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Networking FAQ's

Index

1. How do I set up a wireless network?
2. How do I connect my Mac to another machine to transfer files?
3. What can I do if I have trouble connecting to my wireless network?
4. How do I connect to a PC from my Mac?

1. How do I set up a wireless network?

Depending on the school, you may not be able to connect your computer to the network to access the internet, or to use iChat or other collaborative software. Fortunately, if you have more than one laptop in your room, you can use the wireless capabilities of your Mac laptop to create a temporary wireless network. This will allow you to use iChat with your students without giving them access to the internet. To create a new network, click on the wireless signal icon, then choose Create Network from the pulldown menu. Give your new network a name in the dialog box that opens, then click on OK. You also have the option of creating a password for your network (by clicking on Show Options in the dialog box) but this is not usually necessary. After you connect, the wireless signal icon will change in appearance to show you that you are connected to a computer-to-computer network. Once you are finished your activity and no longer need to use the network you created, click on the wireless signal icon and select Disconnect from Current Network.

Wireless Signal Icon

Wireless Signal Icon (when connected to a computer-to-computer network)

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2. How do I connect my Mac to another machine to transfer files?

Using the FireWire cable that comes with your iSight camera, you can connect your laptop to another laptop to transfer files. To do this, you will need to boot one of the laptops in Target mode by rebooting that system and holding down the T key while it reboots. The screen on that laptop will show the FireWire icon to let you know it is in Target mode. This is an easy and fast way to transfer files.

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3. What can I do if I am having trouble connecting to my wireless network?

One of the reasons you may be having trouble has to do with your password. If your network is not accepting your password, you may have to add a $ before the password if it is a hexadecimal password (Example: $1234abcdef) or double quotes around the whole password if it is set to ASCII (Example: "pwd1234"). For more information on this issue, you can visit this page on the Apple website. (Tip submitted by Erica Whiteman).

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4. How do I connect to a PC from my Mac?

Before you can connect to your Windows PC you must know some information about how your PC is set up. First, you must find out what IP address your computer has been assigned. The easiest way to do this is by going to Start > Run and typing cmd, then ipconfig /all. This will show you your computer's unique IP address which you will need to know to connect from a Mac.

Two things need to be configured on the PC to make sharing with a Mac possible:

1. File and Printer Sharing must be enabled: go to the Control Panel (Start > Control Panel) and then click on Network Connections. Right click on your network connection and select Properties. Make sure there is a checkmark next to File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. If you do not see this as an option, you may have to install this Windows component. First click on Install, then select Service, and check File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. You may need to insert your Windows XP CD to install this component.
   
   
2. The account you will use to connect to the Windows machine should have a password: go to the Control Panel, then click on User Accounts. Select the user account you will be using to connect to the Windows machine at the bottom of the window, then choose Create a Password.

Once you have configured these two options you must share a folder on the PC as follows:

1. Right click on the folder to be shared and select Sharing and Security...
   
   
2. Click on the Sharing tab.
   
   
3. Select Share this folder on the network (or just Share this folder if you are not using Simple File Sharing).
   
   
4. Click on Apply, then OK.

To connect to the Windows machine, choose Finder > Go > Connect to Server. Then type in the IP address of your Windows machine in the following format: smb://ipaddressof PC and click on Connect. A window will pop up where you can choose a Windows share. Select one of the shares from the pulldown menu and click on OK. You will then have to enter the user name for an account on the Windows machine and the password for that account and click on OK. The shared folder will then be mounted on your Mac desktop. It should open up in a Finder window automatically.

To connect to your Mac from a PC, you must know the short version of your user name and have Windows Sharing enabled. Choose System Preferences > Sharing and make sure a check mark appears next to Windows Sharing. If it is not already started, click on the Start button to enable Windows Sharing. You will then see the address you need to use to connect to your Mac from a PC at the bottom of the Sharing window. You can then open up an Explorer window on the PC and type the address to see your Mac share (the address is in the format: \\ipaddressofMac\shortusername). You will be asked for the short version of your user name and your password before you are allowed to connect. The home folder for the user name you used will then be displayed in the Explorer window.

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