Networking with my mini

Hello people, if I am in the wrong forum please forgive me. I have a mac mini (1.83 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM, OS X 10.5.5) linked to a 500 gig acomodata mini pal external drive and a 320 gig hard drive in an enclosure. I now use this as my main computer, i have a windows xp pro pc that I use as a back up and to do my windows stuff. I am networked with an apple airport extreme I would like to know if there is a program or a way that i can see and edit or use my windows pc files from my mac mini? I a new to mac and pretty knowledgeable with win xp pro. I will be adding a nas drive in the near future but until then i dont want to have to go up and down the stairs to do the things i want to do, and yes i know about parallels and the other progs out there I have parallels 3.0 but I didnt like the way it ran on my mini or maybe i didnt tweek it enough but it just didnt do it for me, i want to wait until i get my iMac i feel it will work better on that machine because it is more powerful. Thank you for reading

I have UltraVNC running on my Windows box. When you install it, there is an option to automatically install the server service, which I did.

From my Mac, I use Chicken of the VNC which allows me to "remote desktop" into my windows PC from my Mac.

I also run Vine Server on my Mac (I have a Mac Mini and an eMac and run this on both). From my windows box, I use RealVNC which allows me to "remote desktop" into my Mac from the windows PC.

I have port forwarding set up in my router and static IP's for my Mac's and PC's and each on a different port. Things work great. Not that I would have a reason to, but, I can actually remote from my Windows laptop into one of my Mac's and then into my Windows PC in the basement, all because of these VNC programs.

email

thanks for your info, if you dont mind would your email me info on how to use the programs you are talking about? and links to download the software? thanks for your help

percyg23

Chicken of the VNC: <--- Use this on the Mac to connect to a Win Box.

SourceForge.net: Files

Vine Server: <--- This always runs on the Mac.

SourceForge.net: osxvnc Project: Platform Download

UltraVNC: <--- Use this on the Windows box.

DOWNLOAD UltraVNC: Remote Support Software, Remote Support tool,Remote Desktop Control, Remote Access Software, PC Remote Control

RealVNC: <--- Run this from Windows to connect to Vine Server on the Mac.

RealVNC - RealVNC remote control software

I started with UltraVNC. This runs on your Windows box. Default port is 5900. You will want to set a password. I don't use anything special on the setup.

You will want to set static IP's on your machines unless you want to keep track of things each time you reboot your router!

I set Vine Server to start each time I start my Mac. I would set the port as 5902. Once you have this running on your Mac, you just leave it running. It will run in the background.

From your Windows box, you run RealVNC Viewer. A box will pop up, and you type the IP of the Mac with a : and the port# that you set in Vine Server.

You will want to make sure you set passwords in these because with these servers running, it is possible if you know your outside IP to connect to these boxes from an external location. This is not something to worry about, because unless someone knows what port you are running this stuff on, and your password, they will not be able to connect.

I have been running these things for over a year and have never had any trouble. In fact, if you set up an account on dyndns.org you can easily connect over the internet to your boxes at home. This is like a FREE version of Go To My PC!

If you PM me, I can provide further help like via e-mail with screen shots and the like. Once you get this working it is very nice to be able to do things between boxes.

you are good!!!

thanks for the information i am going to get it all set up probably on thursday of this week if i encounter problems i will contact you via this thread. you are very helpful and i appreciate it very much!!! it sounds like if i run this software i wont need to get a nas drive, because i can connect to my mac and win boxes over the internet? this is great!! i will let you know about my results

percyg23

I just discovered that UltraVNC on Windows will connect to the Vine Server on the Mac.

When I first installed these programs, UVNC would not connect to the Mac which is why I used RealVNC. I guess since the last update to UltraVNC, it can connect now.

Just thought I would post here and let you know.

alright,
about 9 months ago Macworld magazine posted a small article in the back of the magazine that said with 10.5 you can network OS X with windows. just search "macworld OS 10.5 and windows network" and see if that article comes up in their archives, because i dont know the specifics, but i know the basics. post another reply if you have any questions.