[Eyenovation]

I realize this has probably been covered numerous times, but it's not possible to do a search here.

PC is less than 3 characters and I don't see anything on the first few pages.

I have a PC and a Mac (Obviously) running WinXP and Jaguar respectively. I spoke to a genius at the 'Genius Bar' in the Mac store, but he just confirmed my lack of intelligence.

He basically said I could network them using a Broadband Cable Router? Does that sound right? According to him, I need to plug them both into the router (which they are), and turn on file sharing on each. He said that DHCP would take care of everything.

I don't see any simple way to do that on either OS. Am I just an idiot?


Also, would this allow me to bring up a virtual Windows' Desktop on my Mac? If not, how would I go about doing this? I've seen this done before.

Thanks kindly for any insight.

[Phanguye]

Originally posted by Eyenovation:
I realize this has probably been covered numerous times, but it's not possible to do a search here.

PC is less than 3 characters and I don't see anything on the first few pages.

I have a PC and a Mac (Obviously) running WinXP and Jaguar respectively. I spoke to a genius at the 'Genius Bar' in the Mac store, but he just confirmed my lack of intelligence.

He basically said I could network them using a Broadband Cable Router? Does that sound right? According to him, I need to plug them both into the router (which they are), and turn on file sharing on each. He said that DHCP would take care of everything.

I don't see any simple way to do that on either OS. Am I just an idiot?


Also, would this allow me to bring up a virtual Windows' Desktop on my Mac? If not, how would I go about doing this? I've seen this done before.

Thanks kindly for any insight.

i assume by Virtual Desktop, you mean Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connect... you can get it from ms's website, but will only work if you are running WinXP... otherwise you will have to use VNC, which you can just google and find

as for connecting the computers, it is all in the system perferences or control panel

[ghporter]

The hardware issue is a lot simpler than you may realize. You buy a box called (variously) a cable/DSL router, gateway router, etc., (such as the Linksys BEFSR41, SMC's SMC7004ABR, D-Link's DI-604, Siemens' SpeedStream 2604-the list is very long), plug your broadband modem into the WAN side port, your computers into the LAN side ports, and the hardware is done. Both PCs and Macs default to DHCP when you set up a network connection, and all the routers I mentioned default to DHCP as well.

Now, setting up file sharing is a bit of a trial sometimes, but it's pretty straightforward-the "genius" guy did steer you right about enabling file sharing on both computers.

[christ]

Originally posted by GHPorter:
The hardware issue is a lot simpler than you may realize. You buy a box called (variously) a cable/DSL router, gateway router, etc., (such as the Linksys BEFSR41, SMC's SMC7004ABR, D-Link's DI-604, Siemens' SpeedStream 2604-the list is very long), plug your broadband modem into the WAN side port, your computers into the LAN side ports, and the hardware is done. Both PCs and Macs default to DHCP when you set up a network connection, and all the routers I mentioned default to DHCP as well.

Now, setting up file sharing is a bit of a trial sometimes, but it's pretty straightforward-the "genius" guy did steer you right about enabling file sharing on both computers.

It's even simpler than that. all you need is a cat5 cable between the two, or if it is a pre-G4 Mac a crossover cable.

Threemacs.com is a great resource.

[THE MAC GOD]

I don't get it... My friend and I am getting a cable modem. I just go this HERE because it was suggested here in this forum to share internet. The product itself says you can share your internet with it. BUT, it only has 2 ports... welllll... if you have 2 computers, thats both ports there... where do you plug in the cable input from the modem? argh... it's always something.

[hayesk]

Originally posted by THE MAC GOD:
I don't get it... My friend and I am getting a cable modem. I just go this HERE because it was suggested here in this forum to share internet. The product itself says you can share your internet with it. BUT, it only has 2 ports... welllll... if you have 2 computers, thats both ports there... where do you plug in the cable input from the modem? argh... it's always something.

With a 1-port router, you need an ethernet hub to split the LAN connection amongst your computers. The WAN port plugs into the cable modem. Most routers these days come with more than 1 LAN port so it's not an issue.

[THE MAC GOD]

So, then... whats the point of having a router in the first place? Why not get just a hub to split it from the modem?

[Eyenovation]

So far I have been able to see my Mac from my PC, using various methods. But how do I show my PC Hard drive as an icon or something on my desktop ?

And, what about vice versa on the PC ?

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by THE MAC GOD:
So, then... whats the point of having a router in the first place? Why not get just a hub to split it from the modem?

Because what you need is NAT and DHCP serving, which hubs do not provide. What you really want is a 4 port router. These have a WAN port for connecting to your modem and 4 LAN ports for connecting various computers or LAN devices.
That single port router you linked to seems a little silly. I'd return that and get a decent multi-port router instead.

[kennedy]

Perhaps this other thread will help...

Windows > Mac OS X