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Accessing SMB Servers
Using SMB is the most flexible way to access non-Mac file server networks. You don’t need any special software running on the Windows server — to the server, your Mac is just another PC on the network. Because of this, you can also access PC workstations that have file sharing turned on.

Before you start, you’ll need to have TCP/IP set up in Mac OS X. You’ll also need to be listed as a user on the server with the appropriate permissions to access the PC.

To log onto an SMB server, open the Go menu and Select “Connect to Server”.

The Connect to Server dialogue box will open. You won’t see SMB servers listed here — instead, you’ll need to type in a URL in the address field.

Unlike URLs for the Web, which start with http://, you’ll use a URL starting with smb://. The most basic URL form is this:
smb://ServerName/ShareName/

The “share” is the folder or hard disk being shared on the Windows server or workstation.

The server name can also be an IP address:smb://192.428.26.101/ShareName/ or a DNS name:smb://username@ServerName/ShareName/

On some networks, you may need the workgroup name. You can add this before the server name with a semicolon separator, as in:smb://workgroup;servername/ShareName

On smaller networks, or if you’re accessing a PC with file sharing turned on, you may be able to skip the share name, as in:smb://ServerName/

Filesystem Authentication

If you’ve previously logged into this server, it will appear in the pop-up menu at the top of the dialogue.

After you type in the URL, click the Connect button. A login screen will appear. Here you’ll type in your user name, password and domain (smaller networks may not have a domain).

When you click Connect, the server volume will mount on your desktop and appear in the Computer view of the Finder (It looks like a globe sitting on an external hard drive). Double-clicking opens a Finder window, which you can use to drag-and-drop files between the server volume and your hard disk.

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