View Windows shares from Mac OS X

Question

I have multiple Windows XP/7 computers with shared folders. What I want is to be able to see those shared folders in Finder of Mac OS X. How can I do that?

Answer 1

This is fairly easy to set up. Create a share on your Windows machine, and from the Mac, click Go > Server > and type in the name (or IP address) of the Windows box (using smb:// prefix).

You should be prompted with a screen showing the shares and a prompt for username and password. I forget the exact order.

See here for more info.

EDIT: To remember your shared connection, go to System Preferences > Accounts > your account > Login Items and add the shared volume using the dialogs there. More info here.

Answer 2

That should work out of the box.

Are you on the same network/workgroup?

Answer 3

If you are in OS 10.5 or later, you should be able to see the Windows machines in a regular Finder window by clicking on "Shared" in the left nav.

If you don't see the computers at all, take a look at Windows Firewall. By default, it blocks SMB file sharing from the Windows box, but won't stop the Windows box from mounting a drive on another machine. Turn it off completely and try again. If it works, you found your problem.