i have two drives, both of them formatted to ext3 but only one of them running linux. i would like to mount both of them on my ibook g3.

the computer with the linux drives is not connected to the internet because there is no cable in the room where the computer is.

the linux machine does not have firewire, so i can't use target disk mode.

i really have no idea how to do this, so any help would be appreciated

thanks
littlewing

[edit] i'm using red hat 8.0 [/edit]

The wording of your question suggests that you want to (partially) export the contents your linux system to your ibook via ethernet, rather than by manually plugging them in ... no?

Assuming you have ethernet to linux box:
have a look at nfs (Network File System), eg:

google for 'mac os x nfs'

and, on your linux system...
to find manuals related to nfs:

apropos nfs

(then 'man exports', for example)


Hope that helps you get started.

wouldn't the linux box have to be connected to my network to do this?

Yes, it would ...
other than removing the drives from the linux machine,
how else would you 'mount' them on your ibook?
(wifi?)

No internet from linux machine ... hmmm .. oh well ...
how about just networking with ibook when required?

what do you mean by "networking with ibook when required"?

i can't put it onto the network because there is no internet connection in the room.

sorry, I should have explained ....

The simplest way would be to link the two together using a crossover ethernet cable.
They are quite cheap, and easy to setup.
So, when you need to transfer files to/from computers,
just plug the crossover cable into both machines and
use nfs to 'mount' the exported part(s) of your linux filesystem on your ibook.

Once transferred you 'umount' (not a type) the share and then unplug the crossover.

ie. network filesharing 'as required'

you will need to examine (on your linux machine at least):
/etc/exports
/etc/hosts
/etc/hosts.allow

Try typing 'apropos nfs' on your linux machine to improve your understanding.

This link might help too:
http://nfs.sourceforge.net/nfs-howto/server.html

A google for 'network file system nfs howto' (or similar) will give you an
idea of the issues involved.

Good luck