Windows: file sharing without setting up a share
Objective: quick and easy access to files on a Windows machine over a LAN.
Problem: Say you have laptop running Mac OS X, Ubuntu, or Windows XP/Vista, and you would like to quickly grab some files from a PC running Windows 2000/XP/Vista on the same Local Area Network (LAN) at home or at work.
Solution in brief: There is a hidden share for each drive under Windows (e.g. C$ for C:, D$ for D:). Simply connect to one of these shares to access files you need. You need to provide admin user name and password. Under Mac OS X or Linux, you would use "Connect to Server..."; under another Windows, you just use "Map Network Drive...". Find out the target Windows machine's IP address and off you go!
Solution in detail: There is no need to login to your Windows machine and set up a share for this purpose. There is a hidden share for each drive under Windows. That’s right, there is a hidden share C$ for drive C:, D$ for D:, and so on. These shares are enabled by default for administrative purposes. You need to have an account with administrative privilege.
Step 1: find out the IP address of the Windows machine (type the command “ipconfig” from a terminal). Say the IP you got is: 192.168.0.2. You can also use the easy-to-remember machine name instead of the IP address on a LAN with all Windows machines.
Step 2: from the laptop connected to the same LAN, connect to one of the default shares of your Windows machine:
Problem: Say you have laptop running Mac OS X, Ubuntu, or Windows XP/Vista, and you would like to quickly grab some files from a PC running Windows 2000/XP/Vista on the same Local Area Network (LAN) at home or at work.
Solution in brief: There is a hidden share for each drive under Windows (e.g. C$ for C:, D$ for D:). Simply connect to one of these shares to access files you need. You need to provide admin user name and password. Under Mac OS X or Linux, you would use "Connect to Server..."; under another Windows, you just use "Map Network Drive...". Find out the target Windows machine's IP address and off you go!
Solution in detail: There is no need to login to your Windows machine and set up a share for this purpose. There is a hidden share for each drive under Windows. That’s right, there is a hidden share C$ for drive C:, D$ for D:, and so on. These shares are enabled by default for administrative purposes. You need to have an account with administrative privilege.
Step 1: find out the IP address of the Windows machine (type the command “ipconfig” from a terminal). Say the IP you got is: 192.168.0.2. You can also use the easy-to-remember machine name instead of the IP address on a LAN with all Windows machines.
Step 2: from the laptop connected to the same LAN, connect to one of the default shares of your Windows machine:
- If your laptop runs Mac OS X, from Finder menu item Go->Connect to Server… (or Command-K for quick access), put smb://192.168.0.2/D$ in Server Address and click Connect, provide admin user name and password for the Windows machine when prompted (do not worry about the workgroup setting if you are running Tiger).
- If your laptop runs Ubuntu 7.10, from menu bar Places->Connect to Server…, select windows share as service type, server: 192.168.0.2, share: D$ (if you leave this blank, you will be able to access all default shares on your windows machine), User Name: admin user name, leave the rest blank, click Connect, a folder named “D$ on 192.168.0.2” will appear on your desktop, double click you will be prompted for password (do not worry about the workgroup setting).
- If your laptop runs Windows XP/Vista, open Windows Explorer, select menu item Tools->Map Network Drive…, put \\192.168.0.2\D$ in Folder section, click Finish button, and provide admin user name and password.
Step 3: you now have full read and write access to drive D: on your Windows machine. Be warned, your domain administrator can access any part of the local drives of your Windows machine connected to the LAN!
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