Sharing a USB drive over a wireless network

kishankishan
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
apologies if this has been covered, but a search for "Share USB drive" on google and in these forums didn't yield anything helpful to me.



I have a Core 2 Duo 24" iMac and a 14" iBook G4. Both are running the latest versions of Tiger. I have an airport express serviing as my wireless access point. I have an exernal drive connected via USB 2 to the iMac.



I would like to be able to access the drive wirelessly from my iBook. I can mount my iMac user account onto my iBook, but the USB drive doesn't seem to show up anywhere. How can I make this work? I am sure there must be a simple thing that I am overlooking.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan


    I can mount my iMac user account onto my iBook



    What method are you using to do this?
  • Reply 2 of 11
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H


    What method are you using to do this?



    In the finder, I click on the "network" icon on the left. In column view, I then click on "iMac" and then the button for "connect". I log on using my user name and password from the iMac and the home folder for the user mounts onto my desktop. I can then browse the home folder.



    I have tried to use an alias to the hard drive saved into the home folder on the iMac, but when I try to double click it from the iBook it says that the volume is not found.



    I was kind of hoping that I would just be able to right click the hard drive and share it over the network, or share it somewhere in the system preferences like you can share printers. In doing some more research on the web, I have found some solutions that involve changing the smb.conf file using terminal. Am I crazy or is this a bit more complicated of a solutions than we should expect from Apple?
  • Reply 3 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Apple systems ship with none of the sharing options turned on. You must have enabled one of them from the "sharing" pane of System Preferences. If you are using "Windows sharing" but have no Windows systems on your network, turn off "Windows sharing" and turn on "personal file sharing" instead. If you need the Windows sharing, turn on "personal file sharing" in addition.



    Now when you log on to the iMac from the iBook, you should be given a choice of things to mount : The iMac's built-in HDD, the USB drive, or the User's home directory.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    I think that I set it up correctly:







    Still only allows me to mount the administrator or the standard users. No option for the hard drive or the USB hard drive. Am I missing something?
  • Reply 5 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan


    I think that I set it up correctly



    Yes, that's just right.



    Hmmm...



    Is the user you are logging-in as an administrator on the iMac?
  • Reply 6 of 11
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H


    Yes, that's just right.



    Hmmm...



    Is the user you are logging-in as an administrator on the iMac?



    I can log in as either because both are mine. I run everyday as the standard user. For special things like softare updates etc, I run as admin.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan


    I can log in as either because both are mine. I run everyday as the standard user. For special things like softare updates etc, I run as admin.



    When you log in as the iMac admin from the iBook, you should be presented with a list of items to mount, one of them being the USB drive. I do this all the time.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H


    When you log in as the iMac admin from the iBook, you should be presented with a list of items to mount, one of them being the USB drive. I do this all the time.



    will give it a shot. Thank you.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan


    will give it a shot. Thank you.



    I had another thought: you may need to be logged-in on the iMac as the admin user for this to work.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    kishankishan Posts: 732member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. H


    I had another thought: you may need to be logged-in on the iMac as the admin user for this to work.



    Nope... you were right the first time. If I log to the iMac using the iMac administrator account, I can see all the volumes







    When I select the BigDisk, it mounts!







    Thanks a lot for your help! Now i just need to figure out how to make my iBook mount this drive each time I log into it.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    [QUOTE=Kishan]Nope... you were right the first time. … When I select the BigDisk, it mounts![/IMG]



    Good stuff.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kishan


    Now i just need to figure out how to make my iBook mount this drive each time I log into it.



    1.) Mount disk on the iBook.



    2.) Go to the "go" menu in Finder and choose "Computer".



    3.) Open system prefs and choose the "Accounts" pref pane.



    4.) Choose the "Login Items" tab.



    5.) Drag the "Lacie Big Disk" icon from the Finder's "Computer" window (opened in step 2.) to the login item list. (don't drag the icon from the desktop).



    6.) Done.



    That should work. Never used the functionality myself. Good luck.
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