Sharing files on MAC for PC (Windows Vista)

Accessing some files on my MAC from my VISTA Laptop (home premium) wasn’t as easy as I initially thought it would be. Got it working in the end after some digging in Google.

Thought I would post up some instructions here since the information on most of the sites I stumble upon where either outdated or irrelevant to solving the problem.

Right. Here is how I got it working in the end.

Setup the share

If your user account has been setup then follow this:

1. to your ’system preferences’ > Sharing (Under ‘Internet & Network’)
2. Check File Sharing
3. You will have a little window in the middle called ‘Shared Folders’ there:
   1. Click the ‘+’ button and select folder
4. Now to get this baby visible in Windows.
   1. Check ‘Windows Sharing’ few below ‘File Sharing
   2. If you dont have the ‘Windows Sharing’ option, then click on ‘Options’
   3. Check SMB
   4. Check your username
   5. Click Done

From Windows Vista

1. If your workgroups*1 are the same then you should see the share in ‘Networks’. If you dont see your mac share then follow *1 footnote.
2. Double click on your mac share
3. Type in your user details
4. If you are lucky, then BOOM, thats you inside yer mac.
5. But like me if you are unlucky, then BAM, you will get “Login Unsuccessful”
6. MAKE SURE YOUR Login name is workgroup/user.
7. Still unsuccessful?
8. Follow this:

Thanks to Malke @ vistax64.com for the following:

enabled, you will need to change the following policy in Windows Vista:

Start>Run>secpol.msc [enter]

To enable Windows Vista to connect to Mac OS X with Windows File Sharing

Click on “Local Policies” –> “Security Options”

Navigate to the policy “Network Security: LAN Manager authentication level” and double-click it to get its Properties. By default Windows Vista sets the policy to “NTVLM2 responses only”. Use the drop-down arrow to change this to “LM and NTLM – use NTLMV2 session security if negotiated”.

In Vista Home Premium, you won’t have this tool so per MVP Steve Winograd, do:

1. Run the registry editor and open this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

1. If it doesn’t already exist, create a DWORD value named LmCompatibilityLevel

3. LmCompatibility value to 1

4. Reboot

Boom! That should be you accessing your MAC share from your VISTA puter.

*1 To set a workgroup it simple.  Go to System Prefernces > Network > select ‘(your connection, ie. AirPort, Ethernet) > Click ‘Advanced’ > Click ‘WINS’ > Type in a workgroup > Make sure you go back and apply the settings