MediaGate MG-35 and Mac?

Hi MF,

Since nobody has answered you yet, I figured I should try to give you a little help though I don't have a working Mac and have never attempted to configure SMB on one.

The MG-35 connects to remote shares via the SMB protocol (Windows file sharing). You cannot choose the username or password that it connects with because they are hard-coded into the device.

The hard coded username / password pairs that it attempts to use are:
Guest / (blank)
administrator / (blank)
Media / gate

So you will need to set up your shares to authenticate using one of these. Since OSX is based on linux, you may want to have a look here for instructions on how to set up shares on a linux box for use by the MG-35.

The MG-35 does not have a smb server, so you will not be able to connect to it via windows file sharing on your Mac. However, it does have an SMB client, so you should be able to use the MG-35 to play files that are located on your Mac.

The USB port should be usable on your Mac since it's basically a USB harddrive when in USB mode. You cannot play files while it is attached to the USB port. However, the box itself only understands FAT32 and NTFS file systems. So if you use the USB port to format it as a Mac drive, the box will not be able to see the files once you disconnect it. Furthermore, I don't know if there is a write-enabled NTFS driver for the Mac, so you may be stuck with FAT32 and its 132GB partition limit and 4GB file size limit.

NDAS functionality is currently needed if you want to copy files TO the MG35 over the network. It requires the NDAS software from Ximeta to be installed on your computer. It also requires that you enter the NDAS device key and write key in that software. If your MG-35 didn't come with those keys, you may be able to purchase them from various vendors online. The problem is, I don't know (and highly doubt) if Ximeta has produced a Mac version of their NDAS software.

Remember also that the MG-35 cannot play files via an NDAS connection. The NDAS connection is only used to read and write files to the MG-35's harddrive from your computer. It basically acts as a USB drive over the network. That's an oversimplification, but the functionality is basically the same. If the drive is formatted as NTFS and your OS can connect via NDAS, but doesn't understand NTFS, then the NDAS is just as useless as if you connected it via the USB cable.

The difference is that you can still play files while connected via NDAS, whereas the MG-35 stops the GUI the second you connect it via USB.

So, once you figure out how to properly share the needed folders on your Mac, you should be able to use the MG-35 with no problem. You could also use your XP macbook to transfer files to the internal HD, or to transfer files via NDAS to the internal HD.

Hope this helps,
pb

Hey MIsterFurious
You wouldn't have the link to an installer would you?? I want to use the MG-35 on my Mac but hesitate to buy it because it doesn't seem to work on a mac. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Ok... Here's some info that might be helpful. Didn't bother to look for that script, but you shouldn't have any problems there. I did find a link for the NDAS driver.

This is the Ximeta Driver:

ximeta com web support download mac_osx drivers index2.php

(spaces are / except first 1)

It seems there is another by AKASA but didn't really look harder to find where to download

Haven't got round to testing it but I'll post back and tell you if it works.

You could also use SharePoints to get this working for you.

http://hornware.com/discussion/viewt...58ad8e0dea9a2b

http://www.mail-archive.com/wamug@wa.../msg41806.html

Thanks to this thread I finally got my MG-35 to find my external USB hard drive attached to my MacBook Pro (using sharepoints and adding a user account with Media/gate settings). I'm VERY pleased by that! Now I don't have to run downstairs with a MacBook and a flash drive every time I want to watch a just-downloaded file on the MG-35. Before I was updating my files on the MG-35 once a month or so.

I have 2x 32gb FAT32 partitions (couldn't get larger partition in FAT) and a 330gb NTFS partition that I have to be in Windows to write to. Annoying.

Has anyone been able to make NDAS work from OS X to the MG-35? Let's work together on this, I'll try the ximeta driver (although how do I check if it's enabled on the MG-35? I'm clueless from here)...

MG-35 with OSX working awesome! Quick and easy steps here. Please don't make fun of me if this is old. I've just been having a tough time solving this and I wanted to share my "how-to" with anyone else who wanted an easy 1-2-3

First - specs (but I don't think they matter)

Mac G5 Dual 2.0Ghz & OSX 10.4.11
MediaGate MG-35 "Ungated by Mediageeks" (Seagate 750Gb)
Router D-Link EBR-2310

Assuming everything is plugged into the router.


1. Acquire & Install Driver

Ok- I aquired the NDAS program from Ximeta

2. Launch the NDAS Utility "~your-app-HD~/Applications/Utilities"

In the upper left hand corner of the NDAS utility, you see a "dmg" icon. (Click)
A new window opens asking for the "Device ID"

I found my MG-35's Device ID (please don't laugh) on a sticker on the bottom of the MG-35. I also entered the Key but my MG-35 had a 6 letter key and the NDAS only accepted 5 (optional).

3. I then clicked the new icon in the NDAS Utility for the Mediagate and chose to mount with read-write. A few seconds later- the Mediagate appeared on my desktop.

Done.

It appears to be a very fast connection, I can play a movie on my mac from the Media as smooth as the original DVD. I can now drag and drop movies from my Networked Tivo right on the Mediagate.

I hope someone finds this helpful. Best of Luck.

@Triphonik

Welcome to the AVS..

Thanks very,very much for this.A tutorial like this has been very much needed for quite a while.
I have re-posted this at the main Al Tech FAQ area and of cource given you the necessary credit.If thats not ok with you , please let me know and I wil remove it ASAP.

http://www.airlinktek.com/english/at...key=&prod_sch=

Kind Regards and Thanks,

Teddy

@Triphonik

I am not a MAC guy myself.You clearly know "your stuff" where the MAC is concerned.There does seem to be a huge problem MAC users are having with a MG and OSX 10.5 , in that they can no longer stream from their MAC to their MG , be it a MG-35,MG350/450..

http://www.airlinktek.com/english/at...&key=&product=

Can you help here or give any advice on any soloution?

Thanks in advance..

Regards,

Teddy