What you describe should be entirely possible - certainly the fact
that the iTunes libraries are shared is a good sign that the computers
are able to communicate with each other.
Please note: the instructions I have here are assuming that you have
Windows XP and Mac OS X Tiger - though they should be similar for
other versions (albeit with a few oddities for some versions).
First of all you can just double check that file sharing is properly
enabled for both computers.
For the Windows computer:
Open My Computer.
Navigate to the folder or drive that you want to share and then right
click on it. Select Sharing and Security.
You may need to click to confirm that you definitely want to share if
you are sharing a drive.
Click to tell Windows you don't want to use the Wizard.
Tick the box to confirm you want to share and enter a name (such as C
or documents). If you want to tick to allow changes to files.
If you want to share anything within the Documents and Settings,
Program Files, or the WINDOWS folders you will need to enable sharing
for these folders or subfolders seperately (in the same way described
here).
Please note: I am assuming you have simple file sharing enabled here.
This is the default option on Windows XP Professional and the only
available option on Windows XP Home.
One last thing you may want to do is ensure that your user has a
password, even a very simple one. The reason for this is that Windows
does not allow full sharing unless the password is not blank.
For the mac:
Open System Preferences and click Sharing.
Tick Windows Sharing at the left. Be sure then to click Accounts and
tick your user account. You will be asked to enter your password.
Note at the bottom of the screen a note telling you that Windows users
can access your machine at a certain address - note this down.
You should now be able to access files my going into My Network Places
on the Windows computer and then selecting View Workgroup computers at
the left. The Mac should be visible. Double clicking this should cause
Windows to prompt for the Mac's username and password. Enter the exact
username and password which of the user for whom you enabled sharing
before on the Mac, keeping letter case in mind. You should see your
Mac's files and be able to work with them.
From the Mac ensure the Finder is selected and then from the menu bar
select Go -> Network. You should see the name of the Windows computer
in the list. The Mac will prompt you for the user name and password.
Be sure to enter both of these exactly correct - the Mac may suggest a
user name that won't neccessarily be correct. Assuming this is done
right the Mac may ask you to select which share you want (this was
named when you set up Windows file sharing). Now you should see the
files.
If the methods above fail you can also try to force them to see each
other - though this is a little trickier:
To access you Mac's files from the Windows machine click Start -> Run
then enter the address for your Mac. For example it might be something
like '\\192.168.0.10'. Entering this (without quotes and the correct
IP address) should cause Windows to prompt to for the Mac's username
and password.
To see the Windows files from the Mac, first make sure the Finder is
in focus. Then go to the top menu bar and select Go -> Connect to
Server. Enter 'smb://<IP address>' where <IP address> is your Windows
computer's IP address. (The smb:// part tells the mac you want to
connect to a Windows computer). The Mac will prompt you for the user
name and password.
If you need to see these IP addresses at a later stage, on the Mac go
back into Sharing under System Preferences to check. On the Windows
computer double click the Wireless icon in the task bar, then click
the Support tab.
Now the printer.
First make sure you have set up the printer for sharing on the Mac.
You can do this by going into Print & Fax within System Preferences.
On the sharing tab, ensure that sharing is enabled both for the
computer and for the printer you want to share.
From Windows, navigate back to the mac by entering the \\<IP> location
into the Run dialog. Double click the Printers and Faxes folder in
this new window.
You should see the printer that you shared from the Mac. Right click
on it and select Connect. Windows should prompt you to use a driver
because the Mac won't be able to supply Windows with a suitable
driver. Important here, do not select the actual model of the printer!
Instead select either an Apple Color Laserwriter (any model) if you
have a colour printer or an Apple Laserwriter (any model) if you have
a black and white printer. Finish by giving the printer an appropriate
name. Telling Windows that this is an Apple printer ensures that
Windows will communicate with the Mac in a printer language which it
understands, namely PostScript.
Whew! That should do it.
One last point to note about security. One thing you definitely don't
want is for other people to be able to access your files or printers.
You probably don't have to worry about access being granted from the
internet because your wireless modem should block any inbound
connection requests. However if your wireless access point is
unsecured then anyone will be able to connect to your network, have
the access point assign them an IP address and then log onto your
workstation or print to your printer. Please ensure your access point
is secure, preferably with WPA security if you have it available. |
