Answer
If you want to do a Windows share from Mac OS X you need to know a few pieces of information first:
- The name of the server.
- The name of the share.
- The name of the Network or Domain where the server lives.
- Your user name on the server.
- Your password on the server.
- As there is no browsing feature when connecting to Windows shares, choose Connect To from the Go menu in the Finder.
- Enter 'smb://your_server_name/your_share_name' (sans quotes)
Note: You must replace 'your_server_name' and 'your_share_name' with your appropriate information for this to work. - A dialog box then prompts you to authenticate yourself: Enter the name of the workgroup in which the server resides, your user name on the server, and your password in the appropriate fields.
- The share will appear in the Computer area in a Finder window and on your desktop (if you have selected the Finder preference to show mounted shares on your desktop)
If you enter the fully qualified hostname of your Windows server (eg: your_server_name.mit.edu), the dialog box will appear with the appropriate workgroup name already entered.
Further notes from Apple's Knowledge Base.
You can find the entire article here.
Enables you to access and use various servers with ease. Samba also offers a replacement for domain controllers and a reliable file and print server that acts as a member. Thanks to Samba you can gain access to SMB client that enables you to use PC printers and discs directly from your Mac.
- 'ServerName' may be an IP address or DNS name.
- The name of the 'share' (the shared disk, volume, or directory) must be specified. You will not be prompted for it.
- You cannot type spaces as part of the share name when connecting. In place of any space in the share name, type: %20
- You cannot connect to a share with a name that contains a hyphen. Resolve the issue by giving the share a name that does not contain a hyphen.
- Connecting to (mounting) two or more SMB volumes simultaneously may cause a kernel panic. Drag one volume to the Trash to eject it before connecting to another.
- The only alert message that Mac OS X displays for SMB login difficulties is 'There's no file service available at the URL <URL>.' This is sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect. This is the message that would appear if you mistyped your password, for example.
- Mac OS X connects to SMB via the TCP/IP protocol, not via the NetBIOS protocol.
- When troubleshooting a connection failure, you can ping the IP address of the Windows computer using the Mac OS X Network Utility to verify a TCP/IP connection between the two computers.
- Check Microsoft support resources for information on setting up file sharing on your Microsoft Windows-based computer. These may include Help files installed on your computer or the Microsoft online Knowledge Base https://support.microsoft.com/en-us. For an example, see article Q304040: 'Description of File Sharing and Permissions in Windows XP'
- Oct 03, 2017 Mac: Connecting/Mapping to an SMB/CIFS Server/Share with Mac OS X. Please note that while this article specifically defines the steps necessary to connecting to an ECN drive, it can be used to connect to other SMB and CIFS servers from a Mac as well.
- Nov 04, 2019 Connecting to SMB works if the server is Linux, Windows, Mac. But I noticed AFP does not appear to work, but if the Mac is using SMB it does work so I guess AFP is deprecated? Also specifying protocols does not seem to matter with smb:// or cifs:// etc. Would be nice if it supported sftp too!
Note: These instructions assume you are using Mac OS version 10.1.2. Locations, labels, and behaviors may differ in other versions of the OS.
See Also
I have an update with a little more info.
I when I attempt to mount via the command line...
Smb Server For Mac Os
$ mkdir /Volumes/media
$ mount_smbfs //raspberrypi/media /Volumes/media
...I get the error message...
mount_smbfs: server connection failed: Operation not supported by device
When I try to mount via the Finder UI ('Browse' and then 'Connect As...') a single relevant line shows up in the logs, via the Console and the All Messages option. That line is:
Smb Server For Mac Shortcut
1/16/16 12:22:51.297 PM sharingd[309]: 12:22:51.296 : SDSharePointBrowser::handleOpenCallBack returned 19
Smb Server Mac Os X
This is the biggest 'stumper' I have ever dealt with on a Mac since 1986. I am a pretty talented computer guy. I see that other folks have this problem (or variations of it) and I have tried most if not all the supposed 'cures' and nothing has worked.
Again, my OTHER Mac can connect to all my home LAN SMB shares just. This 'problem Mac' could connect to these shares normally prior to my current bare-metal install of El Capitan, 10.11.2.
Jan 16, 2016 12:33 PM