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I have a Mac running Mountain Lion and a Windows computer running Vista Basic. I would like to be able to access all the files on my mac or at least the desktop from the Windows computer. it has to be over a wireless network.

I can access the PC from the Mac but not the Mac from the PC. My mac just does not show up in the Network Devices window on the PC nor in the Network Map. My PC seems to not be aware of my Mac although it is on the same wireless network.

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Gerhard Tinned
2013-01-22 19:13:33
Beside Windows File sharing, ... MacOSX supports FTP as well. The integrated FTP server could be used to transfer files! :-)
Gerhard Tinned
2013-01-21 11:12:49
Alternative to the windows file sharing service ... a little geeky but it works ... you can boot your Mac into the "Target mode" Where the Mac acts like a external firewire disk. So if your PC has a firewire socket as well, ... you can just connect them together. Then you only need a tool to read the Mac's partition format (Like HFS+ for Windows ... http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/).
Sas
2013-01-21 20:37:25
Oh thanks did not remember firewire. Sadly my PC does not have firewire. I have not seen any PC that does. So until I find an adapter i can not d that.
Gerhard Tinned
2013-01-22 17:49:39
PLEASE DONT !!! Please do yourself a favor. If you find a adapter for USB to Firewire ... NEVER EVER EVEN THINK OF BUYING OR USING IT !!! I did not think about it and bought one at one of these cheap supermarkets. Turned out to be a fake that completely burned down the Firewire device!! It was a Medion USB adapter set. But it was only re-branded from Chiligreen. And then i found out it wasn't even that. Chilligreen themselves bought them from another company and re-branded it. To sum it up, ... The companies don't care about it. They sell it even if such a passive adapter is impossible to build and will destroy one or even both devices!!!
Gerhard Tinned
2013-01-21 11:07:39
Might be a little far away, but have you enabled the file sharing on the mac?? If this is not enabled the mac sometimes do not show up at all in the list under windows.As well there are some firewall tools out there for Mac. Make sure you did not block anything. One firewall tool that i know of is WaterRoof. As well MacOSX has a firewall. It should in theory not block services you enable, but it is worth checking. It is under "Security & Privacy".I hope that helps! :-)
Jan Fritsch
2013-01-17 10:27:12
This article should clear up all problems.http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-easily-share-files-across-mac-windows-computers/If you still can't seem to find the Mac just lookup the IP assigned to it (within System Preferences > Network) and connect from Windows using \\
Sashritha Peiris
2013-01-18 07:26:55
Thanks Jan but I have tried this already and it is driving me crazy. The stupid windows thing can't detect my mac at all. I even tried running a simple webserver using the python command using terminal on my local network and the windows can't even detedct that. Thanks anyway.
ha14
2013-01-17 10:16:31
use the name of the computer (do not include hyphen) rather than the ipyour router uses dhcp so the mac could have a different ip every time its turned onFile Sharing Mac OS X Lion and PC Windows 7 http://www.trickyways.com/2011/07/file-sharing-mac-os-x-lion-and-pc-windows-7/How to Setup VNC on Mac OS Xhttp://www.wikihow.com/Setup-VNC-on-Mac-OS-X
SAURAV AZAD
2013-01-17 07:10:05
go to the link it might be helpfulhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT1568
SAURAV AZAD
2013-01-17 07:07:57
please follow the link http://goo.gl/FkorX
Paul Pruitt
2013-01-17 02:44:41
Well you can always try TeamViewer, see http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/mac.aspx, and remotely see the desktop and control the Mac from the PC. In my experience also, file transfers over TeamViewer connections is extremely quick.If this is for non-commercial purposes, it is free. It will also work with Linux and mobile OSes too.
Sashritha Peiris
2013-01-17 04:35:52
Thanks for the tip Paul. I knew about TeamViewer and will try it out. It seems you are Number 2 on the Top Geniuses this week
Rajaa Chowdhury
2013-01-17 01:40:27
Checkout this article, maybe it may help you : http://www.techrepublic.com/article/10-things-you-should-know-about-connecting-macintosh-os-x-systems-to-windows-networks/6127492
Sashritha Peiris
2013-01-17 04:38:53
Thanks for the tip, I have tryied it out but the website seems a bit old.