Support Forums - Air Sharing Troubleshooting

Using NetDrive on Windows XP to connect to Air Sharing (no replies)

mprice — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:25:55 -0700

XP Supports WebDAV so why use NetDrive?

Windows XP has built in client support for WebDAV, unfortunately that support is broken. There are two different WebDAV clients in XP, one uses the "Map a Network Drive" method and only supports connecting to WebDAV servers using the standard http port of 80. The other client is called "Web Folders" and whilst it allows you to connect to any arbitrary port, it does not provide all the capabilities of the Map Network Drive method, and is frequently completely broken.

Microsoft has released a patch to fix completely broken WebFolders installations. However, the patch does not always install cleanly leaving you with a broken installation. If the patch installs correctly you can connect to Air Sharing using Web Folders limited functionality.

We recommend using NetDrive for several reasons

It is Free for personal use.
It is stable, and works well.
It provides all the functionality that the XP Map Network Drive method should.
Troubleshooting broken XP installations via this forum is time consuming.

Avatron Software does not have a relationship with NetDrive, we just like their software.

Configuring NetDrive

Download and install NetDrive from here.

After installation you should find a NetDrive logo icon in the bottom right hand side of your screen in the system tray. Double click on the icon to bring up the main NetDrive application screen.

Click on "New Site" and start entering the Air Sharing connection details in the right hand panel. Select a Server Type of WebDAV before adding the hostname and port. Note that you should not prepend the IP address or URL with "http://";. Also note that you should not add the :8080 to the end of the IP address. The :8080 refers to the port number and therefore you should enter 8080 into the Port field. Do not check "Connect as anonymous". If you have not set a username and password leave the fields blank.

After adding the required information, hit Save.

Now click on Connect. You will see the following connection dialogue:

If have not set a username and password, just click on OK. If you have a username and password configured on Air Sharing, enter them now and hit OK.

The mapped network drive will then appear:

From windows explorer you can see the mapped drive in the list:

You're now free to drag and drop files and directories, create new directories, delete files, and save directly to the drive.

How do I ping my iPhone/iPod/iPad? (no replies)

mprice — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:18:55 -0700

Air Sharing relies on a network connection between your iPhone or Ipod and your computer. A basic network test can be performed to see check network connectivity between the two devices. The low level name of this test is an ICMP Echo Request, the application that can perform this test is called ping.

Ping on Mac OS X

To perform a ping operation on Mac OS X open the Terminal application, that can be found in the Applications/Utilities folder.

After opening the Terminal application you'll be presented with the following screen.

At the $ prompt type:

ping

or

ping

Type CTRL-C to interrupt.

For example

Do not add the http:// or the :8080 to the IP address or Bonjour name.

If the iPhone and the Mac can successfully communicate you'll see something like the following.

If they cannot communicate, you'll see this instead.

and after pressing CTRL-C you'll see

Note the 100% packet loss. This indicates a networking problem, if you are unable to ping the iPhone you will be unable to connect to Air Sharing.

Ping on Windows

To perform a ping operation on Windows open the CMD application, that can be found in the Accessories Menu under the Start Menu.

After opening the CMD application you'll be presented with the Command screen, and type the following at the > prompt:

ping

or

ping

If the iPhone and the Windows system can successfully communicate you'll see something like the following.

If they cannot communicate, you'll see this instead.

Note the 100% packet loss. This indicates a networking problem, if you are unable to ping the iPhone you will be unable to connect to Air Sharing.

Basic Troubleshooting Checklist (no replies)

dave — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:51:24 -0700

BASIC TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST

This is a list of very basic but common problems. Please make sure that the problem you are having is not one of the following before moving on:

Enable Wi-Fi on your iPhone/iPod, and connect it to the same network that your computer is connected to. It's okay if your computer is connected to the network via ethernet.
Air Sharing must be running when you attempt to connect to your iPod/iPhone.
If you are using Windows XP, install the Microsoft software update for web folders. See Windows Troubleshooting guide for more information.
Make sure the IP address you use to connect is exactly the same as the one in the connection help screen in Air Sharing (tap the little Wi-Fi symbol in the middle of the menu bar at the bottom). Also, make sure when you type in the IP address to connect that it includes http:// at the beginning (not afp://), and :8080 at the end. Some users have reported that they need a slash ( / ) at the end of the IP address to connect.
If you have enabled Require Password, make sure you have not left blank either the User Name or Password fields in Air Sharing settings.
If you have enabled Require Password, Windows Vista may ask for your username and password multiple times when you first connect. Vista may attempt to add garbage to your username. Delete this garbage, and make sure that every time you enter your username and password, you are entering exactly what you have set up under Air Sharing settings.
If you are having problems connecting on a known Wi-Fi network, try this: go to your general iPhone Settings, go to Wi-Fi, tap the blue > next to the known network, tap Forget this Network, and then reconnect to the network.

If you are having problems connecting on a known Wi-Fi network, try this: go to your general iPhone Settings, go to Wi-Fi, tap the blue > next to the known network, tap Forget this Network, and then reconnect to the network.
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General Troubleshooting (no replies)

dave — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:45:39 -0700

GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING

I accidentally deleted my free copy of Air Sharing. Can I get it back without paying?

Yes. Here are the steps.

Go to the App Store in iTunes, and select Air Sharing in the What's Hot or Top Paid Apps section.
Press the Price button. This changes to "BUY NOW;" press that too.
An alert will say, "You have already purchased this item. To download it again for free, select OK." So click OK.

When I open Air Sharing, the splash screen is there for a second, but then I am returned to the iPhone home screen.

This was a bug in iPhone OS 2.0.x. Reboot your iPhone: hold down the home and lock (sleep) buttons until the screen goes black. Keep holding until the silver Apple logo appears, then let go.

Air Sharing says,"Wi-Fi is Off" or "No Wi-Fi Network."

When no Wi-Fi connection is present, Air Sharing explains why this is, so that you can determine whether Wi-Fi has been turned off in the iPhone's settings, or if the iPhone is not currently connected to any network. If the message persists, and you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, try pressing the home button, then relaunching Air Sharing.

I can't connect to my iPhone at all, not even in a web browser.

If you are having problems connecting on a known Wi-Fi network, try this: go to your general iPhone Settings, go to Wi-Fi, tap the blue > next to the known network, tap Forget this Network, and then reconnect to the network.

If your network settings specifies a proxy server, try disabling that and reconnecting.

If port 8080 is blocked by your router, try unblocking it and reconnecting.

If you are on Windows, try disabling Windows firewall, restarting your computer, and reconnecting.

If you do not have control over your router settings or other network configuration, consider establishing an Ad Hoc network between your computer and your iPhone (see the topic "How do I set up an ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network?" below).

I am using a VPN connection, and am having trouble connecting to Air Sharing.

We're still investigating this, but we have heard reports that disabling VPN can help with connection difficulties in some configurations.

I can connect, but uploading large files (at least hundreds of megabytes) sometimes fails, resulting in a zero-byte file.

This happens if the phone auto-locks while a transfer is going on. This should never happen, but a bug in our sleep prevention allows sleep even when a file transfer is going on. The workaround is to go into the Air Sharing settings, and turn the Allow Sleep switch OFF.

I can connect to my iPhone with the IP address, but not the Bonjour address.

If you are on a Mac, disable Stealth mode on Leopard's firewall. Go to System Preferences > Security > Firewall > Advanced to find this setting.

Try renaming your iPhone to something different in iTunes, then rename it back to what it was originally.

Try adding a period to the end of local in the Bonjour address: change (http://PhoneName.local:8080) to (http://PhoneName.local.:8080).

Try browsing your network for your iPhone:

Safari: Go to Preferences > Bookmarks, and check "Include Bonjour" in the Bookmarks menu. Next, open the Bookmarks menu, and under Bonjour there should be an item with a similar name to your iPhone. Select this item to open it in Safari.
Internet Explorer: If you have Bonjour for Windows installed, there should be a Bonjour logo in the IE toolbar. Clicking on this will open a sidebar, and in here should be an item with a similar name to your iPhone. Double-click this item to open it in IE.

Once you have opened the contents of your iPhone in the browser, try using the Bonjour address in the address bar to connect to your iPhone.

How do I set up an ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network?

Mac:

Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
Click Network.
Click AirPort.
Under Network Name, select Create Network.
Give your network a name (this is what you will connect to later on your iPhone), and a password if you wish. You can leave the channel option alone.
Click OK.

Windows 7:

Go to the Start Menu and type wireless in the search field
Click Manage Wireless Network
Click Add
Click Create an ad hoc network
Click Next
Give your network a name (this is what you will connect to later on your iPhone). Set up a password for your network if you wish.
Click Next

Windows Vista:

Open the Start menu, then click Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet.
Click Network and Sharing Center.
Click "Set up a connection or network" from the Tasks toolbar on the left.
Choose "Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network."
Click Next.
Click Next.
Give your network a name (this is what you will connect to later on your iPhone).
Set up a password for your network if you wish.
Click Next.
Click Close.

Windows XP:

Open the Start menu, and click My Network Places.
Click "View network connections" from the Network Tasks toolbar on the left.
Find your wireless network connection, right click on it, and select Properties.
Click the Wireless Networks tab.
Click Advanced.
Select "Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only" then click Close.
Click Add.
Give your network a name (this is what you will connect to later on your iPhone).
Set up a password for your network if you wish. Uncheck the box next to "The key is provided for me automatically" if you want to enter a password. Select Disabled in the Data encryption drop down menu if you do not wish to have a password.
Click OK.
Click OK.

Now on your iPhone, go to the main settings, and connect to the network you just set up as your Wi-Fi connection.

If you can't get connected to your iPhone, try disabling the ethernet port on your computer, so only your Wi-Fi connection is active.

I have a folder with non-Roman characters in the name (or files with non-Roman characters in a folder), and I cannot delete or rename these files/folders on my computer.

This is a bug that we are currently looking into. Try deleting the files and folders from within Air Sharing, and renaming any files and folders you copy into Air Sharing to contain only Roman characters.

I have a text file that contains international characters, and the characters don't appear correctly, or even at all.

In Air Sharing 1.0, these characters will not appear correctly, regardless of the encoding. This is a bug that has been fixed in Air Sharing 1.0.1 for text files saved with UTF-8 encoding.

If you are using Air Sharing 1.0.1, try saving your text file as UTF-8 using TextEdit on a Mac, or Notepad on Windows.

When I open my iWork (Pages, Keynote, or Numbers) document, only the first page is displayed, and there is a red ribbon in the upper left hand corner that says thumbnail.

To view entire iWork documents, save your document with the "Include Preview" option checked.

When I start Air Sharing on my Iphone it only shows Chinese characters? What do I do?

This happens rarely, but is easy to correct. Your iPhone is just a little unclear on what language it is set to, and needs to be reminded.

1. Go to iPhone Settings > General > International > Language, and choose a new language. Hopefully one you know, because you will have to find this menu item again in the new language. The iPhone will restart in the new language.

2. Now go to iPhone Settings > General > International > Language, and choose your native language.

3. Now launch Air Sharing. It should be in the correct language.

Mac OS X Troubleshooting (no replies)

dave — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:35:58 -0700

MAC OS X TROUBLESHOOTING

When trying to connect from a Mac, I get the error message -50.

Follow the instructions outlined here.

I am connected to my iPhone, but it doesn't appear in the Finder sidebar under Shared.

This is a Finder bug that causes the network sidebar to not update. To find your iPhone, go to the Finder, open the Go menu, then click Network (or press Command-Shift-K). You can also display connected volumes on the Desktop by going to the Finder, opening the Finder menu, and clicking Preferences. Click the General tab, and check the box next to Connected Servers to show them on the Desktop.

I was able to connect, but am having trouble reconnecting.

Always eject the Air Sharing volume from the Finder when finished. This should prevent problems when reconnecting later. In the Finder window sidebar, an eject icon should appear next to the Air Sharing volume name. Click this icon to eject the volume.

I am unable to eject the volume or to reconnect to Air Sharing

Try the following steps:

Turn the device on if it has gone to sleep, and launch Air Sharing if it is not already running.
Try ejecting the Air Sharing volume by clicking the eject icon next to its name in any Finder window sidebar.
If Finder refuses to eject the volume, close any open Air Sharing documents in use by other applications.
If the Air Sharing volume still won't eject, press the Home button to quit Air Sharing and click the eject icon one more time. The Finder may need time to discover that the Air Sharing disk has disconnected permanently. Wait up to two minutes until you see a Finder message saying that the disk is no longer available (you should see a "Disconnect" button). Click "Disconnect." You should now be able to launch Air Sharing and reconnect from the Finder.
If you do not see a "Disconnect" message, try launching Air Sharing and re-connect using the IP address instead of the Bonjour name.
You should never make it to this step, but if still unable to re-connect, quit Air Sharing, restart the computer, and try connecting again.

How do I create an alias on the desktop?

Just drag the Air Sharing volume onto the dock. This will create an alias internally. Just keep in mind that you can't drag something onto this folder unless you mount it first. To mount it, just click it on the dock. Once it's mounted, you can drag directly into it. For some reason, when you drag an item into the icon of an unmounted volume on the Dock, Finder doesn't automatically mount the volume.
Command-option-drag an icon from the Air Sharing volume onto, say, the desktop or into another folder.
You can also just select an icon and press command-L (which either stands for aLias or symbolic-Link), to make an alias.

You can also just select an icon and press command-L (which either stands for aLias or symbolic-Link), to make an alias.
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Windows Troubleshooting (no replies)

dave — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:35:27 -0700

WINDOWS TROUBLESHOOTING

When I try to set up a network place in Windows XP, I get the error "The folder you entered does not appear to be valid."

You need to install the Microsoft Software Update for Web Folders.

I did install the Software Update for Web Folders, I but I still get the error "The folder you entered does not appear to be valid."

It is not uncommon for Microsoft's web folders update to fail without notifying you. To verify whether the update has worked or not, please check the files and dates listed in the File Information section of this Microsoft web page.

If the patch installation fails you can try re-installing again, if this does not resolve the problem we strongly recommend that you install and use NetDrive a free third party application that replaces the broken functionality.

When trying to map a network drive in Windows Vista, I get the error message "Windows cannot access (http://x.x.x.x:8080)," but Air Sharing is running on my iPhone (Air Sharing 1.0.1 and later).

Cancel out of the Map Network Drive setup screen, then close Air Sharing by pressing the home button on your iPhone. Relaunch Air Sharing, wait a minute or two, then start the network drive setup process again.

When I try to set up or open a mapped network drive in Windows Vista, Windows, I get the error message "Access is denied," or Windows tells me "This folder is empty" when it isn't (Air Sharing 1.0.1 and later).

This could be one of several things:

To connect with a username and password in Vista, you cannot leave either field blank.
Try this: disconnect from any existing Air Sharing mapped network drive, start the process to remap the network drive, but this time click "Connect using a different user name" and enter your user name and password here.
Make sure that the "Reconnect at logon" box is unchecked if you have Require Password enabled. We are currently investigating this, but for the time being, you will need to remap the network drive every time you log off and then back on to your computer if you want to use a password.
Every time you decide to change your username or password, or enable Require Password when you initially set up the network drive with it off, you will need to right click on your mapped network drive and click Disconnect, and then remap the network drive.

On Windows Vista, I can connect to the iPhone, and I can create folders. But when I try to copy a file into a folder, it creates a zero-byte file and it complains, "Error 0x80070057: incorrect parameter."

Turn on the Require Password option in the Air Sharing settings.
Disable Public Access.
Add a user name and password.
Now try to connect again.

I am running Windows Vista 64 bit on my computer, and I cannot connect to my iPhone (Air Sharing 1.0 only).

In Air Sharing 1.0, you will need to download AnyClient, or another WebDAV client to connect from Windows Vista 64 bit. You should not need to use AnyClient in Air Sharing 1.0.1 and later.

I successfully connected to my iPhone at least once, but now when I try to access my iPhone in Windows XP or Vista (sometimes limited to one folder on the iPhone), I get one of the following errors:
"The parameter is incorrect"
"Documents in this folder are not available"
"The current operation cannot be completed because an unexpected error has occurred"
(Air Sharing 1.0.1 and earlier)

This is most likely due to non-letter/number characters, probably an ampersand ( & ), in the name of files or folders that you placed on your iPhone. To fix this, delete any files or folders with non-letter/number characters from within Air Sharing using the edit button. Now, rename any files that you want to upload to Air Sharing to contain only letters and numbers in the file name.

If you are using XP, and do not have any files with non-letter/number characters, see the next topic.

When attempting to connect to my iPhone in Windows XP, I get one of the following error messages:
"The folder you entered does not appear to be valid"
"Documents in this folder are not available"
"The current operation cannot be completed because an unexpected error has occurred"

First, make sure you have installed the web folders update, and that you do not have the problem with ampersands in file/folder names (see the topics above). We are not sure if any of the following will help, but some users have reported success when trying one or more the following:

Add a slash to the end of the IP address when you try to connect: change (http://x.x.x.x:8080) to (http://x.x.x.x:8080/).

If you have enabled Require Password in Air Sharing, try disabling it and seeing if you can connect. We are still looking into this, so for now you may need to use AnyClient if you would like to use a password with Air Sharing.

Try disabling Windows Firewall:

Open the Start menu, and click Control Panel.
In the blue toolbar on the left, click Switch to Classic View.
Double-click on Windows Firewall.
Click off.
Click OK.
Be sure to turn Windows Firewall back on if turning it off didn't help.

Try deleting your temporary internet files:

Open the Start menu and click Control Panel.
In the blue toolbar on the left, click Switch to Classic View.
Double-click on Internet Options.
Under Temporary Internet Files, click Delete Files.
Click OK.
Click OK to close out of Internet Options.

If you still have problems, try reinstalling your Web Folders client:

Open the Start menu and click Run. Type in "%SystemRoot%\system32\webfldrs.msi"
Click "Select reinstall mode." Uncheck the first box, and check the last 4.
Click OK.
Click Reinstall.
Click OK when the installation is complete.

If you continue to get errors, try reregistering the following dll files:

Quit all programs that are running.
Open the Start menu and click Run.
Type in regsvr32 urlmon.dll, then click OK.
Click OK when you recieve the message "DllRegisterServer in urlmon.dll succeeded."
Repeat this process, replacing what you typed in Run with each of the following:
- regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
- regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
- regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
- regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
- regsvr32 Browseui.dll
- regsvr32 Shell32.dll
Restart your computer.

If none of the above helped, you can download AnyClient, DAV Explorer, or another WebDAV client, and you should be able to connect to your iPhone.

I downloaded AnyClient, but I don't know how to use it.

First, connect to your iPhone in AnyClient:

Open AnyClient.
Click Connect at the bottom. A new window should open.
Click New in the bottom left corner of this new window.
Give your new connection a name.
In the General section, select WebDAV as the connection type.
Type in the IP address of your phone as the Host.
If you have password enabled required in Air Sharing, enter these into their respective fields.
Click Save at the bottom of the screen.
Click OK.
Click Connect.

The files in the main Air Sharing directory should be listed under Remote System.

To copy files to the phone, first go into the directory you want to copy files to under Remote system. Then, find the file or folder you want to copy under Local System, and click the >> button.

To copy files from the phone, first go to the location under Local System you want to copy files to. Then, find the file or folder you want to transfer to your computer under Remote System, then click the << button.

I get a 0x800704b3 error in Vista when trying to Map a Network Drive

If you see the following error when trying to map an Air Sharing device:

It means that the WebClient service is not active.

Open the "Administrative Tools" Icon in the Control Panel and then open the "Services" shortcut.

After you've opened "Services" scroll down until your find the WebClient.

Make sure it is configured for Automatic and then start the service manually if it wasn't running.

Linux Troubleshooting (no replies)

dave — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:30:39 -0700

Linux Troubleshooting

I am unable to connect to my iPhone in Linux when I have Require Password enabled.

Try using either the cadaver client, or the davfs2 file system, depending on what version of Linux you are using.

Nautilus keeps asking me for the password, and won't let me connect to my iPhone.

This is a known problem with the libsoup (2.4.1-1) library that ships as part of a number of Linux distributions including Ubuntu, Fedora, RHEL and Centos. The library is used by gvfs, which in turn is used by Nautilus to provide WebDAV support. The libsoup library fails to correctly implement authentication digest negotiation. A patch to libsoap can be found here. You will need to patch and rebuild from source.