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We're only a very small company, we don't have a proper Windows server, but we do store central documents on a Windows XP Pro machine via Windows file sharing.

The boss's MacBook Pro will connect and use the shares, but often will get itself into a state where the shares no longer work - navigating to the "server" in the Finder shows zero shares, yet all our Windows machines still work as they should.

I've asked a question elsewhere (serverfault, I believe) about trying to fix the connection problem, but I've not managed to find a solution yet.

We currently only have one Mac in the office, but that may soon rise if we land a certain project, so I'd like to find a workaround, perhaps by using a non-samba sharing system.

Is there an AFP-compatible server that will run on Windows XP?

Alternatively, are there other file sharing technologies that we can use?

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Do you really need AFP, or would fixing SMB work for you? – jmlumpkin Nov 10 '10 at 13:39
pushing aside Drarok's real issue (which is that samba is acting flaky), I think this is a very good question (is there an afp server for windows). so i think we should should try to answer it as stated unless Drarok wants to solve the samba issues, in which case this should be split into 2 questions. – Robert S Ciaccio Nov 10 '10 at 21:07
I'd love to figure out the samba issue, but I don't get enough hands-on time with the Mac, as a combination of being very busy (and grumpy when it happens) means my boss has taken to rebooting the Mac when the problem starts. The reboot normally stalls at the blue screen with an activity spinner, so holding the power button down has become a regular occurrence! – Drarok Nov 12 '10 at 7:47

1 Answer

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If the Mac doesn't "see" the windows file server, you can always use the "full name" or IP address of that server, starting the address name by "smb://" in the "Connect" dialog (Cmd + K in the Finder) :

alt text

See this Apple Note for more details.

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Thanks for the detailed answer, but I have already tried this, the connection never completes. :( – Drarok Nov 12 '10 at 7:48

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