Best way to share files wirelessly between Windows 10 & OS X

[Steelbom]

I'm wanting to wirelessly share files to and from my Windows 10 & OS X computers. I would like a hard drive in the middle that I can drop files to which can then be accessed by the other computer.

I have an old laptop running Windows 10, is it possible to set that up to have share access between my PC and Mac?

Open to alternatives.

Thanks in advance.

 

[aigomorla]

A NAS intermediary that you can access on both win10 (SMB) and APPLE (AFB) would probably be your best bet.
The nas Wired directly to your wifi router or network.

 

[Steelbom]

A NAS intermediary that you can access on both win10 (SMB) and APPLE (AFB) would probably be your best bet.
The nas Wired directly to your wifi router or network.

Is that something I could do with my laptop? On Windows 10? (I could install ubuntu or another variant of Linux if necessary)?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Is that something I could do with my laptop? On Windows 10? (I could install ubuntu or another variant of Linux if necessary)?

You could use FreeNAS, it's very popular, very much supported, and pretty easy to use for basic needs line you have.

 

[mxnerd]

Is that something I could do with my laptop? On Windows 10? (I could install ubuntu or another variant of Linux if necessary)?

There is nothing wrong using old laptop running Windows 10 to share files with 2 other PC & MAC. Use what is familiar to you since your setup is very minimal. If storage is not enough, just add an external USB drive.

https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+10+sharing+with+mac

 

[Steelbom]

Thanks guys I'll check those suggestions out!

 

[SamirD]

I've had to deal with this exact same requirement before and if you want it seamless and 'just working', go with a nas setup. You can use your laptop to do it, but storage might be a bit limited. Also, check if your router has a usb port for attaching a drive--this also works just like a nas, but may be a bit more buggy. Freenas and nas4free as well as many others are great solutions to this problem.

 

[Steelbom]

I've had to deal with this exact same requirement before and if you want it seamless and 'just working', go with a nas setup. You can use your laptop to do it, but storage might be a bit limited. Also, check if your router has a usb port for attaching a drive--this also works just like a nas, but may be a bit more buggy. Freenas and nas4free as well as many others are great solutions to this problem.

I see, thank you. Yeah I do want it seamless -- in the past, I've tried the USB on the router and it was slow and buggy.

Keen to have a look at this FreeNas thing... is it an OS that runs instead of Windows/Linux?

 

[SamirD]

I see, thank you. Yeah I do want it seamless -- in the past, I've tried the USB on the router and it was slow and buggy.

Keen to have a look at this FreeNas thing... is it an OS that runs instead of Windows/Linux?

freenas is basically a program running on top of a version of linux so seamlessly it's basically an os. You can also try it as a live cd where it will keep the config on a usb drive. I think this would be your best route if you've tried the router approach. The macs just don't like anything windows and since freenas is linux like the underlayer of macs are, they play pretty well together.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I see, thank you. Yeah I do want it seamless -- in the past, I've tried the USB on the router and it was slow and buggy.

Keen to have a look at this FreeNas thing... is it an OS that runs instead of Windows/Linux?

Like Samir said, FreeNAS is a customized version of a Unix type operating system. It's heavily supported, generally easy to use for basic needs, but very configurable for advanced functions.

The issue you may run into with the laptop is you need a separate boot drive and storage drive, IIRC. A USB drive will work fine as the boot drive if the laptop can boot from USB. Then you can either use the internal storage for files and stuff, or another USB device for a storage device.

If you've never used it before, there will be a learning curve with some trial and error.

 

[Steelbom]

freenas is basically a program running on top of a version of linux so seamlessly it's basically an os. You can also try it as a live cd where it will keep the config on a usb drive. I think this would be your best route if you've tried the router approach. The macs just don't like anything windows and since freenas is linux like the underlayer of macs are, they play pretty well together.

Oh, I see. That's good to know, thanks!

Like Samir said, FreeNAS is a customized version of a Unix type operating system. It's heavily supported, generally easy to use for basic needs, but very configurable for advanced functions.

The issue you may run into with the laptop is you need a separate boot drive and storage drive, IIRC. A USB drive will work fine as the boot drive if the laptop can boot from USB. Then you can either use the internal storage for files and stuff, or another USB device for a storage device.

If you've never used it before, there will be a learning curve with some trial and error.

Thanks. Can I simply make another partition on the boot drive, or can it not use the boot drive at all? I was planning on doing that, but if that's not possible I'll opt for the USB route. If I boot the OS on a thumb drive is that slower than on an SSD? Or does it not affect anything important?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Oh, I see. That's good to know, thanks!

Thanks. Can I simply make another partition on the boot drive, or can it not use the boot drive at all? I was planning on doing that, but if that's not possible I'll opt for the USB route. If I boot the OS on a thumb drive is that slower than on an SSD? Or does it not affect anything important?

IIRC, the OS will not allow you to share space on the boot drive. The boot drive does not need to be very big either, at least a 2GB USB would work.

The speed of the boot drive will really only impact startup and shutdown times. Services are running in RAM, so the age of the system / RAM speed etc will impact performance. For basic file sharing, it's really not something to worry about, as almost anythingade I. The last decade will suffice.

You'll mainly admin something like FreeNAS from it's webgui, so you'll also want to give it a static IP during install, or set your router to give it the same DHCP address Everytime, and something outside the routers DHCP range.

 

[Steelbom]

IIRC, the OS will not allow you to share space on the boot drive. The boot drive does not need to be very big either, at least a 2GB USB would work.

The speed of the boot drive will really only impact startup and shutdown times. Services are running in RAM, so the age of the system / RAM speed etc will impact performance. For basic file sharing, it's really not something to worry about, as almost anythingade I. The last decade will suffice.

You'll mainly admin something like FreeNAS from it's webgui, so you'll also want to give it a static IP during install, or set your router to give it the same DHCP address Everytime, and something outside the routers DHCP range.

I see I see. I read over FreeNas's recent requirements and they say a minimum of 8GB, recommended 16GB for a boot drive. Also minimum of 8GB of RAM (due to the ZFS file system). My little laptop only has 4GB.

I'm going to install it on a 64GB external SSD that I have laying around and see if it works with 4GB of RAM. If not, I'll try and find an older version that supports the UFS which I think 4GB of RAM is sufficient for.

Oh good to know, I'll see what I can do with that.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I see I see. I read over FreeNas's recent requirements and they say a minimum of 8GB, recommended 16GB for a boot drive. Also minimum of 8GB of RAM (due to the ZFS file system). My little laptop only has 4GB.

I'm going to install it on a 64GB external SSD that I have laying around and see if it works with 4GB of RAM. If not, I'll try and find an older version that supports the UFS which I think 4GB of RAM is sufficient for.

Oh good to know, I'll see what I can do with that.

Yea, zfs wont be what you're using. It will be ok. Give the install a shot and add the storage device later. You dont need it at first if you just want check it out.

https://www.freenas.org/faq/

Section 3

8GB minimum is recommended, but not required. This is important if you're going to add in plugins or something else that will require more storage space.

Good luck!

 

[mxnerd]

FreeNAS OS must reside on its own drive. That means you need a flash boot drive that's 8GB size. And use your laptop's internal HDD & your external 64GB SSD as storage drives.

https://www.freenas.org/hardware-requirements/
Small FreeNAS for a Few Users

• Multicore 64-bit processor
• 8 GB or larger boot drive
• 8 GB RAM (You can get away with it if don't use RAID-Z according to people)
• One Ethernet network port
• At least one hard disk for storage

==

You can try NethServer, which also has a very good UI and does not require hefty memory (only 1G)

https://www.nethserver.org/
http://docs.nethserver.org/en/v7/installation.html#minimum-requirements

 

[Steelbom]

Thanks everyone! I got a samba server running on ubuntu which is working great!

IIRC, the OS will not allow you to share space on the boot drive. The boot drive does not need to be very big either, at least a 2GB USB would work.

The speed of the boot drive will really only impact startup and shutdown times. Services are running in RAM, so the age of the system / RAM speed etc will impact performance. For basic file sharing, it's really not something to worry about, as almost anythingade I. The last decade will suffice.

You'll mainly admin something like FreeNAS from it's webgui, so you'll also want to give it a static IP during install, or set your router to give it the same DHCP address Everytime, and something outside the routers DHCP range.

I ended up installing FreeNAS and then realising that it doesn't support wifi and my laptop doesn't have an ethernet port so I needed to look for another solution.

Yea, zfs wont be what you're using. It will be ok. Give the install a shot and add the storage device later. You dont need it at first if you just want check it out.

https://www.freenas.org/faq/

Section 3

8GB minimum is recommended, but not required. This is important if you're going to add in plugins or something else that will require more storage space.

Good luck!

Actually the requirements are much higher now and the current version of FreeNAS only uses ZFS. So 8GB is now the minimum required. I did install with only 4 but wasn't able to test it out due to lack of ethernet.

FreeNAS OS must reside on its own drive. That means you need a flash boot drive that's 8GB size. And use your laptop's internal HDD & your external 64GB SSD as storage drives.

https://www.freenas.org/hardware-requirements/
Small FreeNAS for a Few Users

• Multicore 64-bit processor
• 8 GB or larger boot drive
• 8 GB RAM (You can get away with it if don't use RAID-Z according to people)
• One Ethernet network port
• At least one hard disk for storage

==

You can try NethServer, which also has a very good UI and does not require hefty memory (only 1G)

https://www.nethserver.org/
http://docs.nethserver.org/en/v7/installation.html#minimum-requirements

Thanks. If I need to do another install in the future I'll check NethServer out. Unfortunately the lack of Ethernet port was a problem for FreeNAS and may be for NethServer as well.

 

[SamirD]

Glad you've got a working solution.

For ethernet, I'd plug in a realtek chipset based usb dongle as it should be auto-recognized.

What I've found the hard part of this to be is to find a realtek-based usb dongle that is cheap as the 2.5Gb ones aren't.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Thanks everyone! I got a samba server running on ubuntu which is working great!


I ended up installing FreeNAS and then realising that it doesn't support wifi and my laptop doesn't have an ethernet port so I needed to look for another solution.

Actually the requirements are much higher now and the current version of FreeNAS only uses ZFS. So 8GB is now the minimum required. I did install with only 4 but wasn't able to test it out due to lack of ethernet.


Thanks. If I need to do another install in the future I'll check NethServer out. Unfortunately the lack of Ethernet port was a problem for FreeNAS and may be for NethServer as well.

Bolded: you managed to install with 4, so 8 isn't required

I haven't read anywhere regarding the removal of non-ZFS single disks from freeNAS, I suspect that single non-ZFS storage disks are still supported, and your statement may just be the result of that learning curve.

If the laptop doesn't have a NIC, I would abandon the FreeNAS build and try something else.

 

[Steelbom]

Glad you've got a working solution.

For ethernet, I'd plug in a realtek chipset based usb dongle as it should be auto-recognized.

What I've found the hard part of this to be is to find a realtek-based usb dongle that is cheap as the 2.5Gb ones aren't.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out.

Bolded: you managed to install with 4, so 8 isn't required

It installed, but that doesn't mean it'll function correctly. I intended to test that out as my needs were quite basic but I never got to that point due to the lack of Ethernet port.

Minimum specs: https://www.freenas.org/hardware-requirements/

I haven't read anywhere regarding the removal of non-ZFS single disks from freeNAS, I suspect that single non-ZFS storage disks are still supported, and your statement may just be the result of that learning curve.

If the laptop doesn't have a NIC, I would abandon the FreeNAS build and try something else.

From the FAQ:

Why does FreeNAS only support the ZFS filesystem?
FreeNAS is designed around the OpenZFS filesystem, which enables many of the advanced features of FreeNAS such as data integrity, early indication of faulty drives, and the ability to boot into a previous working copy of the operating system after a failed upgrade. Other filesystems, including UFS, NTFS, FAT, EXT2 and EXT3 are supported “read only”, in order to allow data migration onto a ZFS volume.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Well, that seems to settle the matter. I have an existing UFS volume and I haven't upgraded the OS for quite sometime. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

 

[SamirD]

Well, that seems to settle the matter. I have an existing UFS volume and I haven't upgraded the OS for quite sometime. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

So then for the OP, would using a legacy version work? (I'm also curious about this now.)

 

[ch33zw1z]

So then for the OP, would using a legacy version work? (I'm also curious about this now.)

It's possible, but he's still got the USB nic problem to overcome. Need to consult the support hardware list to see which USB nic's are supported. But it's not really a recommended workaround either.

 

[mxnerd]

FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD.

https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2-U5/intro.html#network-interfaces

Wireless not supported, however.

https://www.freebsd.org/releases/11.2R/hardware.html#ethernet

There are quite a few USB ethernet adapters. (I'll recommend ASIX over Realtek chips since it's their specialty, IIRC)

 

[SamirD]

FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD.

https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/11.2-U5/intro.html#network-interfaces

Wireless not supported, however.

https://www.freebsd.org/releases/11.2R/hardware.html#ethernet

There are quite a few USB ethernet adapters. (I'll recommend ASIX over Realtek chips since it's their specialty, IIRC)

I've generally found the asix chipsets don't have native support, hence why I recommended realtek, especially since the 2.5g driver also includes all the other models.

 

[mxnerd]

I've generally found the asix chipsets don't have native support, hence why I recommended realtek, especially since the 2.5g driver also includes all the other models.

I used to have an ASIX USB 100Mbps adapter, but don't know where it is now.

Just created a FreeNAS VM in VMware workstation, using Realtek 8153 USB 1Gbps adapter detached from host and attached to guest VM and it installed OK. It won't get an DHCP IP for me however, I have to configure a static IP to be able to access FreeNAS's web interface.

But personally I really don't recommend running enterprise NAS software on an old laptop with USB network card and USB storage. That really doesn't make any sense. It probably will bring more problem than it solves down the road.

Same opinion as following post.

https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/usb-3-0-ethernet-adaptor.40776/