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I know there are ways to use VNC or TeamViewer to control a mac mini remotely.
These solutions appear to involve the Mac Mini getting settled onto a network. Then--while it's connected to a monitor--you read some number or code on that monitor. You enter this code into the other computer and it works.
But what if you don't have a fixed network, and you aren't carrying a separate monitor? Let's say you're traveling with a PC laptop and a Mac Mini and you walk into some random place with WiFi. How do you even get started on the process of entering the WiFi network password on the monitorless Mini?
If there was some sort of "SSH into your Mac over a USB cable" tool then that would presumably be fine. Connect the cable to the laptop, log in, configure the wifi via networksetup and presumably get the information VNC or TeamViewer need.
Lacking that...in theory I could rig something up where the Mac Mini would check for a USB thumb drive with a particular instruction file. It would perform the instructions and then save the results to another file. If it succeeded, it would give you the necessary information for VNC/TeamViewer.
Any easier way to deal with this problem? :-/
HostileFork says dont trust SE
Posted 2013-06-19T21:41:28.620
Reputation: 145
That sounds good for part of the answer! But what about getting the WiFi network password in so it can do that sync...? :-/ – HostileFork says dont trust SE – 2013-06-19T21:56:10.067
You could connect to your mac with a crossover cable and configure it via ssh. Assign static addresses on the wired network interfaces of both machines so you have the network and simply login and setup the wifi. – Scandalist – 2013-06-19T22:07:29.260
As I'm traveling with just what fits in a backpack I was hoping I could do it with a USB cable or something I'd already have on hand. :-/ I actually don't happen to have a crossover cable! But you're right, it may be the smartest thing to do in order to allow the Mini to be logged into. (And also allow VNC without a WiFi network.) The combination of these methods looks like it covers several configurations, so I'll go with it...thanks! – HostileFork says dont trust SE – 2013-06-19T22:59:17.403
If you have a spare Ethernet cable, that may work as well if both the network cards in the computers have Auto-Negotiate capabilities. Many modern NIC's do. – Scandalist – 2013-06-19T23:49:43.363
I don't even have a regular ethernet cable anymore. :-) Just haven't needed one in years! I'll buy the crossover adapter just in case, can't hurt to have one. – HostileFork says dont trust SE – 2013-06-20T00:02:40.163