a round the clock department of overpaid monkeys to set up and maintain a Macintosh network in an office"
But it appears to me that a lot of monkeys need the advice of underpaid ATPM staff to set up and maintain a Macintosh network.
Sound about right ?
You can see a full port list for common Macintosh services here:
http://www.opendoor.com/doorstop/ports.html
thanks
The original Apple AirPort cards that came in the Titanium G4 PowerBooks are only 802.11b compatible. AirPort Extreme, which was shipped in the newer Aluminum PowerBooks are 802.11g compatible.
I can say one other thing...if you're planning to move a few gigabytes of data, you're going to want to connect the machines with an ethernet cable because even with 802.11g, moving that much data will take a very long time.
I have a Mac [jaguar] and my roommate has a PC [XP], and we'd like to figure out some way to be online at the same time without spending a lot of money, because... we don't have it. I do have an AirPort for my Mac, but the PC doesn't have a wireless card and it's old, so we're not sure it'd take to it well.
Any ideas or suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks.
You can do this the other way around, using the Windows machine to dial up and share the connection with your Mac, but I don't know how to set it up, nor are we inclined to figure it out since ATPM is a Macintosh venue. :-)
I have an iMac running OS 9.1, and a PC running Windows XP. I would like to connect these wirelessly to my broadband connection, of which the Mac is the primary user.
What components do I need to buy?
Thanks
Duncan
First, you need a wireless router. Linksys and Netgear seem to be two of the most popular brands. If you don't plan on sharing large files between the two computers, an 802.11b version will cost you only a couple of ten bucks. But if you want to send big files back and forth on your machines wirelessly, you may want to invest in the faster 802.11g router.
The other two things you need are wireless network adapters for both computers. For the iMac, that'd be the AirPort card. Unfortunately, I'm not certain if every iMac, or only some of the newer ones supported AirPort cards or which (if any) used AirPort Extreme instead. (AirPort Extreme is simply the faster 802.11g which is compatible on a slower 802.11b network.) If it happens that your iMac does not support an AirPort card, you might can use a wireless to ethernet bridge. Such a device plugs into your iMac's ethernet port and is a little box with an antenna to communicate with the wireless network. But you'll have to search carefully for those. Most of the ones I've seen only work on Wintel machines.
As for the PC, the aforementioned bridge will work, but ideally, you'd simply buy and install an internal PCI wireless network card. Then, just follow the instructions in all devices and you should be in business.
To have PC accessing Mac, have to turn on Windows Sharing under Sharing in System Preferences panel on Mac. Copy the Mac network address listed in the bottom.
Go to PC and Add a Network Place. Follow the wizard when adding a new location, provide Mac network address if required.
smb://1xx.1xx.1xx.1xx/foldername
It prompts for a User and PW and then says "Could not connect because the name or password is incorrect" I am using the same User and PW that I used to log into Windows. Reading through the comments, I seem to be one of a few who have connected from the PC to the Mac but not visa versa.
Thanks and Great site!
PGorman
I'd like to wire my iMac G5 (Panther) into a DSL modem, and also run the DSL into a wireless router that would connect with a wireless card into a PC running Windows Me.
So, the Mac would be hooked up via ethernet, and the pc via wireless.
The goal is to share a DSL connection, and files if it works out (but file sharing is a secondary consideration).
Thank you so much,
Adam
One hitch: I checked out the PC, and it has no ethernet port - so to get it on the wireless network, would I have to get both a network card and a wireless card? Are they one and the same? Or should I go with a USB wireless connector instead?
Thanks again!
Adam
P.S. - And because ATPM is a Mac site, to benefit other readers, it should be noted that Linksys has historically not had much, if any, software available for Macintosh. Many of their products work on a Mac without software, however I'm not sure whether the PC Card adapters would work. Other brands, like Netgear, might have a better offering of Mac drivers.
Unfortunately, we do not receive DSL, but are able to receive high internet cable that I refuse to buy.
I am hoping that DSL will become available in my area.
We presently pay for two dial-up providers.
Should I order the eMac with an Airport extreme card
and can the older Windows 98 PCs and the Dell notebook be networked with the eMac? Thanks for your help.
First, some clarifications. It may not matter too significantly, but there is no such thing as Windows 2000 XP. Either your daugher's Dell has Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
Regarding DSL versus cable, why are you not interested in cable modem service? Is the price point that much different? I had Sprint DSL for a while which was only about $5/month cheaper than cable modem service in this area. I eventually managed to reach a region supervisor on the phone who was willing to acknowledge my concerns that their competitor (Road Runner via Earthlink) offered a little less than double the download speed for only a few dollars more per month (and now, it's nearly three times faster thanks to a recent upgrade). In addition, at the time, using a DSL modem with a Macintosh running OS 9 was a royal pain in the butt. I shared this tidbit, too, and the fact that a cable modem was simply a matter of attaching the ethernet cable and setting networking for DHCP. The supervisor acknowledged all this and, for all intents and purposes, said that Sprint doesn't care. Home DSL is not Sprint's cash cow and they don't feel they have to be competitive.
As for your final question, the eMac is a splendid, low-cost, entry level Macintosh and I've heartily recommended them to numerous people who couldn't put the money into a beefier machine. Once your DSL (or cable!) service is installed, you will want to purchase a wireless router. The router is what you'll attach to the modem's ethernet jack, then you either attach computers via ethernet to the router, or connect to the router wirelessly via a wireless card in the PCs or the AirPort card in the Mac. Once all machines are online, there are various methods for sharing both files and printers between platforms.
If I had my druthers, I'd cancel our cable TV service immediately, but hubby has to have his ESPN and sports fixes every week. This cable company monopoly is costing our family $41.00 a month for just standard or basic cable. There is no way that I'm adding to this company's profit margin by subscribing to high speed cable internet.
You're stating that it's easier to network Macs and PCs with cable than with DSL. Thanks for this info.
You're suggesting that I forget my pride and principle and go with ease, convenience, and a larger monthly bill.
By the way, I've spoken to City Hall, SBC, and my Congressman concerning this issue. One of the clerks at City Hall returned my phone call, mockingly stating that she knew the commnications field and, "You won't be able to get DSL." The Congressman's aide suggested that I subscribe to the cable company's high speed internet service.
I agree with you about the mentality of cable providers. It stinks. But even with their tactics, when they offer me three-megabit downloads versus not even one-megabit on DSL—and when Sprint DSL literally tells me in no uncertain terms that they don't care their service doesn't come close to competing in speed—then the cable service pretty quickly becomes the lesser of two evils.
Your congressman could possibly be correct. You have to be within a certain distance of the digital switching station to use DSL. The further away you are, the slower DSL becomes, thus beyond a certain distance, they just don't offer service because it's little, if any, better than dialup.
Good luck.
I like the eMac because of its looks, portability, and the fact that it takes up less space. I also like the 17" CRT monitor.
Waiting until after the holidays, I'll see if anything changes regarding DSL.
I'm about to buy a mac (G3 or ibook G3) with OS 9.
I have at home a Pc with windows XP pro with a DSL internet connection, and i want to share the internet connection between th mac and pc:
1) is possible? i don't know a lot about netwoking (i'm a programmer)
2) can i have some help, or internet site, or tutorials where i can learn how to do this kind of connection? i need only to share the connection for now, but maybe ibn the future i'll share a laser printer and a scanner (if is possible of course).
Many thanks, i hope someone will help me because i'm really in a hurry to buy a mac.
Here is ATPM/Threemac's page that describes how to set up the configuration. You should note that the diagram shows separate boxes for the router and the hub. Nearly all routers have hubs built-in nowadays. I recommend a Linksys or Netgear router.
So I know that is just a jumble of stuff, but I would love to hear ideas.
Thanks
T.J.
Thanks for your time
please help
The primary purpose is to share internet.
What wireless routers are compatible with both?
What is involved in doing this?
As for what's involved, it's pretty straightforward, as has been previously described elsewhere in the comment on this page. Connect your broadband modem's ethernet cable to the WAN port of the router, then connect to the router (follow the router's manual) to set it up and turn on encryption, if desired.
Any suggestions. If not, I'm planning to return the device.
DSL services are finally starting to connect automatically without the need of special software, but some still require some sort of PPPoE routine. If you would normally have to launch a small application on a computer to activate DSL, the router will have to do this function instead. Almost all routers now have PPPoE routines built-in, so check your manual on how to use it if necessary.
As for the SpeedBooster function, I don't have any information on that feature, but it may require special software or a specific SpeedBooster-enabled network card in your computer. Such software or devices may only be available for Windows. If so, you should still be able to use the normal 802.11g functions of the router which is more than enough for broadband internet. I did just find a note on Linksys' site that says that non-SpeedBooster devices can still derive a benefit from the SpeedBooster technology in the router, just not as much. So that tells me that the technology is specific to the networking card in your computer and not special software.
Thank you very much.
Lucian
PD: Sorry about my english...
What you ought to do...and what makes your network a bit more secure, is to attach the cable modem to the WAN port of a router...not just a hub. In this way, the router becomes the device with the public IP and local (LAN) IP addresses are given to each of your machines connected to the numbered switch ports. To connect to another machine, one has to be running some sort of server protocol, such as FTP or SMB (FTP is probably simpler) then use a client on the other computer to connect and access files.
I have a PC running xp. I have a powerbook g4 with an airport extreme card. I want the PC to be ethernet connected and the mac wireless. Can I use a airport extreme base and use the LAN connection directly to my PC and the wireless function with the MAC? Would this be a nightmare? Does apple provide a simple software, wizard type software, for the PC with xp? I could make the PC wireless, put i prefer not to add another layer of compexity. And finally...i want to share a printer, but this seems impossible from everything i have looked at. Sharing broadband space seems easy enough, but not a printer. And, with a mac, it seems best to go with a mac router.
HELP? i remain clueless.
As for the printer, you may require one of the utilities mentioned in the article, such as PC MacLAN, to get printer sharing to work.
On your Mac go to Sustem Prefs 'File Sharing' Clich on 'Windows Sharing'. Click to start sharing under 'Personal File Sharing On.
Son in theory you should be ready to go or close to it.
You can also connect the two computers using a crossover cable. The Network Configuration on Windows will be slightly different.
You should be able to find your PC in 'Go' 'Network'.
On your PC click in other places there is a little 3 computer network icon with you computers name.
I am a complete novice so if this doesn't work keep trying.
Now if I could only get my Mac to share a printer with my PC.
Here's a helpful site:
http://www.atpm.com/8.02/networking.shtml
Can't help with the "best" PC wireless adapter recommendations, unfortunately, but getting the Mini with the Airport should be easy to set up and use. When you start up the Mini, there's a software program that should step you through connecting to the Airport Base Station. (You can also use the "Network" system preferences panel.)
Ultimately, most PC wireless adapters will work with your Airport Base Station. It'll probably be a matter of configuring them to use the right password, which their instructions should tell you how to do.
Matthew
You do not need MacLan.
BTW, if you have trouble signing on to the network from the Mac, sign on with one of the passwords of the PC. I had the same trouble.
It sounds like a problem with the router. Have you tried a different router, made sure you have the latest firmware, checked the manufacturer's Web site for support forums, etc.? I really doubt it's an issue with either one of the computers.
Michael --
All you'll need to do is plug the iMac into the router and then make sure the network settings are right. This probably means simply going to the TCP/IP control panel and ensuring it's set to DHCP. Configuration in that control panel is very similar to how Windows configures its network settings, so you should be good to go from there.
cl
A fine question. There are different measures of speed for the Internet, though. If you're thinking of uploads or downloads, what a browser reports as the speed isn't always accurate. Try MenuMeters (from VersionTracker.com) to show ongoing network transmission speed. If you're thinking of how fast a page is rendered by the browser, that'll be more a function of the browser and your system CPU--web browsing can be very CPU-intensive work.
Matthew
thanks
scarlett
I am new to networking, but I am wondering what I would need (and how to connect) to set up a wireless network between these two. I would like to access the internet as well as share files, scanner and printers (all are connected to PC).
Thank you
That said, there may be a way to set up Windows Internet Connection Sharing to do this, but you'll have to consult a Windows forum for instructions since ATPM only offers Macintosh support. Also, Windows XP Home may not even be able to share Internet connections. It may require XP Pro.
I can connect with my XP laptop
I cannot connect with my windows 2000 laptop. I have the wireless linksys card model wgpc54gs with speedbooster (802.11b/g) card.
I need it to work with the Airport Extreme. I install the driver for the linksys wireless card but it is still not working.
I like to know if there is a third-party or else to make this work together with Windows 2000 Laptop.
Navtej - there is no such thing as Mac-compatible ISPs or routers. There may be Mac-friendly ISPs and routers, but all of them should be compatible. (And P.S. - It's a Mac you're thinking of buying. MAC in all caps refers to ethernet hardware addresses :-)
Sincerely,
nathan
But if you can use an ethernet cable instead of USB, then you should be good to go. However, you should also note that the AirPort Express has no second ethernet jack to attach devices physically. All devices that get connectivity through an AirPort Express must do so wirelessly. If you must have a device attach physically with an ethernet cable, consider the full-size AirPort Extreme or a third-party wireless router.
Thanks,
Larry
Thanks. I'll check tonight. BTW, I did come across two models that have drivers for OS9 with older models of adapters--one from Macsense and another from Belkin. But if I indeed have an AirPort card, that makes the most sense to me!
Thanks again,
Larry
notebook. Can I run wireless with the apple using my current linksys access point? If so, how?
Thanks
Thanks
Rick - indeed it should. Note that most routers can even handle as many as 250 or more devices.
I'd tried unsuccessfully to add my Mac G4, running system 9.2 with an original AirPort Card (802.11b), to this Belkin wireless network. The Mac AirPort card sees the network but give me an "Incorrect Password" error message when I try to log on. The AirPort card uses the TCP/IP settings and I been unable to find any place to set the encryption method, which I assume is the problem.
First Question: Is there any way to to get my currently configured Mac to log on to the Belkin wireless network?
Second Question: Will the Belkin Wireless Pre-N Desktop Network Card - F5D8000 work in my Mac G4? I'm assuming, that if it worked, it would solve my problem.
Our article about wi-fi encryption may be of help if the router is using WEP encryption.
As for using the Belkin card—possibly, but no guarantees. It depends on whether there are Macintosh drivers for it. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of Mac drivers for third-party wireless cards.
I couldn't find specific Mac information about the F5D8000 but on Amazon's page selling the F5D7000, user comments stated that it worked for them with OS X's native drivers, but that a later revision of the same card no longer worked.
The fact that you're still using OS 9 is your biggest hinderance. If there never were OS 9-compatible drivers before, there never will be. Is there any reason for not running OS X?
my battery state 1ghz g4/15.2/1024/60gb/combo
/56k/airport. Thus I assume there is an airport card installed. However, I can't physically find one, and I get no recognition from the apple itself? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Please advise how I can connect a Mac mini to iMac G3 (dome shaped) sharing same monitor and keyboard. I also have a PC and PowerMac 7500 and 2 printers networked through an ethernet router using cable modem and all are working fine. I have purchased IOGEAR 2 port USB KVM switch, but do not find a VGA port on my iMac to connect the console.
Kindly provide your expert solution. Thanking you, Phil.
Thanks in advance and anyone who is interested I can try to provide more info.
J Kerry
Try this Microsoft support page for troubleshooting wireless connections. The only other information we can provide is that in the part that refers to Wireless Networks or the SSID, that would be the broadcast name that you hopefully customized on your Base Station. If it's broadcasting the name, the interface in Windows described in the page I linked to above should see it as an access point you can connect to.
This is where things confuse me. I've been using my WinXP laptop to test the connection, and so long as the Mac is plugged into port 1, my laptop gets no internet. I have to unplug the Mac and reboot the modem. Then, my laptop can use the internet. So, I plug the Mac back in, and it doesn't work. I have to once again reboot the modem, and then the Mac works, while the laptop does not.
I'm completely at the end of my rope here; I've never networked Mac and PC together before, and the rather outdated hardware and software isn't helping me at all. Any advice would be greately appreciated.
A router performs the job of managing the one IP address your modem gives you and operating its own internal network for all the computers attached to the router which, in addition to the router functions, also operates as a switch, assuming you acquire a typical router that has a built-in switched hub.
As far as a little more on the router not working, it first off came with software (which should never be necessary) that was PC only - the Mac couldn't read it. I entered all the info into the software PC side of the connection, and it just couldn't connect to the internet. I tried to connect to the modem, but it just wasn't there; the router was blocking it.
The only way I've ever managed to sucessfully share internet over computers before has been through a switch. It just doesn't work when the modem is 192.168.0.1 and the router tries to be that too, then defaults to either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.2 instead. In that case, I always end up being able to connect to only the router, and the modem just doesn't exist on the network.
What internet service are you using? I've never known of any instance where a customer gets a 192.168.x.1 address. Those are generally always internal IP addresses aren't aren't dished out by the ISP. With just one working machine hooked up, go to ipchicken.com and determine what your real outside IP address is.
You're connecting the modem to the router's WAN port and not the uplink port, right?
Is your router doing DHCP, or is it passing DHCP from the DSL/Cable modem? Some ISPs are notorious for allowing precisely 1 IP address per end-user. You may wish to setup DHCP and NAT on your router to prevent this sort of thing.
Barring that, you may wish to contact (I'm assuming here, but given the model...) Dlink.
Tom
As far as my aunt, she's got an old Comcast Cable modem. When the router didn't work from the get-go, the first thing I tried was connecting to 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.1, but neither one worked.
What I'm concerned about is Windows 98's configuration. It's demanding more information than I'm able to pull from the Mac, and the info from Comcast just doesn't cut it. That's why a switch seemed the most logical to me, because they've been plug-and-play in my experience; no configuration required. Unfortunately, I've never had to work on anything older than Win2k and OS X.
CABLE wire -> Cable Modem ->ETHERNET cable ->Router ->ETHERNET cable ->Mac/PC
Your Router should be configured to do DHCP/NAT so that all the users share a single public IP (65.xx.xx.xx for example), but have different internal IPs (192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x). If you're NOT enabling DHCP/NAT, you're going to be stuck with one working computer at a time.
Per the Windows 98 issue, I'm sorry, we don't troubleshoot Windows here. This is a Mac site after all ;)
Background: Like Steve, I've also recently purchased D-Link's DI-524 router, but for my G4 and G5 computers. On my G4 I'm running OS 10.4; the G5 is 10.4.3. I have Charter Media as my ISP. I have contacted all relevant companies (including Mac) and no one was able to fix the problem....
Problem: When both computers are plugged into the router, neither will connect to the internet. The G5 will work by itself through the router, but the G4 won't even do that. The G4 does work if it's plugged directly into the modem, though. If I run the G5 by itself first, then plug in the G4, I lose internet access altogether (not that the G4 has even successfully run through the router).
All wires seem to be fully operational (I've tested everything through the G5). I turned on AppleShare and turned of WEP (per the mac guy's suggestions). I also have a PC and laser printer I'd like to hook up, too, but if I can't even get my macs to work...I'm completely at a loss! Help!
Personally, Netgear and Linksys routers are my favorites, but there are other perfectly acceptable brands.
My guess is that somehow somewhere you have aquired what is called a "Cross over cable". Looks exactly like an RJ-45 Ethernet cable. They fit into the same ports on the computer. Some computers are even smart enough to handle the Cross over. However, this type of cable is intended for a PC to PC direct connection. Which explains why your G4 can work when connected directly to the Cable modem, but not in the router.
My suggestion is to dump your ethernet cables all of them, and go to walmart and pick up the cheapest ones you can find. IF this does not solve the problem, upgrade your G4 to 10.4.3 if I remember correctly, the upgrades are free from 10.4 to 10.4.3.
You mentioned WEP are you networking with wires or wirelessly? If your trying to do both, you may be creating a bridge (BAD).
Good luck!
Thank you.
Thanks
I managed to connect both my iMAC and my laptop PC to the internet via a Netgear router and a Linksys modem. However, I would like to share with my PC my music files which are on my MAC. Unfortunately my PC refuses to connect with the MAC, even when I use the IP adress provided by the MAC's personal file sharing settings. Is there a solution?
Thank you very much in advance
Of course, if your music is in iTunes, you can avoid a lot of this by simply turning on the option to share your music in the copy of iTunes where all the music is stored, then any other computer in your LAN can launch iTunes and "see" that shared library and stream it (not copy it) to be played on those machines.
As for how to set up the router, we recommend following the guide that is included with the router. Skip the part about using the software CD unless you want to configure it from your PC. If you use the web interface instead, the manual should have your step-by-step instructions. I can also tell you that for Time Warner's RoadRunner service, many broadband routers will work right out of the box with zero configuration on the router and just being sure your computers are set to get network information automatically (via DHCP). You only need to configure it to change the router login password (highly recommended) and to configure wireless protection (also recommended).
If you want a recommendation, I can assure you that routers such as the Linksys WRT54G or the Netgear WGR614 will work fine with Macs.
Also this a really good website for novice MAC users!So far u guys have been the MOST informative!!!!!
Secondly, the questions themselves: I've joined the dark side, and just bought a PC to supplement the iBook that I share with my fiancée. I crudely unplugged the broadband modem cable from the Mac, and plugged it into the PC - with no configuring at all, it worked just fine. Unfortunately, this patented unplug-and-plug technique did not work in reverse, and now my wedding is in jeopardy as my better half can't access the internet from the Mac (we keep getting a "Specified server cannot be found" error message). Any ideas what might be causing this, and whether it might interfere with my plan to set up a router to avoid having to unplug / replug all the time? Also, I note comments above about not being able to share a printer between PCs and Mac without additional software - assuming that my router's (included) printer-sharing function is adequate, and assuming that we would never be queueing jobs to the printer from both computers at the same time (or even have both computers switched on at the same time), would I still need additional software?
Many, many thanks in advance - remember: there's a marriage at stake here!
1) Network settings, unless they're provided automatically via DHCP
2) Encryption key (if used) which will work the same regardless the platform.
3) Your wireless card address IF the school is filtering for only certain machines to be able to connect. These addresses are the same, regardless the platform.
If your school tells you that the wi-fi won't work on a Mac, they're probably either full of it, or specifically did something out of their way to prevent it—which is the most stupid thing ever. Fine, they may not _support_ Macs, but that doesn't mean they won't connect. They just won't help you if you have problems.
I don't want to buy a program especially for that reason.
Please help me. Thanx,
P.E.
Printers should be less of a problem. The Apple that a printer is attached to should have printer sharing turned on in the Sharing preference pane.
Whenever we try to connect to the roommate wireless network, by typing in the password to the network, we keep getting a message that says the password needs to be 5 - 10 characters, (it is 9), but it also talks about bits, and ascii requirements also.
When we use the PC laptop at the hotel, it hooks up immediately, so I know it is working.
Is there some type of difference in the password typed on a PC being translated to the MAC's network?
Many thanks, and you have a great service!
I just moved back home with my parents and they have AOL powered by Verizon and its DSL(actiontec modem). There are three PCs hooked up to the Belkin router and all are able to access the internet.
I have an older MAC G4 from 2000 which is located upstairs in my room... far away from the router so a wired connection would not be convenient.
Before I moved out I had my computer connected to the router with an ethernet cable and was able to get online... so I know that I am able to get online through a wired connection.
I want to be able to access the internet from upstairs in my room. I do not care if I am not able to share files or printers.. I just want to be able to use the internet on my computer. Is there a way this can be done??? Please help!
Thanks!
Here is what I did and it worked on my Sony.
I have an Airport Express with two macs on the network and a printer. The Macs are an ibook G4 1.2 and an Intel iMac.
Anyway, my Sony tower is a few years old,but is fully upgraded. I don't have a wireless network card,but I do have a wireless USB adapter. It's a third party adapter that I bought at Compusa two or three years ago on sale. It works great.
Bootup the PC and then right click the wireless (adapter in my case) software on the menu bar.
Select refresh or find available networks then select the SSID you want to join.
Once the "Current Network Info." appears then click "More Settings".
Under "More Settings" in the wireless Lan configuration window-
for 'TX Rate" choose "Auto",
for SSID choose "(your preferred network)",
for Network Type choose "Infrastructure",
for Encryption choose "WEP",
for Authentication Mode choose "Shared Key"
then click the "apply" button
click "WEP encryption key setting"
*enter "WEP" password which is a 128 Hex Key in the WEP Encryption key setting on just one line. There may be half a dozen lines, but only one has to have the passkey. See the starred * section below!!!!
After you get the Password/Hexkey from the Mac(see below) and have it entered on the PC, then UNCHECK the box "The key is provided via 802.1x authentication.
Then Click Apply.
---Note that I have XP Pro SP2 on my PC
*Now here is the trick. You get the code key from your Mac. You can't just enter your standard worded password like you do on the Mac. The PC wont understand it, so what you MUST do is set up your Macs on the network First. I only have the Express,but I suspect that the Extreme is the same.
Once you have set up your Macs with their passwords accepted and have them fully functioning on the internet,
then on one of your Macs click the Apple, then System Preferences, then click Network, on the Network page click Airport, then double click Airport tab.
Where is says, "By default join-" Make sure you click the up/down arrow until it shows "Preferred Networks"
Then in the window below "Preferred Networks" it should show a full list of networks that you can join and yours should be listed.
Double click on the the name of your network and a drop down window should appear.
Once it does then you should see your network name and the 'secret' password you used to Protect your network.
Under that password there is a small blank box and beside it says "SHOW PASSWORD" Click THE BOX. (This is what appears on OS 10.4.9)
It will show you the full hexadecimal key that you need to enter into your PC for a network password.
DO NOT use the money sign at the beginning of the password. The password will not work with it included on the PC.
I hope this helps you and others. I spent a while figuring this out and it works for me.
Let me know if you need further help.
U will need to activate ftp access on ur Mac by going to, this is the pATHWAY
SYSTEM PREFRENCES - INTERNET and NETWORKS - SHARING FOLDER.
Tick FTP Access.
I also noticed here all along was the WINDOWS SHARING!!! Option. this enables you to access your mac from a browser by typing in you ip address\username. easy u can transfer and use
files. hence
Tick Windows Sharing
Tick Personal File Sharing
Using windows sharing i was able to play movies and music from the Mac on my PC.
Can't figure out how to access my pc from my
Mac still though!
I have a Linksys wag54gs and had similar problems until I switched the wireless network from channel 13. It appears that XP cannot address the higher numbered channels so try switching the wireless network to channel 9 or lower.
I've had this issue before. Usually, what's going on is that Windows generally won't see any network file-sharing enabled computers that are not using the same workgroup. By default, that's (usually) MSHOME or WORKGROUP, depending on the various and sundry versions of Windows which have come with different defaults over the years. I think Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, and ME all came with MSHOME, and Windows NT 4, 2000 and XP are WORKGROUP. Yes, it's that stupid.
In order to make all of my Macs and PCs talk to each other, I've long used a prefpane called SharePoints to change the default workgroup in OS X to whatever the PCs use. (I have absolutely no recollection of where this is in Windows.) In Leopard, it's actually user configurable without needing any additional tools: in the Network preference pane, the WINS tab under Advanced settings allows you to set your Mac's workgroup. Pre-10.5, you need the donationware SharePoints preference pane.
Without changing that, you'd have to manually specify the workgroup when you connect to a new server, or change workgroups. For a network of home computers, you're better off just making them all use the same workgroup setting.
The other possibility is that you don't have SMB file sharing enabled on your Macs. That would be one reason they can't talk to each other, since they aren't serving any files. But it sounds like you're past that.
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