[willed]

Would have searched but keep getting 'fatal error' when trying to. How do I link an XP machine to a Mac via ethernet crossover cable. Just want to move large files from the Mac to the PC.

Cheers!

[theolein]

You shouldn't use a crossover cable, just a normal straight one.

[stevesnj]

Originally posted by willed:
Would have searched but keep getting 'fatal error' when trying to. How do I link an XP machine to a Mac via ethernet crossover cable. Just want to move large files from the Mac to the PC.

Cheers!

Depends if the Mac is Gigabit Ethernet if it isn't the Xp machine has to be. If both aren't then I believe you do need a crossover

[bartman00]

Err.. wrong. Saying the mac has to be a gigabit ethernet machine is flat out wrong. iBooks have been doing the auto sencing thing for years and just because you have a giga card in your pc dosn't meen it will do it ether.

If you have a cross over cable just plug the damn thing in and it'll work. If you don't and you have a newer mac plugging in a regular patch cable will work... just give it a try. Ya shouldn't have to set up IP addresses.. it will auto negociate.

theoleinv: and why "shouldn't" you use a cross over cable.. this is exactly what they are met for. patching 2 computers with out a hub, or patching 2 hubs together.

Bart

[Tsilou B.]

What "fatal error" do you get?

You have to assign a manual IP to both computers, e.g. 192.168.0.2 for the PC and 192.168.0.3 for the Mac. The subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0 on both computers.
You can then look if the connection works. To do that, open the Terminal on the Mac or the Command Prompt on the PC and type "ping -c 4 192.168.0.2" (on the Mac) or "ping 192.168.0.3" (on the PC). After some time, you will get a message like:

4 packets transmitted, 4 packets received, 0% packet loss

or if the connection doesn't work:

4 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss


When the connection doesn't work, maybe the cable is defective.

P.S.: Of course you can use a cross-over cable, even if you should have that auto-sensing which makes cross-over cables unnecessary.