The Pottsy

Q: Macbook Can't Connect to iMac, but iMAC can Connect to Macbook

I've got a tough problem I cannot get my heard around and I need some help.  I have an iMAC (2009) and Macbook Pro (2010).  I just recently upgraded both systems to El Capitan (both systems are running the latest updates).  Prior to upgrading, via file sharing, I was able to connect and read/write to all shared folders and devices connected to my iMAC from my macbook after some tedious tweaking of configurations - the biggest being realizing I needed to turn off SMB and use AFP only.  I use the iMAC as home base, and have all my external hard drives attached to the iMAC and prior to upgrading I could see all drives (and their partitions) as well as all folders I had configured the iMAC to share.  Vice versa for the iMAC to the Macbook - I could read/write to all shared folders on the Macbook from the iMAC. 

 

After upgrading to El Capitan, right at startup, the MacBook showed up as a shared drive immediately in the finder and connected with no issue.  I can currently read/write from the iMAC to the macbook hard drive.

 

The problem is, the Macbook will no longer connect to the iMAC or any of the devices connected to the iMAC.  I have tinkered with as many settings as I can think of, such as turning off file sharing, re-enabling it, removing the shared folders and re-adding them, checking all the settings for all the shared drives on the iMAC, etc.  Everything seems to be setup exactly how it was before the upgrade, but for the life of me I cannot get the Macbook to connect to the iMAC.  In the finder, I see the iMac in the shared devices list, but it just says connection failed and when I click the "connect as" button, it returns the following error:  "There was a problem connecting to the server "Pottsy's iMAC".  Check the server name or IP Address, and then try again.  If you continue to have problems, contact your system administrator".  Whenever I click the "Connect As" button it just tries to connect, never offering me a way to enter a username or password, so I have no idea what credentials it is using at this point, though I assume they are the same as before the upgrade when everything was working.  I have not changed any passwords for any of the user accounts, and the username and main password on both machines are the same if that matters.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be causing this or a possible way to fix it?  I just recently got this iMAC from a friend, and was completely in love with the shared devices setup and the way everything was working prior to upgrading and finding this issue.  It allowed me to share a partitioned HD as a time Machine for both machines without having to unplug anything, among other things.

 

Additionally, AirDrop will not currently work in either direction which is really odd.  I am able to navigate to the MacBooks HD from the iMAC via shared devices, and drag and drop files, but airdrop says "Transferred failed" if I try that.

 

I would really appreciate any guidance someone might be able to provide.

 

iMAC Sharing Settings Screen Shot Below:

iMAC Sharing Screen Shot.jpg

MacBook Pro Sharing Settings Screen Shot

MacBook Pro Sharing Settings Screen Shot.jpg

 

 

 

THANK YOU and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), iMAC 2009 also running 10.11.12

Posted on Dec 22, 2015 11:48 PM

Close

Q: Macbook Can't Connect to iMac, but iMAC can Connect to Macbook

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by The Pottsy,Solvedanswer

    The Pottsy The Pottsy Dec 23, 2015 12:15 AM in response to The Pottsy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2015 12:15 AM in response to The Pottsy

    Well, I solved my own issue after HOURS of craziness, it was of course something so incredibly simple I could cry.  The MacBook was somehow not connected to iCloud - signing into iCloud allowed the MacBook to connect to the iMAC just as before.  I can't believe there wasn't an error message asking me to sign into iCloud.  I get asked to re-sign into iCloud all the time for reasons beyond me, and of course, the one time having done so would have saved me countless hours of meaningless attempts, no "You need to sign into iCloud message appeared".  SMH.

     

    So there you go folks, if you run into something similar, make sure both systems are signed into iCloud.

     

    PEACE!!!