# Share all Mac OS X Volumes on network

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-all-mac-os-x-volumes-on-network/519236>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 28, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-all-mac-os-x-volumes-on-network/519236 "2009-11-28T15:06:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-all-mac-os-x-volumes-on-network/519236/1 "2009-11-28T15:06:27Z")

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When you enable Windows sharing in OS X, only the user’s public folder is normally shared. A while back someone posted a couple lines to type in Terminal that made all volumes shared. I have tried the search but to no avail.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-all-mac-os-x-volumes-on-network/519236/2 "2009-11-28T16:07:26Z")

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This is a tip for Jaguar, but it might still work:

> [@](#):
>
> 1.3.2 Sharing More Folders With Windows Users
> 
> In order to share out more than your users’ Home folders to Windows machines, you’ll need to modify your /etc/smb.conf file and add any desired new shares. While you can share out each drive in your system separately, there’s an easier solution. You can simply share out your /Volumes folder, which has links to every volume currently mounted on your machine. This means that even if you later insert a DVD or attach a FireWire hard disk, the new mount will appear in the volumes share, available to Windows users.
> 
> Note: The instructions below will help you share out your /Volumes folder to Windows users. In order to perform the tasks below, you will need to be logged in using an account with administrative privileges and know your individual user password.
> 
> To create a new share, first disable Windows Sharing by opening System Preferences -\> Sharing -\> Services. Once on this preference pane, make sure the Windows Sharing service is unchecked and then close System Preferences. Windows Services should be disabled before you edit the necessary configuration file.
> 
> Open up a new Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) window and enter the commands:
> 
> $ sudo cp /etc/smb.conf /etc/smb.conf.back  
> $ sudo pico -w /etc/smb.conf  
> This will open up the pico editor, which is a simple text editor. Move down to the very bottom of the file by holding down Ctrl+V. Once there, give yourself a blank line or two and then enter the following text:
> 
> ; Share for all mounted volumes  
> path = /Volumes  
> browseable = yes  
> public = no  
> read only = no  
> To save your changes, press Ctrl+O, Enter. Then, exit pico by pressing Ctrl+X. Go ahead and quit out of Terminal. At this point, you’ve created a backup of your original /etc/smb.conf file and added a new share to your original configuration. Now all you need to do is re-enable Windows Services by opening System Preferences -\> Sharing -\> Services. Re-check the Windows Sharing service and you’re done!

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-all-mac-os-x-volumes-on-network/519236/3 "2009-11-28T17:37:30Z")

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Only the user’s Public folder is shared _to guests_. If you browse as the admin user of the machine in question you can mount any of its volumes.

But yes, OS X is annoyingly limited as far as sharing some (other) specific folder or volume to users or groups of your choosing. OS X “thinks like a server” and expects you to set up user accounts right there on your own machine that correspond to who gets to have remote access to which volumes. And non-admin users are expected to confine themselves to their own personal folders (as defined by the local machine account for them) and guests to the public folder.

[SharePoints](http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8658/sharepoints) (freeware) used to provide a way around this; haven’t been in an environment where it mattered since long enough that I can’t testify that SharePoints would still work nowadays.