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networking/file sharing between an old PC and an even older Mac

Bob_Ross

Bob_Ross

Gold Supporting Member
Dec 29, 2012
14,343
29,400
#1
I have a PC running Windows Vista Home Edition, and a Mac G4 running OSX 10.3.9 (Panther), both hardwired via ethernet to a Verizon FiOS modem/router.

I used to be able to get the D: drive of the PC to show up on the Mac desktop simply by Command-K ("connect to server") on the Mac and then selecting the IP address of the PC (which had conveniently already prepopulated the dropdown list thanks to the coworker who set this up for me a dozen years ago).

It no longer connects. I keep getting an "Error -36".

I have confirmed that the IP address of the PC is entered correctly.

Oddly, I had this exact same problem about a year ago…but it “self-corrected” after a couple of days. (?!?!)

Any idea what’s going on? Thanks.
 
#6
Bob_Ross said:
I have a PC running Windows Vista Home Edition, and a Mac G4 running OSX 10.3.9 (Panther), both hardwired via ethernet to a Verizon FiOS modem/router.

I used to be able to get the D: drive of the PC to show up on the Mac desktop simply by Command-K ("connect to server") on the Mac and then selecting the IP address of the PC (which had conveniently already prepopulated the dropdown list thanks to the coworker who set this up for me a dozen years ago).

It no longer connects. I keep getting an "Error -36".

I have confirmed that the IP address of the PC is entered correctly.

Oddly, I had this exact same problem about a year ago…but it “self-corrected” after a couple of days. (?!?!)

Any idea what’s going on? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Wait a couple of days. :woot:
 
#7
Bob_Ross said:
I have a PC running Windows Vista Home Edition, and a Mac G4 running OSX 10.3.9 (Panther), both hardwired via ethernet to a Verizon FiOS modem/router.

I used to be able to get the D: drive of the PC to show up on the Mac desktop simply by Command-K ("connect to server") on the Mac and then selecting the IP address of the PC (which had conveniently already prepopulated the dropdown list thanks to the coworker who set this up for me a dozen years ago).

It no longer connects. I keep getting an "Error -36".

I have confirmed that the IP address of the PC is entered correctly.

Oddly, I had this exact same problem about a year ago…but it “self-corrected” after a couple of days. (?!?!)

Any idea what’s going on? Thanks.
Click to expand...


bob,
crank up a terminal on the mac and do 'ping <windows machine IP>' does it return messages or just sit and time out with something like 'cannot reach host'? If ping fails then you don't have a physical connection to the machine (router misconfigure, windows machine offline, mac offline, etc.) If ping works then the problem would be some logical problem. Assuming you haven't changed your config and all of the proper sharing preferences are set up on both machines, I'd try rebooting both machines to reset the networking and try again. Let me know what happens.
 
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#8
Bob_Ross said:
I have a PC running Windows Vista Home Edition, and a Mac G4 running OSX 10.3.9 (Panther)
Click to expand...

Revisiting my own issue from a few years back, because the scenario has changed slightly and yet I still have the need to move files between computers.

(btw, the original issue described in OP "self-corrected" ...no idea why, but it all started working again, and continued working for the next ~ 5 years.)

But now two very different things are in the mix: I no longer have both computers hardwired via ethernet to a Verizon FiOS modem/router; and, I have acquired a second laptop PC with a more modern OS, and so if Windows Vista is/was making things impossible I can deal with the new PC running Windows 10 Home...hopefully.

So now I need to know if there's a simple way to move files from the aforementioned Mac G4 running OSX 10.3.9 (Panther), to a PC laptop running either Windows Vista Home Edition or Windows 10 Home. And it would be really swell if I could accomplish that with just a crossover cable, or an Ethernet hub, something that won't require me to hardwire these computers to the router...which is 100' away in my new residence.

Am I SOL, or is there something I can do (besides dragging both computers down the hall, or digging out a pair of 100' Ethernet cables every time I need to move a file from the Mac to the PC)? For now I'm doing SneakerNet with the one USB thumbdrive I own that the Mac recognizes, but that just seems inelegant.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
#10
HI Bob - been a while since I worked in IT - my info is not completely up to date - BUT - one of the things that changed with Windows since XP is that the Home Editions don't fully support "standard" TCP/IP networking. Meaning you have to jump through hoops to get Mac and Windows to talk to each other.

I was never able to get a Win 10 machine to allow a Mac to connect to it, unless there was a domain controller on the LAN. If you can get your hands on a Mac server OS (10.6 would be your best choice) you might make it work reliably, but it's still a huge pain.

This article describes how to do it with an older Windows version
How to share files between Windows and Mac

As I recall, the Windows 10 Pro version is supposed to have full networking services running. I as able to get SMB file sharing to work on my wife's computer, before she had to install a Cisco VPN client. After that installation, the Windows machine would not allow the Mac to connect ever again.

I would just stick with sneaker net - unless you like taking on an IT challenge, of course!
 
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#13
How often do these file xfers/xchanges take place? I get it, I like keeping old(er) things running; heck, I'm a mainframe sysprog of 40+ years so I KNOW what it's like to be told your stuff is old and obsolete but some times it's just the truth. I also don't follow the nature of what network connectivity even exists to support the transfers when you say they aren't connected to the router any more, perhaps some more detail there would help. I'd just be thankful that sneaker-net is still working and that thumb drives have gotten so big and so cheap.
 
#14
Karl_in_Chicago said:
I also don't follow the nature of what network connectivity even exists to support the transfers when you say they aren't connected to the router any more, perhaps some more detail there would help.
Click to expand...

Sorry, just saw ^^^this reply now.

That's the problem: As of now, no connectivity exists. The Mac G4 and the Windows laptop are physically in the same room...but the laptop is connected to the world/cloud/internet via WiFi only, and the Mac is completely free-standing.

The Mac exists solely as my Digital Audio Workstation, and since both it and my DAW software are ~20 years old I don't even need internet connectivity for updates etc. It's basically a dumb multitrack recorder, albeit with all the advantages of random access recording/mixing (well, all the advantages of random access recording/mixing circa 2005).

The only reason I want the Mac and the PC to communicate with one another is so that my clients can continue sending me audio files (via email, Dropbox, Google Drive et al) and I can load those into the DAW for overdubbing/editing/mixing.

Prior to my September 2023 post (#8, above) this was achieved by having both the Mac and the PC hardwired to an Ethernet router. I would download audio files to a drive on my laptop, then get the Mac to recognize that drive, copy the files to the Mac's local disc and import them into the DAW, badda-boom/badda-bing.

As per that post #8, this is no longer a practical solution. So, for now, SneakerNet it is.
 
#15
Perhaps there is a better way.

A home NAS device might work. Rather than have the 2 computers read/write each others' data, place a NAS in between them, to function as a file server that each computer can access. Assuming both computers have functioning ethernet ports, hook them up to a small desktop switch, along with a SOHO NAS (Synology DS 124 for example) and use APIPA addresses for each device. This *should* work, but if not, then assigning static public IP's will.

If it were necessary to connect this isolated LAN to the internet, you could look into a wireless bridge between the gateway and this micro LAN. 30 meters is not a problem if you have line of sight.
 
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