LINE STOPPAGE - MAC TO PC NETWORKING NEEDED

[indieFan]

Hello Everyone,

I am currently in a line stoppage that is now being reported on to one of the VPs of the company. Help is needed for connecting a Mac to a PC shared folder. Unfortunately, Macs are no longer supported at the company and the few people that do know about them have not been able to come up with a solution.

The networking setup:
Mac G4 connects to a router
Win2k connects to same router
Router connects to outside world

Up until about two weeks ago, the Mac had no problem logging onto the PC shared folder via the outside world. All of a sudden, the login name and/or password was no longer accepted. The login name and password are labwide, and continue to work on the PC, as well as all other computers in the lab, without any problems. Thus, I know the password was not reset.

We recently had an upgrade to the Win boxes at work that may or may not have included a security push. In talking with someone from IT, as I now recall, I was told that the last security push happened several months ago.

One person who knows Macs was contacted about the issue and responded that he had gotten several calls about this issue from other people that have Mac to PC networking set-ups. His "solution" was to delete all of the keychains. I did that, as well as deleting the "favorite servers". I then tried again, without rebooting the Mac, but had the same results. (I will try rebooting today.)

To complicate matters, we have two MacMinis that were put on this same set-up in place of the G4 that had no problem logging into the network. We are unable to use them, however, because the robot is not behaving as expected with the codes that have been placed on them. The G4 is the original computer that we are hoping still has working codes. (All wiring will be inspected today, as well.)

If you have ANY SUGGESTIONS, please post them with DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS. It can either be to get the G4 to connect to the PC via the router with or without the outside world or it can be to connect the G4 directly to the PC via an ethernet cable.

Thank you in advance,
indieFan

[Bill Moore]

Originally Posted by indieFan

Hello Everyone,

I am currently in a line stoppage that is now being reported on to one of the VPs of the company. Help is needed for connecting a Mac to a PC shared folder. Unfortunately, Macs are no longer supported at the company and the few people that do know about them have not been able to come up with a solution.

The networking setup:
Mac G4 connects to a router
Win2k connects to same router
Router connects to outside world

Up until about two weeks ago, the Mac had no problem logging onto the PC shared folder via the outside world. All of a sudden, the login name and/or password was no longer accepted. The login name and password are labwide, and continue to work on the PC, as well as all other computers in the lab, without any problems. Thus, I know the password was not reset.

We recently had an upgrade to the Win boxes at work that may or may not have included a security push. In talking with someone from IT, as I now recall, I was told that the last security push happened several months ago.

One person who knows Macs was contacted about the issue and responded that he had gotten several calls about this issue from other people that have Mac to PC networking set-ups. His "solution" was to delete all of the keychains. I did that, as well as deleting the "favorite servers". I then tried again, without rebooting the Mac, but had the same results. (I will try rebooting today.)

To complicate matters, we have two MacMinis that were put on this same set-up in place of the G4 that had no problem logging into the network. We are unable to use them, however, because the robot is not behaving as expected with the codes that have been placed on them. The G4 is the original computer that we are hoping still has working codes. (All wiring will be inspected today, as well.)

If you have ANY SUGGESTIONS, please post them with DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS. It can either be to get the G4 to connect to the PC via the router with or without the outside world or it can be to connect the G4 directly to the PC via an ethernet cable.

Thank you in advance,
indieFan

Is the G4 running OS X? Or the older OS 9?

[indieFan]

The G4 is running OS X, as are the MacMinis.

[artdutra04]

On the G4, can you go into System Preferences, and then Sharing, and then Personal File Sharing, and then make sure that Windows File Sharing box is still checked?

[Kyle Fenton]

One thing you can do is to delete all of the caches, repair permissions, and run the daily, monthly, and yearly scripts.

The easiest way to do this is to use a program called onyx.
You will need the administrator password to run this program.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by indieFan

Up until about two weeks ago, the Mac had no problem logging onto the PC shared folder via the outside world. All of a sudden, the login name and/or password was no longer accepted.

Is it failing to connect to the PC at all, or is it connecting but the password is being rejected? Are the Mac mini systems also going via the outside world, or are they on the same side of the router as the PC? If the Mac G4 is close enough, try swapping its Ethernet connection with one of the Mac minis so you can see whether the problem follows the computer or the port.

[indieFan]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Is it failing to connect to the PC at all, or is it connecting but the password is being rejected? Are the Mac mini systems also going via the outside world, or are they on the same side of the router as the PC? If the Mac G4 is close enough, try swapping its Ethernet connection with one of the Mac minis so you can see whether the problem follows the computer or the port.

Art:
The Mac still had Windows File Sharing active. My co-worker and I went into the Firewall tab and turned that off. We are rebooting both computers now.

Alan:
Currently, the Mac connects to the PC, but the name and/or password are being rejected. The MacMinis were going to the same PC via all of the same cables. (The cables were removed from the G4 and put into one MacMini at a time.) Previously, the ethernet cables for the PC and the G4 had been put into different ports within the router with the same results.