How to add a Mac to a Windows network

If the Mac and the PC are the yin and yang of the tech universe, then these two seeming opposites should be able to coexist harmoniously.

Step 1: Getting started
Estimated time required: 2 hours

We found feng shui by adding a Mac to our combination Ethernet/ Wi-Fi home network, which consisted of two desktops, a notebook, a network laser printer, and a personal inkjet. Our Power Mac G5 joined the party via an internal Apple wireless AirPort Extreme card. Computers on the network were running Windows 98, Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2, and Mac OS X 10.3.7.

Step 2: What you'll need
Before you even get started with this project, we recommend that you have the following:

  • A Mac desktop or laptop
  • An Airport Extreme wireless card
  • A wireless router

Mac systems
They may be a little pricey compared to their Windows counterparts, but Macs have been enchanting consumers with their high style, ease of use, and raw power for more than 20 years.

Editors' choice
Apple Power Mac G5 (dual 2.7GHz)
Apple upgraded the Power Mac G5 with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and faster parts, but our complaints about limited expandability still apply.

Alternatives
Apple iMac G5 (2.0GHz, 20-inch)
Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch, SuperDrive)

Wireless routers
The latest Wi-Fi access points provide a fast, easy, and affordable way to set up a home network.

Editors' choice
Belkin Wireless Pre-N router
If you want to grace a large area with wireless coverage and you're concerned about range, Belkin's new MIMO-enabled router is a good alternative to a router/repeater solution.

Alternatives
Netgear WPN824 RangeMax
D-Link DI-624 AirPlus Xtreme G router

Step 3: Configure a Mac for PC networking
Before you begin, you'll need to change your Mac's workgroup name to match that of your existing workgroup.

  1. Go to Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Directory Access.
  2. Click the lock icon in the lower left corner.
  3. Enter your username and password, highlight the name of your router (in our case, SMC), and click the Configure button.
  4. Type in your workgroup name and click OK.


Our Mac will use its built-in wireless AirPort card to communicate with the network's SMC router.

Next, from the Apple menu, open the System Preferences option. In the Internet & Network row, double-click the Network icon. Click the Location box's drop-down arrow, select New Location, and give your Mac a network name.

If you're using a wired connection, select Built-in Ethernet in the Show box. For a wireless network, select AirPort, choose the name of your network, and enter a password, if required.

To give the Mac a distinctive name, reopen the Apple menu and select System Preferences. In the Internet & Network row, double-click the Sharing icon and enter a name. Then click the Services button to review the list of services. Highlight any one to view a brief description. If you're uncertain about which option to choose, check the four Sharing options and clear the others.

Step 4: Configure a PC for Mac networking
Now it's time to configure your Windows PCs to cooperate with your Mac on the network.

  1. Select My Network Places from the Windows XP Start menu.
  2. In the Network Tasks column, select "Add a network place." This opens the Add Network Place wizard.
  3. Click Next, select "Choose another network location," and click Next again.
  4. Open the drop-down menu and select \\192.168.2.xxx\.username as the username, ("xxx" is your PC's ID and "username" is the name you've used on the Mac).
  5. Click Next, type a distinctive name, click Next again, and click Finish.

You should now see a network folder icon for the Mac in the My Network Places window. Repeat this procedure for each Windows XP system on your network.


Once you complete Windows' Add Network Place wizard, an icon for your Mac should appear in the My Network Places window.

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Talkback 7 comments

    Directory Access Anonymous -- 17/10/05 (in reply to #120122123)

    The option you choose in Directory Access to configure the Workgroup name is "SMB/CIFS", not "SMC" or whatever router you have.

    What about sharing the printer on the Mac to the PC? Neil Hucker -- 18/10/05

    Your instructions were helpful, but the real difficulty in print sharing is trying to do it the other way. So far I've tried combinations of installing Ghostscript utilities and Post-script printing utilities etc.. on the Mac and Bonjour print discovery utilities on an XP PC. Many sites claim that after a lot configuring it should work. But so far I've not succeeded. Any tips?

    What about sharing the printer on the Mac to the PC? Neil Hucker -- 18/10/05

    Your instructions were helpful, but the real difficulty in print sharing is trying to do it the other way. So far I've tried combinations of installing Ghostscript utilities and Post-script printing utilities etc.. on the Mac and Bonjour print discovery utilities on an XP PC. Many sites claim that after a lot configuring it should work. But so far I've not succeeded. Any tips?

    What about sharing the printer on the Mac to the PC? Neil Hucker -- 18/10/05

    Your instructions were helpful, but the real difficulty in print sharing is trying to do it the other way. So far I've tried combinations of installing Ghostscript utilities and Post-script printing utilities etc.. on the Mac and Bonjour print discovery utilities on an XP PC. Many sites claim that after a lot configuring it should work. But so far I've not succeeded. Any tips?

    One solution Anonymous -- 25/10/05

    We have a home network with about equal numbers of mac's and pc's. Have had a lot of difficulty letting mac's see printers on pc's, or letting pc's see printers on mac's. So, purchased a printer that had the ability to be a stand-alone on the network, with it's own IP address, and just connected via ethernet cable into the switch that the computers are plugged into. All the computers can see it. Can probably do something similar for the wireless network.

    File sharing with out a Mac account, can be done Anonymous -- 25/10/05

    I might point out, that the above instructions work very well, but it doesn't allow the type of file sharing that PC to PC offers with out user accounts on the Mac. Enter Sharepoints. A free bit of software someone pointed me towards on the net. With this you can set up a shared folder / directory on the Mac, that can be accessed with out a Mac account. You can place passwords or restrictions on these folders, or make them just like a fully shared Windows folders. The software gives you options for file sharing that are written to the Samba configuration file, so that you don't have to know how to configure samba yourself. You will need to know a little about how to set permissions and make accounts, but not much.

    If you are really keen there are also some instructions out there (I'm not sure where I found them - do a google search), that tell how to have one central shared iTunes library among all account users on the Mac. Once this is acheived, the iTunes Library can be placed in your Sharepoints, shared folder, and shared with you whole network regardless of OS type.

    Network security Anonymous -- 10/11/05

    Any ideas on how to get a Mac visible on a windows xp peer network with WPA enabled?

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