The uber geeks

OS X: Mounting a share on startup

I have a few apologies to make. First, to Mr. Jobs.

Dear Mr. Steven Jobs,

I’ve wrote you past letters, concerning the fact that I am an ignorant moron that just can’t seem to look the iMac straight in the face and realize that it’s better than me. I still have not yet learned my lesson, and so am writing you this today.

Recently, I had a problem with the iMac again. I couldn’t get a network share to mount on startup. This is something that should be easy, yet I found it to be an impossibility. Researching the problem on the Internet turned up little or no results. Asking Mac-heads only yielded “Dunno, never did it before.”. Which was a surprise to me, as I am sure it is to you.

I then proceed to dive into OS X’s help center. Yes, people do RTFM in moments of desperation. The Help Center, although well designed and stocked full of good information, was unable to resolve my issue.

Posting questions via blogs comments on similar topics came next. This yielded a few emails with some suggestions, and even a mighty fine Apple Script that seemed to be my silver bullet. However, there was a better way, which came through a channel that even God himself would be surprised that it was used. Mr. Chris Fehnel. I know, I know - it’s incredible. Being a recent switcher himself, he had a solution to my problem, which I will explain in detail on my blog, since I know you read it I won’t reiterate the URL.

Suffice to say, OSX already had the ability I was looking for, yet it just wasn’t documented well enough. My apology is for doubting, my request is that you include some documentation on this very point.

Sincerely,
Colin D. Devroe

So there you have it, Chris Fehnel came to my aid. I figure, he owes me. I’ve helped him out of countless jams, spilled forth gobs of valuable information into his non-listening ears, and even pretend to be his friend. However, my doubt for Apple spurred a letter to Jobs, so perhaps a letter to Mr. Fehnel is in order. Shall we?

Dear Mr. Chris Fehnel,

I’m sure your aware that your recent tip on how to mount a network share on startup was helpful to me. For this, I am thankful. However, I must be totally honest with you. I didn’t think you had it in ya. For this I must apologize. If you ever need help “tying your shoes” again, don’t be afraid to ask.

Thanks again,
Colin D. Devroe

Phew! With that out of the way, I can now begin to tell all of you how to mount a network share in OS X on startup.

Put away your Apple Scripts cuz you don’t need them where we’re going. Follow the steps below:

1. Open System Preferences
2. Open Accounts
3. Navigate to Startup Items Tab
4. Click the + sign, to add a startup item.
5. Navigate to the share.
6. Click Add

There, you have it now, it’s done. Unbelievable isn’t it? The complexity of such a task is staggering. My lesson learned here is to always look for the easy way of doing things, instead of trying to solve a problem your own way first. This is something that I should have thought of, yet Chris Fehnel was the true hero today folks.

Applause, a large ring of flowers, a blue ribbon - whatever your prize - you deserve it.

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