Apples and Windows PCs in same Network?

[bisonator]

Is it possible to network an Apple machine with a Windows PC? assuming the both have network hardware.

[Isezumi]

This task varies from Ridiculously easy to skull smashing nightmare depending on A) the age of the computers B) your knowledge and patience.

Newer Macs (iMacs, and up) and pretty much any Windows PC can network via TCP/IP its merely a matter of getting all the right settings and waiting for the OS' to talk. When you start talking older Mac hardware they predominantly use Appletalk I BELIEVE that Windows has native support to be compatible with Appletalk. But its one of those really fussy things.

So yeah it can be done, and for the most part its really simple (on paper) just be persistent.

[bisonator]

Yeah, i've got like a brand new iMac notebook or something like that, with windows XP, so I guess it's just a case of hookign them up and following through the routine. Whatever that is, lol, network n00b here. At least I'll hopefully get some instructions... *crosses fingers*

[Colossus]

Most macs had an expansion bay for a network card Either it be an Ethernet or other form

So yes as long as you can get a Ethernet card install or if it already has one.. Then they can talk via TCP/IP...

[SkyDog]

If the Mac is running OS X, it's a piece of cake. OS X is based on BSD *nix and includes Samba... which means it knows how to "speak" Windows file sharing. To connect to a Windows box, click Go on the finder menu, select Connect to Server, and type in your Windows box's name or IP address like so: smb://computername

If the Mac is running an older OS, there are ways to do a lot of things without resorting to third-party software, but depending on what you want to do, it can be a hassle. You might want to look into a product like Dave by Thursby Software, which makes networking Macs and PC's much easier.

You shouldn't need AppleTalk under just about any circumstances. Mac OS 9 and X can get by just fine without it, and I believe OS 8 can, too. Apple file sharing doesn't rely on AppleTalk, but rather on Apple File Protocol (AFP). AFP can be carried on top of either TCP/IP or AppleTalk, and Apple's actually moving to drop AppleTalk (thankfully) in favor of TCP/IP.

As far as I'm aware, the only versions of Windows that have support for Apple File Protocol (whether it's on TCP/IP or AppleTalk) are server versions like Windows NT Server 4.0 or Windows 2000 Server. Those include Services for Macintosh, which allow you to create Mac-compatible file and print shares. (They don't allow you to browse other Apple shares, though.)