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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Opening Excel Files From Nas Server

nomis007 - Jun 16, 2005 - 5:40 pm

Hello,

I have 2 identical Mac Minis running OSX 10.3.8 or 10.3.9

There is a Network Attached Storage unit where we share files. Both have Office 2004 installed and have been able to open and save files to this NAS network drive.

Now I'm getting error messages from one of the Mac Mini where I can't launch or save an Excel file to the NAS drive. I would have to copy it to the desktop and copy it back.

I tried reinstalling Office 2004 without luck.

I'm very close to reinstalling the entire OSX and starting over because the other Mac Mini is working like a charm.

Thank You
Simon

Go3iverson - Jun 17, 2005 - 2:19 pm

Your issue is probably related to the NAS itself. What type of connection are you using to connect to it? SMB?

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Michael Dhaliwal, ACSA
www.district13computing.com

nomis007 - Jun 21, 2005 - 12:34 am

It has Apple File Sharing enabled, and SMB for the PCs

Go3iverson - Jun 21, 2005 - 8:15 am

So, this could be a couple of things...

One, if your sharing the docs out over two protocols, you could be locking the docs. This means that you might have one person accessing the data over SMB and another over your Apple protocol, which will leave the doc as Read Only.

Secondly, and I've also seen this with mixed platform data access on a non-Apple server, is that the server may be choking on the shadow files from Mac OS X. I've seen different versions of Windows Server (2000 and 2003) improperly handle all the ._ files (shadow files) that OS X creates and not properly close those files along with the primary file. Technically speaking, it really gunks up the works! You can check into this a bit, if this is Windows, by right clicking on the My Computer and check out the sharing info on what docs are currently being used. That'll help you on either issue.

Also, check if your Apple is working over some sort of AFP type client and cannot access the data, take a look at attempting to access the data over SMB.

You might even be best served to only use SMB. Most of the real advantages to AFP connectivity (Kerberos support, auto reconnect, robust security, long file names, larger data stores) are only available on the more modern AFP clients, in the version 3.x range. For example, Windows' Services for Macintosh is version 2.2 and is missing all of this functionality.

There are third party applications, like ExtremeZ-IP, which will run on non-Apple servers to provide a modern AFP client for you, but, when considering these options, I usually recommend looking at an Xserve first.

Let me know where this gets you!

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Michael Dhaliwal, ACSA
www.district13computing.com

nomis007 - Jun 25, 2005 - 3:55 am

Hi Michael,

I'm going to setup a Mac OSX server which is better for all the MacUsers.


Thank You
Simon

Go3iverson - Jun 25, 2005 - 10:10 am

Cool idea. They'll be much happier and you'll see an instant return on your investment!

Are you going to simply load up software onto an existing Mac, or get an Xserve, which will include the software?
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Michael Dhaliwal, ACSA
www.district13computing.com

nomis007 - Jul 3, 2005 - 11:46 am

I'm going to use a G4 with OSX Server 10 client. It's only for 4 users.

Thanks Again
Simon

Go3iverson - Jul 3, 2005 - 8:40 pm

Cool stuff.

Feel free to let me know if you need any assistance!

You can always contact me through this site or through my www.district13computing.com site as well.

Good luck!

Mike D
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Michael Dhaliwal, ACSA
www.district13computing.com