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MacBook doesn't see network??

I am brand new to Macs and have a Vista Home network which all our XP and Vista PCs run flawlessly on. My new Macbook connects to the internet just fine wirelessly and via ethernet cable but I cannot get it to see the network for file sharing and using the printer (HP 932C) which is connected to our main Dell Vista Desktop PC. All other laptops see and use the printer without a problem but the MacBook doesn't see the printer or other computers on the network(file sharing and printer sharing is turned on. Strange thing is when I go into Network in System Prefs. and go to the DNS tab it lists the DSL modem(Westell) our DSL service uses but not the Router (Netgear) which the Macbook and all other computers use to get to the Westell modem. Shouldn't it see the Wireless router before seeing the modem, Also I connected the Macbook directly using ethernet cable and still it doesn't see the printer, network or computers in the network.

Mac OS X (10.5.3)

Posted on Jun 4, 2008 1:01 PM

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35 replies

Jun 4, 2008 2:03 PM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

First, you need to understand that there are differences in terminology between the Windows computers and your Mac. Let's establish that we're really talking about two different things, here: your physical network, and the logical protocols used to communicate across that network.

Windows tends to blend these two things into the single term "network." Without making any judgements here about the sensibility of this, let's just acknowledge that it can be confusing, at times. 😉

As you have found, your Mac will automatically connect to the network using either an ethernet cable or wirelessly (see above; we're going to call a spade a spade. Thus, "network" means no more than your physical connection). Any other Macs that are also connected to the network will automatically be recognized by your Macbook, provided they are "Sharing" any services across the network, but PCs are a different story. With PCs, one must create a "workgroup." Only when a "workgroup" is established by one, then joined by the others, will they all communicate properly.

Your Mac knows about Windows "workgroups," though. "DNS" has nothing to do with this; it is merely the method your computers use to translate domain names to real IP addresses, and it usually will be set automatically. You want to go to the next "tab," and look at the settings for "WINS." In this tab, you need to choose or enter the exact name of the Windows "workgroup" that exists on your network in the appropriate field.

Once your Mac knows to join your Windows workgroup, it should be able to communicate with the PCs that are also on the network, and vice versa. You do not need to turn on "Printer Sharing," "File Sharing," or "Windows Sharing" on your Macbook unless you will be serving any of these things from the Macbook. In any "Sharing," one computer acts as a "server," the other as a client, and the controls for "Sharing" only cause the computer in question to become the "server." Client access is automatic.

Now, with all of this said, one thing that can make the job of sharing services across your network easier (especially between Macs and PCs) is to use "Bonjour," Apple's automatic sharing and discovery protocol. Your Mac is already set up to take advantage of this, but your PCs will need to be running "Bonjour for Windows." I strongly recommend that you download and install this on every PC on your network. It will make your life a whole lot easier.

Scott

Jun 4, 2008 2:50 PM in response to Scott Radloff

Scott I put in the name of our Workgroup(which is WORKGROUP, all caps) and clicked ok but nothing has changed, then I downloaded and installed Bonjour on my PC, the only icon it installed on my PC was Bonjour Printer Wizard which I ran and it didn't find our printer either... There has to be something I am missing. Question, after I typed in WORKGROUP in Wins do I need to add a "WIN Servers number in the box below "Workgroup"? If so where will I find this number? Thank you so much for your help!!

Jun 4, 2008 4:48 PM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

No, you shouldn't need to mess with the WINS settings. Placing the Mac in the correct workgroup is all you need to do.

Maybe you misunderstand what's going on (or not), and what Bonjour is going to do. You've installed it on one PC, right? Is this the PC that is serving a printer? You're going to have to install it on every PC on the network, but particularly the one that is sharing the printer. Once you do this, you should be able to share the printer from that computer via Bonjour. Your Mac will see it, your PCs will see it, and everyone will be happy.

But, you have to understand that in any "sharing," there are two suspects involved: the server and the client. BOTH must be using the same protocol. Although not strictly necessary, Bonjour is the easiest way to insure this happens.

Scott

Jun 4, 2008 9:00 PM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

OK, let's go step by step, and maybe we can figure out where the problem lies. You've installed Bonjour on the one PC, at least. That gives us somewhere to start.

On your Macbook, turn on "Personal File Sharing" and "Windows Sharing." For the second, you'll need to choose an account on the Macbook and enter its password. You should then be able to "see" the Macbook with any of the PCs, but particularly the one that has Bonjour installed. Also, the PCs (all of them) should show up in the Sidebar at the left side of any Finder Window on the Mac. If you don't see any, try logging out and back in on the Macbook (or better yet, try a restart).

If we get this far and everything I have mentioned so far just "works," we'll move on to getting the printer working.

Scott

EDIT: You might need to turn off Windows printer sharing, and then try Bonjour sharing again on the PC. This may be why Bonjour cannot configure your printer; it is already configured as a Windows Sharing printer, and the two might conflict. -s

Jun 5, 2008 5:33 AM in response to Scott Radloff

Hi Scott, In 10.5 I don't see anymore the Windows File sharing in the Sharing Panel over System preferences actually. As i understand they combine both of the sharing enabling with just one check box of File Sharing. I used to able to see my x company (unfortunately) Windows SAP server, Mail server and many more PEEECEEEEs.
But i am on this new location now, i only can see 2 things on my network space, which is one Time Capsule & a FMPro server. I did tried to smb://IPaddress it actually give me a password popup and i manage to get in the network drive. But it still strange why i am not able to see the physical icons as i am in previous company setup.

regards,
Walter

Jun 5, 2008 6:35 AM in response to Pinger

In Windows, even with file and printer sharing enabled, you still have to explicitly share the printer.

Goto Start/printers and faxes
right click the printer.
Select Sharing...

Default is "Do not share this printer"
Change to "Share this printer"
give the printer a sharename.
Click OK.

The icon for the printer should change from just the printer to the printer with a hand underneath.

Jun 5, 2008 6:35 AM in response to Scott Radloff

Scott,
"Personal File Sharing" and "Windows Sharing are both turned on, in "Sharing" Both File Sharing and Printer Sharing are checked, the Mac is listed(well has my name in it)in the Shared Folders list and if you click on my name a Shared Files window pops up showing a folder called "Drop Box". The next pane over is "Users" which has listed myself, users and Everyone. So I believe the MacBook is configured for complete file sharing. My Vista PC is definitely wide open since I can access any of the other 3 notebooks(two are Vista and the one is XP Pro). No Computers are listed at the Sidebar at the left side of any Finder Window on the Mac. I have rebooted the MacBook several times with no change. I have turned printer sharing on and off trying to get Bonjour to see is and it does not. That really hit me strange, why isn't Bonjour seeing the printer which is installed and running fine on the computer Bonjour is on?? Has to be something we're not seeing? And thank you so much for your help!! It is greatly appreciated!! PaulT

Jun 5, 2008 1:41 PM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

Actually, I did give some bad information: Walter is correct in stating that Leopard's "Windows Sharing" is not immediately available in the Sharing pane (the instructions I gave earlier apply to Tiger, not Leopard). Instead, the SMB protocol (which is what "Windows Sharing" really is) is turned on from the "Options..." dialogue within the "File Sharing" section of the Sharing pane.

To get file sharing to your PCs turned on (on your Mac, of course), open System Preferences>Sharing, and select "File Sharing." Turn it on by checking it, then click the "Options..." button at the lower-right corner of the window. In the resultant dialogue sheet, enable "Share files and folders using SMB," select an account to share in the list below, and enter its password.

This will share files from you Mac, to your PCs. It does nothing to enable sharing from the PCs to the Mac. Likewise, turning on Printer Sharing on your Mac will do nothing to allow the Mac to "see" a printer being shared from another computer.

For most users, all this "just works," but there are circumstances when it can be difficult (as you are finding). If you continue to have problems, I suggest you start from scratch: Turn everything off, on all computers. Disable printer and file sharing on your PCs, and do the same on your Mac. Then, take everything off the network except for one PC and your Mac. Create a new Windows Workgroup on the PC, and make sure any other "workgroups" are deleted. Next, configure your Mac to join that workgroup. With a printer connected to the PC, configure the PC to share that printer, then test that the Mac can "see" it and print to it. If all is well, swap things around, with the printer connected to the Mac and the Mac configured to share it, then test that the PC "sees" and prints to it. Finally, do the same with file sharing, back and forth.

Once you have a single workgroup with one PC and your Mac included, and with file/printer sharing working both ways, you can add the other PCs one at a time.

Another, completely different way to do this would be to use "Bonjour." With Bonjour installed on all of your PCs, everything should "just work" without you having to jump through all the hoops. I'll give an example:

I have Vista installed on my Macbook Pro, but I don't use it that much. To provide an example, I just booted into Vista, downloaded Bonjour, then installed it. Just to be on the safe side, I also downloaded and installed the drivers for a Samsung printer we have connected to our network. Once Bonjour and the drivers were installed, I used the Bonjour "wizard" to set up the printer, and began printing. All I had to do in the print dialogue was select the networked Samsung, and I was immediately able to print. This whole routine, from booting into Vista to printing, took less than 3 minutes (I did not have to restart Vista or directly connect the printer).

So, you could use the process I recommend above (eliminating all but one PC and your Mac, with everything turned off at first), but this time using Bonjour instead of the default Windows protocols. It would make things much easier.

Scott

Jun 5, 2008 4:35 PM in response to AJ

AJ,
Tried that, actually it was already set that way but I reversed it and then corrected it thinking maybe it would grab it but no luck...

Scott did all that short of installing Vista on the MacBook..
At first I just considered this a challenge but now it's getting to be very frustrating..

Jun 5, 2008 10:50 PM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

I'm sure it is frustrating. So, just to confirm, you narrowed things down to just the Macbook and one PC on the network, with all file, printer, or any other kind of "sharing" turned off, on both computers. Then, you started very simply by trying to share just the printer (nothing else, no file sharing, nothing) from one or the other. And yet you still couldn't get it to work. Is this correct? Did you delete all workgroups from the PC, then add a new one just for this attempt?

If all the above is true, then there may be something wrong with your installation of OS X on the Macbook. This is a very new Macbook, yes? Well, it won't be the first time a computer shipped from the manufacturer (it doesn't matter which manufacturer) with some type of incipient errors. I tell you truly, this should all "just work," without having to jump through the hoops.

Before we go traipsing off on some "let's reinstall OS X" romp, one other possibility could be that some network device other than one of your computers is causing conflicts with your Mac. Other than a modem and a single router, what other devices are connected to or part of your network? How are they connected and configured?

Scott

Jun 6, 2008 4:38 AM in response to Scott Radloff

Scott,
My Vista PC now sees the Macbook, in Vista's Network it is listed by a 15 number/letter name listed NOT the one that is listed in System Preferences/Sharing. The name shown in System Preferences/Sharing is my daughters name(she is the main/only user,bought her the Macbook for Graduation). But in Network computers on my Vista it shows the Mac's name as that 15 letter name completely different then the one at System Preferences/Sharing. On the Mac if I go to System Preferences/Network/Wins it shows that 15 letter/numeral name as the NetBios Name. Why two different names?? Also although my Vista PC see the Macbook it cannot access anything on it, when I double click on it I get "Windows cannot access //Mac001ff356740d" in details it says "The Network Path was not found". I think we're on the right track now, again why is the Mac computer name different then the one being seen on the Network?

Jun 6, 2008 6:20 AM in response to Pinger

Pinger,

First, go back to System Preferences>Sharing. Just below the "Computer Name," click the "Edit..." button. Change this to something that makes sense, but is better than your daughter's name. I recommend something like "Macbook." Make it all one word, with no extra characters.

Next, turn on file sharing, nothing more. Below the list of Shared Folders and Users in the body of the window, click the "Options..." button. In the resultant dialogue sheet, enable "Share files and folders using SMB," then select your daughter's name in the list below. When you do, you'll need to enter her account password. For now, turn AFP file sharing off. Click "Done."

Now, go to System Preferences>Network. Select the active network connection if it is not already selected, then click "Advanced..." in the lower-right of the window. Go to the "WINS" pane, and change the NetBIOS name to the same that is being used as the "Computer Name" in the Sharing pane. Click "OK" to dismiss the dialogue sheet, then click "Apply" in the Network pane. Close System Preferences.

See if that doesn't make a difference.

Scott

Jun 6, 2008 7:21 AM in response to Scott Radloff

I just want to point out that there are MANY discussions on this list about computers on the LAN in the same Workgroup showing up and not showing up randomly. They were always there when running Tiger but not under Leopard.

See http://www.avolio.com/weblog/pc2mac/leopard/Goodies.html and what I say about SHARED.

I can always reach the other hosts (when they are up :-)) but often see none of them.

-fred

Jun 6, 2008 4:22 PM in response to Scott Radloff

Ok my computer sees the Macbook but I cannot access anything on it, I put a Mac Office Work file in the Public/Drop Box folder but I cannot access anything on the Macbook and I'm not sure where on the MacBook to look for shared folders or other computers on the network. Also still absolutely no luck getting the MacBook to see the Printer which is connected to the Vista Computer that sees the Mac but cannot access anything on it. When I try to access the mac by double click/explore/open it's icon in my network I get "Windows cannot access Macbook" and under details it says "Network Path was not found". We are slowly getting this to work but seems like there is still something blocking the Mac from sharing.

MacBook doesn't see network??

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