A client recently caught the Apple bug and asked if he could use Mac’s on his (fully Microsoft) network. Since he asked if it could be done and not SHOULD be done, I had to say yes.
So he bought two MacBook Pro’s and I set about configuring them with three main objectives:
- Join the Macs to Active Directory
- Connect them to the Exchange server
- Give them access to the network shares
I joined them to Active Directory using the Directory Utility and installed Entourage to get them on the Exchange server. But after I connected them to the network shares, I was unable to create a desktop icon. All the instructions I read said that after you connected, the icon would appear automatically. Lies.
Maybe it’s because they had the latest version (Snow Leopard), but by default, the Finder is not set to do this. To change this, you need to go to “Finder” > “Preferences” > “General” and check “Connected servers”. Then you’ll see them appear.
However, these icons will disappear forever if the Mac loses its network connection and then you have to manually reconnect the drive to restore the icon. I found a way around this by creating alias’ (shortcuts) of the network icons. After that, whether they were connected or not, the icons remained and proved to be less confusing to the client. Also, now that you have the alias on the desktop, you’ll have redundant icons. Uncheck the “Connected servers” option in the Finder preferences and just the alias will remain.
TechnoGreg 