There are three parts to Samba/Windows networking:
1. The server. This provides a shared folder or drive allowing clients to access the files on it.
2. The client. This is what allows the guest computer to access a windows shared drive. OS X includes a Samba client.
3. The browser. This shows which workgroups and computers are available to you. In windows, this is the "network neighbourhood". OS X does not include a Samba browser.
OS X includes a Samba client, which means you can mount Windows shared drives and folders. But because there is no Samba browser included, you need to know either the IP address or the workgroup and computer name of the PC you are connecting to.
Heres what to do, assuming both the PC and Mac are connected with a working network:
PART ONE: Setting up a Windows share
- On the PC, open Network control panel.
- Ensure you have the "File and print sharing for M$ networks" in the list of network components.
- Click "File and print sharing" and select "I want to give others access to my files".
- In the Identification tab, note and/or set the computer name and workgroup.
- Select the drive or folder you want to share in windows explorer.
- Choose "File -> Properties" and click the "Sharing" tab.
- Select "Shared as" and enter a share name.
- You might need to restart the PC. Check the shared file again to make sure the settings have been kept.
PART TWO: Connecting OS X to a windows share.
- On the Mac, choose the finder and select Go -> Connect to server.
- In the "address" field, enter either:
smb://IP-address/sharename
(put in the IP address and share name of the Win computer)
or, if you don't know the IP address, enter the computer name and workgroup name like this:
smb://workgroupname;computername/sharename
You may get a dialogue asking for a password. If you have not set a password, just leave it blank. Your PC shared folder will appear as a drive on your desktop.
------
That is all you need to do. If, on the other hand, you want to browse files on your Mac from your PC, you need to get a samba server.
You can now download "Samba X" from versiontracker. It is a samba server nicely packaged up, with an installer and instructions. It is also free open-source! Also worth looking at, the commercial program "Dave" implements all the Samba browsing and sharing, as well as Windows printer sharing.