basic filing sharing between Macbook Pros not working

i have a new MBP (running montOS) and my old MBP (running catOS). i cant get them to do basic file sharing.


I believe i have followed all instructions avail online and cant see the other machines folders on any of the 2 machines


one thing that I cant duplicate is an error mesg that poppsed up and said file sharing doesnt support "." or something like that.... but my machines names and folder names or pretty plain vanilla

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Sep 27, 2022 11:45 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 2, 2022 7:25 PM

@grant

thanks , I kind of have it working but not quite as. you suggested. I'm amazed how un user friendly this process is


  1. you suggested omitting the preamble to Mikes.... that seems like it should work because (see the image I sent earlier) when you do Finder > Go > connect to server... it actually lists Favorite servers... but when I click on 'mikes MacBook Pro' in the list, I get the. same error and it seems to auto insert the :// before Mikes.
  2. I also tried using smb and afp but both failed
  3. I notice on Mac1 (the files Im trying to share) ... the sharing screen says "other users can access folders on this computer... at smb://192.168.1.113 I tried this string and it does work! TO BE FAIR... I think Mac1 kept switching back to my guest wireless network and I didnt realize it.... but still :)


what's wierd is the dialog box on mac2 for 'connect to server' lists the Mikes MacBook Pro but you can't simply click on it... you have to type in the local IP address. this is not user friendly at all.



Similar questions

7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 2, 2022 7:25 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

@grant

thanks , I kind of have it working but not quite as. you suggested. I'm amazed how un user friendly this process is


  1. you suggested omitting the preamble to Mikes.... that seems like it should work because (see the image I sent earlier) when you do Finder > Go > connect to server... it actually lists Favorite servers... but when I click on 'mikes MacBook Pro' in the list, I get the. same error and it seems to auto insert the :// before Mikes.
  2. I also tried using smb and afp but both failed
  3. I notice on Mac1 (the files Im trying to share) ... the sharing screen says "other users can access folders on this computer... at smb://192.168.1.113 I tried this string and it does work! TO BE FAIR... I think Mac1 kept switching back to my guest wireless network and I didnt realize it.... but still :)


what's wierd is the dialog box on mac2 for 'connect to server' lists the Mikes MacBook Pro but you can't simply click on it... you have to type in the local IP address. this is not user friendly at all.



Oct 3, 2022 7:48 AM in response to coolpontiac

<< I think Mac1 kept switching back to my guest wireless network and I didn't realize it >>


it may be getting a different IP address on a different network


what is typically offered in that box is not the Approved address but the one you have most recently typed, whether they actually worked or not.


There is also a (Browse) button there, which will look around your network and may "Discover" the other Mac.

"Discovery" requires IPv6 set to "link-local ONLY" (not OFF or ON) on every interface you expect to be using.


Sep 29, 2022 11:51 AM in response to coolpontiac

Greetings coolpontiac,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We suggest setting up and using iCloud Drive to share files between the Mac computers. The steps to do this are found in the Apple Support article: Set up iCloud Drive - Apple Support


"On your Mac


  1. Go to Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Apple ID. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, you don’t need to click Apple ID. 
  2. Select iCloud.
  3. Sign in with your Apple ID, if you need to.
  4. Select iCloud Drive.


To add the files from your Mac Desktop and your Documents folder to iCloud Drive, turn on Desktop and Documents

  • You can then find your Desktop and Documents folder in the iCloud section of the Finder sidebar. 
  • If you add a second Mac Desktop, you can find the files in your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive, in a folder with the same name as your second Mac. The files from your second Mac won't automatically merge with the files on your first Mac."


Let us know if you have any questions.


Best regards!



Sep 30, 2022 7:47 PM in response to coolpontiac

It is complaining about a transfer protocol whose name is null.


either omit everything before Mikes...


or type smb://Mikes... or possibly afp://Mikes ...


Server Message Block (SMB) was invented by Microsoft, but Apple liked it better than their own 'chatty' Apple File Protocol (AFP) so they enhanced it a little and adopted it was their server protocol.

Sep 30, 2022 6:28 AM in response to coolpontiac

Hello coolpontiac,


Looking through the steps provided at Set up file sharing on Mac - Apple Support, make sure you are completing every one of them:


1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Sharing .

2. Select the File Sharing checkbox.
3. To select a specific folder to share, click the Add button  at the bottom of the Shared Folders list, locate the folder, select it, then click Add.

The Public folder of each user with an account on your Mac is shared automatically. To prevent a folder from being shared, select it in the Shared Folders list and click the Remove button .

4. Control-click the name of the folder, choose Advanced Options, select desired options, then click OK. 

See Set advanced file sharing options.

5. By default, any user set up on your Mac in Users & Groups preferences can connect to your Mac over the network. A user with an administrator account can access your entire Mac.

To give only specific users or groups access to a folder, select the folder in the Shared Folders list, click the Add button  at the bottom of the Users list, then do one of the following:

• Add users or groups from all users of your Mac: Select Users & Groups in the list on the left, select one or more names in the list on the right, then click Select.
• Add users or groups from everyone on your network: Select Network Users or Network Groups in the list on the left, select one or more names in the list on the right, then click Select.
• Add someone from your contacts and create a sharing-only account for them: Select Contacts in the list on the left, select a name in the list on the right, click Select, create a password, then click Create Account.

6. To specify the amount of access for a user, select the user in the Users list, click the pop-up menu next to the user name, then choose one of the following:

• Read & Write: The user can see and copy files to and from the folder.
• Read Only: The user can view the contents of the folder but can’t copy files to it.
• Write Only (Drop Box): The user can copy files to the folder but can’t view its contents.
• No Access: The user can’t see or copy files from the folder.


There is also additional information there that may help.


Have a great day.

Sep 29, 2022 7:46 PM in response to Jeff_W.

hi @Jeff_W

thanks for your quick response but i dont think that addresses my question. I dont want to sync anything from the 2 Macs to the iCloud Drive.


I simply want to do file sharing between the 2 macs. this should be super easy but its not working for me...

  1. i go to preferences on both machines and turn on file sharing
  2. i add some shared folders to the list
  3. i make sure that i am a user of both machines and that i have r/w privi's
  4. i cant make the shared folders show up in the finder on each machine. not sure what im doing wront
  5. this doesnt need SMB right? this should be a simple Mac to Mac file share?

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

basic filing sharing between Macbook Pros not working

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.