Connecting from Mac to a headless NUC server

[Jim Austin]

Seeking some advice here. I recently set up a NUC as a dedicated audio server running RoonServer. Running Windows 10 currently but may switch to 2012R2 in near future. My main computer is a MacBook Pro laptop running El capitan; I use this to rip CDs and prep them for the RoonServer library. (I probably should have bought a MacMini for optimal interoperability, but I wanted to play around with something new and save a few bucks, so I chose the NUC instead. Impressed so far, except for this problem:)

 

I haven't yet managed a consistent and reliable connection between the MacBook Pro and the NUC that will allow me to transfer and manage files on the NUC with total confidence. My approach so far: Connect to shared directories using the MacBook Pro's Finder. This was terrible at first, but after some tweaking, the connection isn't bad. But I still bump into weirdness; for example, just this morning I found several directories that appeared empty--no music--via the MacBook Pro but clearly are not empty. (The music plays, for on thing, and to verify, I pulled out a monitor, mouse, and keyboard and connected directly to the NUC.) Audio files are all flac, so it's not about some file types not being recognized. It could possibly be a result of the number of tracks in the directory, but I'm not sure. No clear explanation so far.

 

For this system to work--to avoid putting a computer monitor on top of my turntable--I need a rock-solid, totally dependable way to manage files on the NUC remotely from my MAC. I'd appreciate any guidance any of you might be able to provide.

 

Thanks.

[Paul R]

Seeking some advice here. I recently set up a NUC as a dedicated audio server running RoonServer. Running Windows 10 currently but may switch to 2012R2 in near future. My main computer is a MacBook Pro laptop running El capitan; I use this to rip CDs and prep them for the RoonServer library. (I probably should have bought a MacMini for optimal interoperability, but I wanted to play around with something new and save a few bucks, so I chose the NUC instead. Impressed so far, except for this problem:)

 

I haven't yet managed a consistent and reliable connection between the MacBook Pro and the NUC that will allow me to transfer and manage files on the NUC with total confidence. My approach so far: Connect to shared directories using the MacBook Pro's Finder. This was terrible at first, but after some tweaking, the connection isn't bad. But I still bump into weirdness; for example, just this morning I found several directories that appeared empty--no music--via the MacBook Pro but clearly are not empty. (The music plays, for on thing, and to verify, I pulled out a monitor, mouse, and keyboard and connected directly to the NUC.) Audio files are all flac, so it's not about some file types not being recognized. It could possibly be a result of the number of tracks in the directory, but I'm not sure. No clear explanation so far.

 

For this system to work--to avoid putting a computer monitor on top of my turntable--I need a rock-solid, totally dependable way to manage files on the NUC remotely from my MAC. I'd appreciate any guidance any of you might be able to provide.

 

Thanks.

 

Download the Microsoft Remote Desktop app from the App Store.

 

Go into your Windows Server, allow remote connections from any kind of client

 

In the Microsoft RDP, setup up a connection to your music server. (Best to have static IP address son the NUC!). Be sure to check to play sound on the remote machine, and to allow disk mapping.

 

Connect. You will automatically have a shared disk mapped on the Mac as well.

 

This is reliable, fast, and works very well. With one caveat, it is going to takeover the NUC's screen if you use only one login. That is no problem if you are not using the video output from the NUC. If you are, then you have to look at a couple workarounds.

 

I use it for managing all the Windows machines around the house, including the virtual machines running under VMWare.

 

-Paul

 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id715768417?mt=12

[wgscott]

I don't have the NUC, but if you are able to install a third-party windows VNC server (eg: TightVNC: VNC-Compatible Free Remote Control / Remote Desktop Software ), you can use that with Apple's built-in Screen-Sharing, which is integrated with the Finder and OS. I've never tried the RDP option, so I can't tell you how it compares.

[Jim Austin]

Thanks for this; I'll give it a try. Only caveat: I've got Windows 10 Home, and my son, who knows more than I do about Windows, says it wont run RDC (or maybe it's just not included?). I've just done a quick search though, and from the results I saw it does seem to be possible.

 

Jim

[Jim Austin]

wgscott - screen-sharing sounds like another good solution. Only question is, which approach should I try first?

 

Thanks.

[wgscott]

wgscott - screen-sharing sounds like another good solution. Only question is, which approach should I try first?

 

Thanks.

 

Well, I tried the TightVNC approach, because it required one fewer microsoft product on my Apple computer, and it worked fine, so I stopped there. I use Apple's screen sharing to connect to a variety of Apple and Unix clients, so this just made my life easier to have everything in one place.

[Paul R]

Thanks for this; I'll give it a try. Only caveat: I've got Windows 10 Home, and my son, who knows more than I do about Windows, says it wont run RDC (or maybe it's just not included?). I've just done a quick search though, and from the results I saw it does seem to be possible.

 

Jim

 

I have Win10 Pro, which has remote connections turned on. I think Home does not support RDP, thogh it is just a license thing. The software is there, just disabled I think.

 

You are pretty much going to have to use VNC as wgscott suggested. Or upgrade to Win10 Pro.

[Jim Austin]

Well, I tried the TightVNC approach, because it required one fewer microsoft product on my Apple computer, and it worked fine, so I stopped there. I use Apple's screen sharing to connect to a variety of Apple and Unix clients, so this just made my life easier to have everything in one place.

 

wgscott, I went ahead and tried the TightVNC approach because you suggested it and because it seemed simple. Well, it IS simple and that went smoothly, but I'm still unsure of the workflow. Screen sharing works beautifully, but the way things are set up by default, this doesn't give me an obvious way to copy files back and forth. I tried dragging and dropping--no luck. When I'm inside the TightVNC window, I can only see the folders on the remote drive.

 

I recall having similar issues in the past using RDC. There was, I remember, a way of giving RDC access to local drives. Can I do the same thing with TightVNC?

 

This is useful anyway, since it will let me make changes on the remote machine, but so far it hasn't solved one of my most important problems, which is getting files over there after I rip them.