Mac OS X to Windows XP -- file sharing

you do need a crossover cable....but you also need to set up apple sharing protocol on the xp machine.
Do you have a super drive on the Mac....if so, it may be easiest to burn the files to a DVD and sneaker-net them to the laptop.

I only have a LaCie external CD-RW.  I don't even know what a super drive is.

How do I set up apple sharing protocol on XP?  All of the forums I checked out explained everything about the Mac end of set up, but nothing about the XP part.  I'm so stuck!!

On the laptop:
right click on "My Network Places"
Select "properties"
Right click on "Local Area Connection"
Click the "Instal" button
Highlight "Protocol" and click "ADD"
Highlight "Apple Talk Protocol" and click "OK"
Close your way back out to the desktop.

Even with a CD burner rather than a DVD, it may be easier to burn the files to CDs and put them on the laptop that way.

OK.  That does not work.  Apple Talk Protocol is not given as an option.  I was told not to enable Apple Talk by another forum.  My computers are still not seeing each other.  When I go into Terminal on the Mac and type ping plus the windows ip address, i get "network is down."  In Mac, when I try go -- connect to server -- nothing from the XP shows up.  So I type in the XP ip address and get "An error has occurred (error=-36).  When I try to go into Add a Network Place in XP and type in the ip address as \\ping address\user, it says the address is invalid and won't let me use it.  

I have over 2500 songs in my library, so what you are suggesting would take forever!!!

How sad that you are switching the other way :(

Using 10.2 with WinXP you should not have to use AppleTalk. The Mac will also automatically detect the use of a crossover cable or an inline cable and adjust accordingly, so it should not matter which type you are using.

There is a very detailed article covering this at MacDevCenter:

http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2002/11/19/mac_pc.html

The first page should get you there.

Please feel free to ask any further questions.

I have already done everything the article says to do, many times over.  At this point I could do it with my eyes closed.  The easiest solution I can think of is to go out and buy an external hard drive.  Spending the $90 is worth not having this aggravation!!!

Can anyone tell me how to transfer my iTunes library from Mac OS X to Windows XP using an external hard drive?  I give up trying to network at this point.

For something less than the $90, you could buy an external DVD USB2 or Firewire DVD burner, burn them to DVDs (4.7gig per disk) and install them on the laptop.
The trouble with using an external harddrive is that you have different drive formats for Mac and for PC

That is very strange indeed. A crossover cable might be necessary for the PC to understand, but this has not been the case in my experience.

Transferring via external drive might be a better idea if it is wasting your time using networking. Make sure the interface (USB2 or FireWire) is compatible with both machines.

I would follow these steps:

1. Format the drive on the PC using FAT32. This will ensure maximum compatibility for the xfer. You can re-format it in another format after transferring the files if you like.
2. Make sure you have the .itl and .xml extensions on your "iTunes 4 Music Library" and "iTunes Music Library" files respectively.
3. Copy your entire iTunes folder from the Mac on to the external drive.
4. Install iTunes onto the PC taking note of where it installs the music library (usually My Documents > My Music > iTunes Music).
5. Overwrite the iTunes folder with the one from your external drive, making sure the folder name remains the same and iTunes is not running.
6. Re-launch iTunes.

Let me know if you get stuck at any point.

cracky

Note that WinXP Pro will only format FAT32 to a max size of 32GB, so you might need to use Disk Utility on the Mac to format the drive (if it allows you). Or, get a cheapie drive smaller than 32GB.

My 6,000 song lib is about 50GB, so I am assuming yours is less than 32GB.

The other option is to use a small network hub to control the connection. I am surprised that you are having so many problems, since we run a mixed Windows, Mac and Linux network here with no problems. We are using a combined wireless / LAN router and hub though.

I would follow these steps:

1. Format the drive on the PC using FAT32. This will ensure maximum compatibility for the xfer. You can re-format it in another format after transferring the files if you like.
2. Make sure you have the .itl and .xml extensions on your "iTunes 4 Music Library" and "iTunes Music Library" files respectively.
3. Copy your entire iTunes folder from the Mac on to the external drive.
4. Install iTunes onto the PC taking note of where it installs the music library (usually My Documents > My Music > iTunes Music).
5. Overwrite the iTunes folder with the one from your external drive, making sure the folder name remains the same and iTunes is not running.
6. Re-launch iTunes.

**  Could you be a bit more specific?  I don't understand what #2. is all about.  .itl and .xml extensions?  I don't get this Mac jazz!!  I was a PC user for years, and now I'm going back.

Extensions are a PC thing. The Mac doesn't need them, but the PC does. In order to understand what the files are supposed to do, the PC reads the extensions, while the Mac just reads the hidden resource forks (probably information you would rather not know). Let's just get it working:

The following files should be in the Mac iTunes directory:

iTunes 4 Music Library
iTunes Music Library

You need to change the file names, so the PC will understand them:

iTunes 4 Music Library > iTunes 4 Music Library.itl
iTunes Music Library > iTunes Music Library.xml

Does that work for you?

I didn't have to do any of that.  It was so simple.  Didn't have to format the hard drive for the PC -- it was already done.  Dragged the itunes music file from my Mac into the hard drive. It took 5 hours to transfer the files.  Connected hard drive to PC, dragged itunes music folder over to the itunes shortcut on my desktop, and everything transferred over perfectly!!!  All of my playlists are there, everything.  Not complicated at all!!  Now all I have to do is reformat my iPod for PC, which I have instructions for.

Thanks for all of your suggestions though.

The only reason I included so many steps is because any of them could have presented problems. Better to cover all bases than to provide an incomplete answer. The only difference I can see between my comment and your solution is that you didn't need to format the drive or add extensions.

Your comment implies that nothing I said helped. Is that the case?