Microsoft KB Archive/132376

= Can't Access Files on Other Workstations =

Article ID: 132376

Article Last Modified on 8/19/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q132376



SUMMARY
When you attempt to open a file that is located on another Macintosh computer over a network, you may receive the following error message

Cannot access

-or-

Cannot find

-or-

cannot be accessed. The file may be read-only, or you may be trying to access a read-only location. Or, the server the document is stored on may not be responding

where is the name of the file you are attempting to open.

It is also possible for the system to load a local copy of the requested file if such a file exists at the same location on the local hard disk.



CAUSE
This problem occurs when your hard disk and the remote hard disk have the same name and the entire remote hard disk has been shared or if you have two network volumes mounted on your desktop and both volumes have the same name.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1
Rename one of the two hard disks to allow access to the file on the remote disk.

Renaming a Macintosh Hard Disk:

From the Macintosh containing the disk disk to be renamed, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click the drive icon.
 * 2) Click the name below the disk icon.
 * 3) When the pointer changes into an I-beam, click to the immediate right of the last letter in the drive name.
 * 4) Press DELETE once for each character and space in the drive name.
 * 5) Type the new name.
 * 6) Press RETURN.

Method 2
Share only the folders to be accessed by other users, not the entire hard disk. Besides the additional security gained, it is less likely that a remote user will connect with a local disk that has the same name as the shared folder.



MORE INFORMATION
The default hard disk name used by Apple is "Macintosh HD." Many users change this name to make it easier for other users to identify the hard disks available over the network.

When users do not change the hard disk name and attempt to access a file on an identically named disk, the operating system cannot distinguish between the local disk and the remote disk. This causes the system to look for the file on the local disk. If it does not find a file of that name on the local disk, it returns the message listed above. If a local file by that name does exist in the same folder as the remote file, the system will return the local file without any message.

