After upgrading to OS X Lion 10.7 on both my iMac and Mac Book Pro, I’m interrupted by an ambiguous Connection Failed error every time I attempt to list AFP shares on one system from the other in Finder. There are various hints around the web suggesting that this is a bug and that it can be solved by creating another user account, repairing disk permissions or even just switching from AFP to SMB (Windows sharing). Good news is, if your issue is identical to mine, the solution is much simpler and less obtrusive.

In my case, I had the home folder for my user accounts shared on both Macs. Simply remove the home folder file share and all is well. To do this, open the Apple menu, open System Preferences -> Sharing -> File Sharing and then select your home folder (named after your user account) and click the – button.

To gain access to the home folder from each Mac, simply click Connect As in Finder and enter the appropriate credentials for the user who owns the home folder on the Mac you are connecting to. The home folder (and hard disk root) is automatically available!

Although it is frustrating that this is not either reported to the end user as an issue or automatically resolved, I’d suggest that the concept is more in line with security best practice for network file sharing. Any files to be shared really should be in a public folder, not your personal home folder (says me who had my home folder shared).

For what it’s worth, I’m enjoying the $30 upgrade. Full screen apps are nice (NI Traktor finally works full screen when switching desktops), Airdrop is fool proof and the reverse scrolling is actually oddly natural.