Homegroup & Mac OS 10

I have a new Windows 7 laptop and am trying to access my iMac on the homegroup wireless network. I can see the Mac, but when asked for credentials they are rejected. Am I correct in assuming that a homegroup will only accept Windows 7 devices, and I should have some other network setup? If that is the case, how do I get rid of the homegroup and set up the correct configuration?

I have been searching for a solution on the internet and am just getting increasingly confused. Frankly, I am beginnig to think I am just stupid. I did not have this much hassle in setting up the network on my old XP laptop.

Help!

Your assumptions are correct. Homegroups is only for Win 7 machines. You need to leave the Homegroup from the Win 7 machine then create a Workgroup or use the Public file sharing options.

Homegroup - Leave

Okay. I have left the homegroup and set up a public network. I have turned off password protected sharing. When I select the Mac on the network it is still asking for login and password and then network password. I do not have the Mac password protected. So, I'm still dead in the water.

Sheesh, this is frustrating. Anything else I might be missing?

Check here under Advanced Sharing settings and make sure that password protected sharing is turned off. There are two windows here Work-Home and Public, you need to check them both.

Thanks. I made sure both were checked...did a restart. It still wants login/passwords.

Ok for the Mac to work with Windows 7 file sharing system you need to modify some settings. Try this. I assume that you already have changed the Workgroup name on the Macbook to the same as the Windows 7 machine?

Accessing Mac OS X Windows Sharing from Windows 7
Windows 7 will not work with Mac OS X Windows file sharing support by default. If you attempt to access a folder shared from Mac OS X, W7 will display a logon error repeatedly.
The problem is that W7, by default, will only use NTLMv2 for authentication, which is not supported by Mac OS X's Windows Sharing service.
The other problem is the Minimum Session Security for NTVLM SSP based Clients.
To get around this:

1. In W7, open the Control Panel
3. Double-click Administration Tools
4. Double-click Local Security Policy
5. Expand "Local Policies" and select "Security Options"
6. Locate "Network Security: LAN Manager Authentication Level" in the list and double-click it.
7. Change the setting from "Send NTMLv2 response only" to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session if negotiated"
8. Network Security: Minimum session security for NTLM SSP Based (including secure RPC) Clients
9. Change the setting from "require 128 bit" to unchecked (No Minimum)
10. Click OK

This is all I can find on this subject so I hope it works.

When I open Administrative Tools there is no selection for Local SecurityPolicy.

The Local Group Policy Editor will only be available in the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterpise editions.

Apparently that is the only way to make the macbooks network correctly with Windows 7.

Thanks for trying...I couldn't find the Local Security Policy selection under Administrative Tools...or anywhere else. I cannot understand why in Windows 7 this is such an issue. Certainly not very user friendly.

I am also having trouble using Bonjour to connect to the printer attached to the Mac. I suspect these issues may be linked.

I hate to give up.