Screen sharing works, file sharing fails to connect to Ventura 13.7.5 iMac from Sequoia 15.4.1 iMac

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Level 1

12 points

Screen sharing works, file sharing fails to connect to Ventura 13.7.5 iMac from Sequoia 15.4.1 iMac

I use the 2017 iMac as a file server for several external hard drives with critical data.

Prior to upgrading my 2017 Intel iMac to Ventura 13.7.5 last week, I was able to connect from my 2023 M3 iMac running Sequoia 15.4.1 and my MacBook Pro (also Sequoia 15.4.1) for File, Screen, Printer, and Media Sharing.

After I upgraded, file sharing stopped working.

On the 2017 iMac, Firewall is off. Screen, File, Printer, and Media Sharing are on.

From my M3 iMac, I can see the 2017 iMac music library in Apple Music; I can see the printer attached to the 2017 iMac, and I can use screen sharing. So I have verified that all three devices are on the same network (they would have to be in order to use Screen Sharing).

The Network folder on my M3 iMac shows the 2017 iMac. Clicking on it used to cause it to connect (sometimes requiring a login; not a problem) and it would then list the hard drive and all attached external drives, which I could then read and write to.

Now nothing happens. If I try to use "Connect As...." and log in with my valid username and account, I get a status "Connecting...." and the connection hangs. Nothing further happens.

Troubleshooting I've already done:

Rebooting all devices.

Rebooting the modem supplying the network connection.

On the 2017 iMac (the share I'm trying to get to), I shut down file sharing, removed the shared files list and permitted accounts, removed /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server.plist file, and shut down the iMac. I then rebooted the 2017 iMac and relaunched finder on the M3 iMac. When everything was back up, the 2017 iMac no longer appeared in Locations on the Finder of my M3, as expected. I restored the 2017 iMac file sharing configuration, listed the shared directories, entered the user account with access. The shared folder lists as "shared" in the Info display on the 2017 iMac.

The 2017 iMac now reappeared on the Finder of the M3 iMac, but I am still unable to connect to it -- I get the same issue with "Connecting..." simply hanging, while Screen Sharing works just fine, shared media works, shared printer works.

I have tried connecting to a second account on the 2017 iMac; that also hangs.

Any ideas on what I could try next? I am pretty convinced the issue is somewhere in the SMB configuration on the 2017 iMac, but I've tried everything I can think of to restore access to the 2017 iMac.

iMac 24″, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 22, 2025 6:20 PM

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Answer 1

camcmenomy Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 23, 2025 9:17 AM in response to camcmenomy

Further information: On my 2017 iMac, which I am trying to reach, SMBD has full disk access and is set to accept incoming requests over the network.

Also, I have rebooted in safe mode to clear caches; since file sharing is not supported in safe mode, there was no way to troubleshoot it. As expected, attempting to connect from Finder on my M3 raised an error message that there was a problem connecting to the 2017 iMac. This message does not occur when the 2017 iMac has been booted in normal mode -- I just get a hung "Connecting...." message.

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Answer 2

camcmenomy Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 23, 2025 9:45 AM in response to camcmenomy

One other thing: on the 2017 iMac, FileSharing On says users can access the volumes at smb://myservername.lan. For my other computers that I can reach, the notice gives smb://internal IP address, e.g., smb://192.168.12.5.

If I go to Finder on my M3, and use "Go .... Connect to Server", entering "myservername.lan" causes a "There was a problem connecting to the server "servername.lan" message to pop up. Attempting to use the IP addreess fails as well. The drop down lists "smb://servername._smb._tcp.local" as an option, but this also gets the "There was a problem..." message.

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