Accessing MP3s Through Shared Directory

[dacs29]

I've run into a small problem here. I'm trying to access my shared MP3s, that are on my desktop, from my iPAQ, using wireless. Now the tricky part is that the laptop is sitting on one network (Resnet in my dorm room) while the iPAQ is using the university's wireless network which runs on it's own network separate from the dorm room network.

I've tried using Resco File Explorer and when I do a search while connected to the wireless network, the only computers/shared files I see are the ones currently using wireless. I've also tried to use Zimmermann's Pocket Hosts program and mapped a name to my laptop's IP address. I then tried to connect to \\laptop using Net Use but it doesn't seem to find it.

The third thing I tried is setting up a VPN server on my laptop (using directions in another thread) and then I VPNed into the laptop using the iPAQ. This worked for doing a remote Active Sync (I had to use the VPN server's IP instead of the network cards), but when I search the network with Resco File Explorer, I again only see the wireless network's SMB shares.

Now my question is, how can I get my iPAQ to access SMB shares over the VPN connection so that I can mount them to listen to MP3s while roaming the university's wireless network?

David

[jimski]

Resco File Explorer has never found my network PC at home or at the office. Each time I have entered the path myself \\COMPUTER\DISK. Don't know if this will help, but I would give it a try.

[Leehro]

Unless one of your networks has firewalled off the ports used for SMB file shares, you should be able to do it this way.

Determine the IP address of your DORM computer.

then to access the share from anywhere, just point to

\\ip address\folder

so if your share name was "mp3" and you find that your ip address was 123.45.67.89, you'd try to connect to

\\123.45.67.89\mp3

The reason it doesn't work by names is that that you're getting the name of the computer from a local NetBios server. If I'm on my own network, my pocketpc can ask any computer which one "sifl" is. but if i'm out on someone else's network, the computers don't know where to find "sifl". So when i typed in the IP address to get this, it worked fine.

I've done this all the time, from work and home, but at school, they firewalled off those ports, so while i was on their wireless network, i couldn't access shares on my home pc.

[ctmagnus]

Unless one of your networks has firewalled off the ports used for SMB file shares, you should be able to do it this way.

Determine the IP address of your DORM computer.

then to access the share from anywhere, just point to

\\ip address\folder

so if your share name was "mp3" and you find that your ip address was 123.45.67.89, you'd try to connect to

\\123.45.67.89\mp3

Unless NAT is in use, in which case your laptop could have a given IP and another machine on campus could be using the same IP, only on a different network. But try what Leehro said.