network Mac/PC w/Ethernet

The flaw is XP does not support the Appletalk protocols OS 9 requires for file/printer sharing.

MacWindows website is a good place to go to see what options are available to you.

Though you don't specify your setup, you'll need either a hub/router between the two computers or a crossover cable.

http://www.thursby.com/dave

... then you may not need the hub/crossover cable; it would autosense the pairs need flipping and flip 'em for ya.

That doesnt cover getting the files from one box to the other, though. Enabling web sharing from OS 9 (and perhaps compressing them first) will; you move them so that the server is sharing them, slap the IP of the Mac into the PC's web browser, and there ya go.

If they're Mac files though, and not just say, a bunch of MP3s or JPEGs or something nice and cross platform, their data forks are not gonna be too happy in PCville. If theyre word processing docs, see if the word processor has an option to save in a PC-friendly file format.

The printer sharing might work with DAVE. It's been forever though since I've seen it in action. Other than that I'd give it a rating between dashedly difficult, and not gonna happen.

-- Macinjosh

Never used DAVE for print sharing, but it works great for file sharing. I use it on 3 of my classic (pre-8.5) Macs.

Thanks to all for your help. I found a good buy on Timbuktu on Ebay and bought it, so I'll give it a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I'll re-sell the software. Given what I paid for it, I can't help but make my money back, or maybe a profit.

Well, it seems I bought a dud: my copy of Timbuktu is old and is no longer supported by Netopia. When I tried to upgrade, I couldn't find a serial number because when I enter the version number, Netopia says that version is not part of that serial grouping.

So now I'm back to square one. I bought Ethernet cable, my PC says it's unplugged althuogh it surely IS plugged, so I bought another, thinking the first one was faulty. It also shows as unplugged. My son, who gave me the computer, said he used the Ethernet port previusly with his cable modem so it definitely works. Any ideas on what to do next?

If you are connecting directly from one machine to another, you need a special kind of cable called a cross-over cable. Otherwise, you would need a minimum of two cables and a hub.

You can find a cross-over cable at just about any computer retailer for about $10 (around here, anyway).

Thanks Darkness. That seems to make sense to me. I think what I'll do is buy a 4 or 5 port hub (forget now which ones I saw in Best Buy's site) and when I buy a laser printer, I'll get one with Ethernet connectivity. I found a Lexmark and says it's network ready wtih a 10-base T, so does that mean I can hook it up to the hub and print from both my Mac and PC?

ncwriter,

It really depends on the printer, and whether it is IP and AppleTalk capable, and sometimes whether it is PostScript capable, but it should work for you.

Don't worry about spending too much on a hub, especially if you are going for a 4 or 5 port. If you have a used electonics store somewhere near, you should be able to pick up a decent 10/100 hub for $15 or so. If you can buy a new one for $25 or less, you're probly doin' OK. Just make sure that whoever sells you the hub doesn't sell you something that is more than you will ever need. On my home network, I only have one machine that isn't slow as mole's asses in January, so I have a $5 10-base-T hub that works like a charm.

RD, one more question and I'll quit: which is faster, USB or Ethernet? Most printers I've seen have USB and I can accommodate them but I doubt I can print Mac stuff there. Don't want to keep my old Apple printer since it's slow as your "mole's ass in January", so if I get the Ethernet printer, the chances are better I can do both. But I don't want to sacrifice much in the way of speed, either. Bottom line: this printer, whether USB or Ethernet, will have to suffice for both machines, even if it means a separate connection. The Lexmark I looked at comes with both Mac and PC software.

Anyone else should feel free to contadict me on this, but as far as I know:

Unless it is a high-end printer, most USB printers are of the 4 Mb/s (megabit per second) variety. Since the ethernet connection is 10 Mb/s, ethernet will be faster in most cases. That won't have anything to do with how many pages per minute it will print, just in how fast the info will get to the printer.

For greater cross-platform compatibility (Mac OS 9 and Windows), I would go with an Ethernet printer. For better print quality, you will probably want a USB printer, but then you get into the problem of sharing the USB printer, which cannot be done on Mac OS 9 without some pretty complex configuration and the purchase of some software.

But that's just me... others around here may disagree.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my newbie questions, which I know drive some people up the wall. If no one contradicts you, and with good reason, I'll consider your advice sufficient. I'd be grateful for any other input, however. Many thanks again.

Here I am again. I've been all over the Internet, reading pages and asking questions about this thing. As of now I have a PC with WinXP and a Mac G3 (beige) connected with an Ethernet hub and 2 cables. The PC says the connection is active.

One of my respondents gave me TCP/IP numbers and told me where to type them but the dang connection still does not work. When I change the numbers on the Mac, I lose the Internet connection there. When I try to enter the numbers in the PC, I can't find the place my correspondent told me to use.

I've been all over the place and even set up a separate User Account on the PC so I could make connections without messing up my main User Account, which I fear I have already done, having changed things so many times, set up home network sharing, new connections, etc. and deleted them. One of the answers I got was to find my PC's TCP/IP network number by typing "ipconfig" into Run; I did that and a box came up but instantly went back out again. I tried to find the file in the Windows file and open it with Notepad but all I got for my trouble was a bunch of symbols with no meaning for me. Another time I got a terminal search window (I don't knowhow; couldn't do it again) and tried to search for the file but was using the wrong syntax. Didn't know the right one. Of course I got nothing.

What I need is somebody to tell me how to make these two machines talk to each other--IN DETAIL. I'm too slow to grasp anything else.

Anyone? I'll dance at your wedding and be your friend forever.

ncwriter,

Send me an email to reverend dot darkness at gmail dot com (convert "dot" to . and "at" to @)

I can help you get this set up, and we'll post the solution here afterwards.

You got it, RD. Expect to hear from me tonight or tomorrow. Thanks.

To find out your ip address on a pc

Press Start, Run
Type cmd and press enter
(a command prompt window will open up)
Type ipconfig and press enter

Thanks, makillik. It worked. Any idea how to do the same for my Mac with OS9?