How to get Snow Leopard to see my NAS drive

[MajorFubar]

Work with me guys...what I know about networking, especially Mac networking can be written on the back of a postage stamp.

So...I've got my new Mac Mini today, managed to connecting to my Netgear modem/router.

Also plugged into my Netgear router is a Sitecom MD-250 network drive, which I can usually see on my home network as "STORAGE-771B". I have a couple of SMB shared folders on it called 'Main Storage' and 'Music'. The group name is HOME. The two folders don't have any passwords.

On my Windows Vista PC (workgroup also set to HOME), clicking 'Network' on the Start menu opens the networking window which shows STORAGE-771B as a computer icon. I can double-click the icon which then drills down to show the Main Storage and Music folders.

On the Mac, I can't get that far. I've tried Go>Connect to server... then typed 'smb://STORAGE-771B', but then when I click Connect, it asks for a username and password, which as far as I'm concerned don't exist because I didn't set any up in the Sitecom's SMB Server config screen.

I've been in the System Prefs > Network screen > Advanced tab>WINS and entered HOME as the Workgroup. But that doesn't appear to have helped either.

Any ideas??

Many thanks!!!

 

[Paul.]

If you setup the Nas on a windows machine, try your windows username and password.

 

[MajorFubar]

Thanks but my Windows PC doesnt have a username or password either. I know I can access the drive from any Windows PC on the network because I've tried other PCs, so it can't be that

 

[Paul.]

Any luck with this yet?

(have a shameless bump)

 

[MajorFubar]

Unfortunately not

I can't see what I'm doing wrong. It's really frustrating being 90% there.

When I click 'Go > Connect to server...' and enter 'smb://STORAGE-771B', it does see the two SMB folders ('Main Storage' and 'Music') but when I try to connect to either it asks for a username and password, but the folders aren't protected with a username or password so no matter what I enter I don't get in. There's not an option to leave the fields blank.

If I go to the Sitecom's setup screens, it is possible to give the folders a password (which I haven't done), but not a username. So I'm a bit flummoxed. The two Windows (vista) PCs in the house can access the folders no trouble at all just via Start > Network, but unfortunately the Mac doesn't want to play.

I may join a Mac forum and ask there. If I sort it out, I’ll post an answer here.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Assuming you haven't changed the default username and password on the Sitecom, have you tried using those? The default is admin on both lines.

 

[Paul.]

Worth trying, but I think that is the ip login to get to the setup page, not the access password.

 

[MajorFubar]

Correct, though with my drive it's always been 'admin' and 'password'. You use them to access the setup screens after entering the drive's IP in the browser.

I have already tried them just in case, but to no avail.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Using the administrator log-in and password usually work for me when connecting to NAS drives from Macs in this way.

 

[Andrew Everard]

And have you tried afp:// followed by the Sitecom's IP address in the apple-K/connect to server window?

(I assume you've used the Samba window on the Sitecom set-up to ensure the folders you're trying to access are shared as 'Public'?)

 

[Zarn_Smith]

Try logging in as "guest" with no password.

 

[MajorFubar]

Yeah I tried logging in as a guest, but that doesn't work either

(I assume you've used the Samba window on the Sitecom set-up to ensure the folders you're trying to access are shared as 'Public'?)

Yeah I did that when I first bought the drive some years ago.

And have you tried afp:// followed by the Sitecom's IP address in the apple-K/connect to server window?

No...I'll give that a go later. I thought afp was specifically to connect to Apple networks? No harm in trying it though.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I can use either to log into the various NAS drives I have. Still a bit mystified about that admin/password log-in you have, though: all the Sitecom documentation I've found has suggested admin/admin. In extremis I guess it might be worth trying resetting the Sitecom to factory defaults, then trying the default log-in given in your documentation.

 

[Dan Turner]

Try your Mac admin user name and password?

 

[MajorFubar]

Tried that.

Well I'm getting nowhere fast with this and its souring what has otherwise been a pleasrable experience with a new computer and new OS.

I've even read through the drive's instructions about how to connect to it from a Mac, and I'm apparently doing everything right. It's supposed to be just simply Go > Connect to Server ..., enter smb:// then the host name (in my case STORAGE-771B) then it's supposed to ask you which shared folder to mount, and off you go. There is absolutely no mention of being asked for a username and password.

I'm officially stumped. :/

 

[Andrew Everard]

Me too, I'm afraid.

 

[MajorFubar]

No worries Andrew. I appreciate that people have tried to help me.

The only thing it confirms is that I'm not just being plain numb on account of dealing with an unfamiliar OS

 

[chebby]

Has any non-computer expert ever installed a NAS without some pain?

It must be one of the most frequent 'help'/'how do I...?' subjects on the forum.

Andrew's blog on the subject is positively scary!

I have started using an otherwise little used iMac in the next room (via AirPlay) as my 'NAS' and all that I needed to do was to press an AirPlay symbol on iTunes and select the Marantz then control it from my iPhone wirelessly.

I thought the whole idea of a NAS was much the same, as in a complete, plug and play, wireless accessible, remote controllable, music source that can be used even when the computer is off. 'Shove it in a cupboard and forget it' sort of thing.

Good luck with getting it all to work eventually.

 

[Dan Turner]

I thought the whole idea of a NAS was much the same, as in a complete, plug and play, wireless accessible, remote controllable, music source that can be used even when the computer is off. 'Shove it in a cupboard and forget it' sort of thing.

everything you said there is right except 'plug and play'. Anything to do with networking seems to require specialist knowledge that most of us don't have. Luckily most people seem to be able to muddle though most of the time (when I got my NAS up and running it definitely felt like more of a case of luck than judgement), but occasionally something like this comes up and it's virtually impossible for the layman to know why it's happened or how to go about resolving it.

The company that make computer networking truly plug and play is going to make a killing!

To the OP - the only thing I can think of (and you may have already tried this) is to do a bit of Googling abot the issue, or look on the Apple support site, or that for your NAS. Good luck.

 

[Paul.]

Just curiously, in the Macs Network settings, is there more than one workgroup available? If not, in preferences, go to Network, click advanced then the WINS tab. Change WORKGROUP to HOME (or however/whatever you named it).

Any Joy?

 

[MajorFubar]

Just curiously, in the Macs Network settings, is there more than one workgroup available? If not, in preferences, go to Network, click advanced then the WINS tab. Change WORKGROUP to HOME (or however/whatever you named it).

Any Joy?

That was the first thing I tried. I did mention as such in my opening post, but I guess I put quite a lot of info in that opening post so it's understandable you may have missed it. Thanks for trying to help.