April 05, 2005

Curious, George: Wirelessly connecting a Mac and PC Help my PowerBook and ThinkPad to become friends.

I have a PowerBook G4 with an Airport card, but no Airport base station. Work has recently given me an IBM ThinkPad to love and to cherish. Is there any way for me to connect the two together using the Mac to create a wireless network? This only came to mind when I noticed that under the Airport menu, there is a 'create wireless network' option. But while the PC was happy to find it, I couldn't persuade it to connect. Obviously, I don't know much about networking, so any information, general or otherwise, is welcome! Thanks in advance you krazy kids.

posted by Dawson 19 years ago
  • In your Pbooks network preferences enable appletalk. I know there is no reason why to do this with connecting to a pc, but it solved a similar problem for me. You also should enable windows filesharing in your sharing preferences.
  • Be sure to enable file sharing on the mac as well. You'll also need to indicate which folders/files you would like to share (on the mac, select the folder and go to "get info" under the file menu at the top of your screen, there should be a "sharing" choice there (looks different for different versions of the os)). You'll probably have to do the same for folders on the PC, but you'll need a pc type to tell you how to do that, I don't have a clue! Once you've made these kind of changes, sometimes a restart is necessary... like chicken soup...can't hurt..
  • on the mac, you also need to tell it the name of the workgroup that the peecee is on. you do this in applications->utilities->directory access under the smb settings. (smb is short for samba, which is of course, windows networking protocol) good luck trying this if the XP install isn't the full "professional" or whatever they call it. in my old house, it was my mac, an XP pro roommate, and an XP consumer roommate. the XP pro worked ok, the other one couldn't ever find my mac, but i could get to it...
  • First, buy a $30-50 router. It gets much easier with a wireless router. Second MacWindows: the Web Site for Macintosh-Windows Integration
  • Great, thanks guys! Will try again once I'm released from the day job.
  • Pfft. "Mac"? "Windows"? You people are all nazi sellout losers whose computers are powered by the blood of innocent little baby kittens. My abacus NEVER needs "wires" - and need I remind you all what the wire fences of Auschwitz were made of? Eh? God I hate you evil bastards.
  • Abacus? Think of the bones of Chinese children as you flick your little beads back and forth, you heartless ass! Fingers all the way, bitches!
  • Fingers?!? The same ones that closed in vice-like grip around the slender throat of the innocent, murdered children of the second Crusade?!? I contemplate the platonic forms directly, evil-doer.
  • Plato ate Persian babies, I suppose you're contemplating that too, you sick bastard.
  • Ooh! You can talk! I suppose you prefer Aristotle - who taught Alexander "the Great" how to rampage throughout the world killing thousands and naming cities after himself but spelling them wrong! Typical behaviour for a homicidal maniac like yourself.
  • Oh, how you project your own sick fantasies onto others. I'm sure you secretly harbor aristotelian views of cosmological order as well! Does your OCD know no bounds, sir?
  • Ah-ha! I know thy heresies, trickster! Your selfish epicurianisms hold for naught here - begone, and seek your sensuous pleasures elsewhere, no doubt by sucking the life-juices from frightened children as they cower in terror at the sight your foul, vomit-soaked operating system.
  • sorry: "epicureanisms". You infamous cad.
  • Cad? CAD??? Surely you jest! But now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit peckish...
  • Me too. I'll go you halves on a preterm neonate - small, but deliciously tender.