iMac to Exchange Server 2003 - Can You Hear Me?

In an earlier topic I said that the new computer had to connect to Exchange Server 2003 that resides in my linen closet – a left over from my work days in a larger office with several networked computers all running Microsoft XP.

I heard that the iMac could work with Exchange 2003, so with the Ethernet cable attached, I open Finder.  The Exchange Server is listed.  it think this is truely amazing -- then, my elation is squashed is I find that folders and files are not accessible. 

The iMac's OS X tells me to “install the Microsoft UAM (User Authentication Module) folder in the system folder.”  I follow the directions in "readme.uam", and, using Finder, create a System folder.  I drag the created UAM folders into it from the desktop and authenticate the UAM.  Unfortunately, the folder and files from the Exchange Server 2003 are still not accessible.

I search the web and find this excellent reference: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-access-windows-home-server-from-mac-os-x/. The directions are clear:  From the System Preferences.app I check “file sharing.”  Then, in the Finder toolbar, under “Go”, I click on “connect to server” (also opened by command, K).  I type in the server ip address, preceded by smb:// (which refers to Server Message Block protocol used by Microsoft).  This prefix is essential and it works!  The server appears under “Shared” in the Finder and when opened it links to server folders and files.  I don’t know if installing Microsoft UAM to Appleshare made any difference, but it remains in the systems folder.  Perhaps someone can shed more light on this.

Connecting to the Old Dell

The iMac sees the old Dell on the network.  Using the same process of entering the computer ip under “file sharing”, I make the connection and it seen under both shared drives and under devises.  I gather this process is something like  mapping a drive in XP. 

Yes, I Can Hear You

The bottom line is that an iMac with OS X is quite capable of seeing Windows folder and files.  But you can't write to them, so it is very difficult to work with the folders.  Windows files tend to be in NTFS (New TEchnololgy File System) while OS X files are in HFS+ (Hierarchical File System).  This is a major road block in working in a mixed PC/Mac environment.  In some instances things like flash drives are formatted in FAT32 (File Allocation Table) which both OSX and Windows can read and write to, however, FAT is an older, less efficient, and less secure format that is no longer favored by either Windows or OS systems. 

I will look for a solution to this problem in upcoming topics.