2 Macs 1 HD

July 4, 2009 5:00 PM

How can I connect 2 Macs to 1 HardDrive

So I recently bought a new Macbook Pro and I would like to be able to have wireless access to the files in the external 200gbs usb hard drive connected to my old iMac G5.

posted by Aya to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Assuming the iMac is also on the same wireless network, turn on File Sharing on the iMac, choose that drive, share it. Then connect (Command-K) to it from the laptop.
posted by rokusan at 5:05 PM on July 4

You MIGHT need to enable file sharing on the G5 first - System Preferences > Sharing, tick the box for File Sharing

then...

Go > Connect to server
Enter iMac G5's IP address
(alternatively you can also browse for the computer in finder and click the Connect As button there)
Select connect as Registered User
Enter iMac username and password
It will give you a list of volumes that can be mounted - select whichever one the external drive is.
posted by fearnothing at 5:05 PM on July 4

as explained above, networking is your friend.... this is actually very simple to do.
posted by HuronBob at 5:12 PM on July 4

As mentioned above. You can also set the file sharing type to SMB if you want a Windows machine to see it. (Don't do that unless you do, it's an inferior protocol otherwise).
posted by cj_ at 5:18 PM on July 4

of course, it probably doesn't need to be said that, if you turn on file sharing, also turn on WEP password protection on your wireless network.
posted by HuronBob at 5:31 PM on July 4

Thanks guys that worked! The 2 Macs are now sharing the external HD.

I had sharing on between the Mac and my sister's XP laptop but the external hard drive never showed up :(
posted by Aya at 5:33 PM on July 4

Yea the network is password protected and using mac address filtering aswell.
posted by Aya at 5:37 PM on July 4

of course, it probably doesn't need to be said that, if you turn on file sharing, also turn on WEP password protection on your wireless network.

WEP is about as secure as a wet paper bag.

Yea the network is password protected and using mac address filtering aswell.

MAC address filtering is also not anywhere close to secure.

You both should be using WPA2.
posted by Mikey-San at 6:32 PM on July 4

> I had sharing on between the Mac and my sister's XP laptop but the external hard drive never showed up :(

Windows doesn't understand AFP (Apple Filing Protocol). In your system preferences for file sharing, there is an Options button where you can enable SMB, which is the Windows equivalent of AFP.

After enabling that, it should show up in Windows, depending on a few factors a little too involved to go into here. If it does not, you can connect to it directly by typing \\IPADDR\ in an explorer window.
posted by cj_ at 10:12 PM on July 4