Connect to a file server with Mac OS 9
You may use either the Chooser or the Network Browser to connect with a file server in classic Mac OS.
Supported protocols
Mac OS 9 can connect to file servers using the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) over AppleTalk or TCP/IP (see AFP over IP). Mac OS 9 does not support NFS, SMB/CIFS, or WebDAV natively. While Mac OS 9 does support File Transfer Protocol (FTP), we still recommend getting Fetch.
Note: AppleTalk routing is no longer available on the RIT campus network as of July 24, 2006. This could affect connections to file servers, network printers, and inter-application communication. While RIT’s network does not disable or prevent the use of the AppleTalk protocol itself, the lack of AppleTalk routing does prevent that traffic from:
- going across network segment boundaries (or subnets)
- traversing the RIT backbone.
Because of this ITS will not be able to support or troubleshoot AppleTalk related problems. For more information, see our AppleTalk support statement page.
Mac OS 8 supports similar protocols. If you are using Mac OS 8, however, you may need to upgrade your AppleShare client software in order to connect to file servers that use the AFP protocol over TCP/IP. To find the best version of the AppleShare client software for your computer, we recommend reading Apple Knowledgebase article 106430 (scroll down to the "AppleShare client software by platform" heading).
The following instructions assume that you will be connecting to a server that uses the AFP protocol over TCP/IP. (See our AppleTalk support statement for more details on the AppleTalk protocol at RIT.)
Connect to a file server using the Chooser application
- Select the Chooser application from the Apple menu.
- Click on the "AppleShare" icon in the top left pane of the Chooser window.
- Click on the "Server IP Address" button on the right side of the Chooser window.
- Enter the address of the file server you want to connect with (see File server addresses).
- Click on the "Connect" button.
- Enter your user name and password for the file server in the next dialog box.
- Click on the "Connect" button.
- Select the share points, or volumes, you want to connect with from the next dialog box. Highlight them by clicking on them with your cursor; select multiple volumes by shift-clicking on their names. If you click on the checkboxes next to the volumes, you will automatically mount those volumes the next time you start up the computer; we recommend against this in most cases.
- Click on the "OK" button.
The file server volume(s) you selected should appear on your desktop.
Connect to a file server using the Network Browser application
- Select the Network Browser application from the Apple menu.
- Click on the leftmost of the buttons (which looks like a disk drive in front of a globe) in the toolbar of the Network Browser application. From the drop down menu, select "Connect To Server ..."
- Enter the address of the file server you want to connect with (see File server addresses).
- Click on the "Connect" button.
- Enter your user name and password for the file server in the next dialog box.
- Click on the "Connect" button.
- Select the share points, or volumes, you want to connect with from the next dialog box. Highlight them by clicking on them with your cursor; select multiple volumes by shift-clicking on their names. If you click on the checkboxes next to the volumes, you will automatically mount those volumes the next time you start up the computer; we recommend against this in most cases.
- Click on the "OK" button.