MACS ARE DUMB- How do I PC them?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

So place I'm staying has a wi-fi network with the server being a mac. I'm trying to connect to this with a windows pc as I can see the Wi-fi network (listed under the computer name that is hosting it) but when I click on this network it just says cannot connect.
I know absolutely nothing about Macs and how their server things work and stuff- does anyone know how to get a pc to interface sexily with it. I have lots of IT friends but I can't access them if I can't access internet with my windows pc

[Aldurin]

The problem is that Knowledge: Macs is a trained-only skill, and you need to pay several gallons of virgin blood before you can get ranks in it.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

If no connection..then how smarty interbutting?!

I'd be willing to say it has RADIUS authentication being used. If your NIC's whatsits ain't in the You're a Cool Cat, daddio database you ain't gettin in. S'kinda like a network bouncer. If you ain't cool, which you ain't you shlub, you ain't gettin in to Coolsville.

At least, that's what my edumacated guess is without actually being there to analyze and poke at the signal while making monkey noises with my various magical networky tools.

[synkr0nized]

You guys are acting like WiFi changes based on operating system. There's a reason why 802.11 is a standard.

If you can see a network but are not able to connect when trying, you either have failed the authentication for the network or are being blocked by filtering of some kind. You need to talk to the admin of the network for access.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

This mac uses WEP encryption.
I have the passkey. When I try to connect by clicking on the network name there is no option to put this in., it just auto connection fails.
If I manually set up a network with the correct name and WEP encryption and the passkey standard it says it doesn't see any network despite putting the same network name as I see on the autoconnect.
There is no network admin and the only filtering is supposed to be the passkey which I have.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

oi oi oi, Synk. I'm hurt. Don't lump me in with those uncool noncats.

I know quite well it ain't operating system specific. I've set up RADIUS authentication during my internship as an extra requirement to a pass/fail capstone project since I felt the project was too easy already. Doesn't matter if wep, WPA2, or whatever. Hell, doesn't even need a key as prior authentication. If not on in the you're in list then one isn't gettin in. This reeks of quite a similar stink to what I've tinkered with for a good while on said project.

Or I could be very well overthinkin things, as I've been known to do, but yeah the whole deal ain't OS specific. They could very just be havin probs with their wifi.

E: also, shame on their IT dudes for going wep. Shit's so easy to crack it ain't even fun anymore.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

How do I add my shit to their list or whatever then? I have full access.
It's not a problem with the wifi- all the macs work fine and we just put a new mac on with no trouble. All the windows computers can't connect though. This is 100% a problem in that windows can't connect and macs can.

E: To connect the MAC we just start it up, use the airport thingy and put in the WEP passkey thing. Windows having none of that shit though.

E2: FIXED. There was an apostrophe in the network name which was buggering things up for some reason.

[synkr0nized]

edit: I apparently left this tab open and took too long to post it while reading about RADIUS. In any case, I'll leave this post anyway, as your solution is one of the things I suggested might be relevant.
edit2: ALSO technically, if it was just that an apostrophe in the pass key wasn't working on the Windows machines but was on the Macs, then it was kind of an OS issue. Oh man, don't I look silly.



By "admin" I just meant whoever owned the router if you were using a router or the Mac itself if you're sharing its internet connection.

You mention an Airport, which makes me think of the standalone router/wireless access point, but it sounds like you have a wireless device attached to a Mac machine and are setting up that machine to share its Internet access through this device. This is probably why you have to use WEP, as I think connection sharing doesn't have anything better. Connection sharing is kind of ugh.

I haven't had the pleasure [?] of working with RADIUS, but based on the kinds of things that are involved vs. the description of what you are doing in this thread -- and that you are using WEP -- I don't think you have to mess with that. That's for more secure network administration, but make sure that your friends who can connect aren't entering in more than a WEP password. But if they are maybe Skweeb's right on and that should be investigated.

Let's see if we can generate some ideas with respect to regular connection sharing. Fortunately as long as you have access to the Mac that's sharing its connection you should be able to futz with whatever.

Some things you can do to narrow down where the issue is:

- use a wired connection with a Windows-based machine that is having trouble with the wireless signal to make sure that it can connect
--- If this works, you likely can rule out MAC filtering preventing your access.
--- I guess this will depend on if the machine sharing its connection has another LAN port for you to connect to with your computer.

- have whoever is in control of the wireless network's settings turn off WEP
--- If you can connect, then perhaps a) you haven't copied the passkey correctly or b) it is not being communicated properly across the two operating systems [special character/symbol, perhaps].
--- You could then toggle WEP back on; manually configure the network connection on the Windows machine, entering in the WEP passkey and, hmm, making sure that WEP is checked/selected and that Network Authentication is checked
--- try WEP with a different key, starting with one that just uses letters and numbers and no symbols or special characters

- borrow if possible a router and set it up for an afternoon
--- If this works, then urge whomever you are staying with to move to this as a solution (i.e. buy one), since network sharing off of one machine is kind of terrible outside of those "check out how cool my phone is" or commercials for laptops in public cafes.

*shrug*
Connection sharing is not something I like, but hopefully you can track down what's what.