Ubuntu
samba package

Access Windows workgroup shared folders from Ubuntu

Asked by Sam McSpadden

I am a Ubuntu (10.04) novice but an experienced Windows user. Lucid Linux is installed on my netbook and the installation was very straightforward. Almost everything came up working out of the box. (I'm using the desktop version -- not the netbook remix.) My home network is workgroup-based -- i.e. there are currently NO DOMAIN SERVERS on the LAN. It seems absurd to set up a full-blown Samba server on a netbook that is only connected to the network part time. My router handles DHCP and assigns IP's to all computers on the network. Currently, the network comprises a single workgroup whose members are the Ubuntu netbook, two Windows Vista PCs, and one Win7 Ultimate PC. All Windows computers can see, read, and write to the shared folder on Ubuntu. I can also make rdesktop connections to my Windows computers and can connect to the Ubuntu desktop using VNC Viewer. I can also print to a network printer from the netbook.

With all these things working, I thought it would be trivial to ACCESS A WINDOWS SHARED FOLDER FROM THE NETBOOK. That is not the case. I'm typing in uppercase letters because I've looked at hundreds of posts dealing with Samba issues, and virtually every response assumes that the problem is getting the Windows machines to see and access the Ubuntu shares. My problem is the reverse -- getting Ubuntu to access Windows shares. (Most of the other pleas for help appear to be very similar to my own.)

When I click on Places > Network, I see the Ubuntu netbook, three Windows computers (all shown with their correct machine names), one network attached storage drive, and a Windows Network icon. Dclicking on the Windows Network icon shows another network icon with the correct name of my workgroup (which happens to be MCSWEBS). Dclicking the workgroup icon displays the same five devices I described earlier (Ubuntu, three windows PCs, and a NAS device). When I dclick the Win7 PC (or either of the Vista PCs) there is a ten or fifteen second delay and then a window pops up saying 'Opening "MCS7" You can stop this by clicking Cancel.' After approximately 30 seconds, a window pops up saying "Unable to mount location. Failed to retrieve share list from server." The same error occurs with the network attached storage drive.

Running smbtree in terminal produces:

sam@ubuntu:~$ smbtree
Enter sam's password:
MCSWEBS
 \\UBUNTU
  \\UBUNTU\Brother-HL-4040CN-series Brother HL-4040CN series
  \\UBUNTU\IPC$ IPC Service (ubuntu server (Samba, Ubuntu))
  \\UBUNTU\Public
  \\UBUNTU\print$ Printer Drivers
 \\MCS7
 \\FADS1A9C20
Receiving SMB: Server stopped responding cli_chain_cork failed anonymous failed session setup with NT_STATUS_NO_MEMORY
 \\EMILY-VISTA
 \\BRENDA-VISTA
Although I'm not afraid to use the terminal to create config files, most of the information I'm seeing involves entering a domain name, a computer name, a share name, a folder name, a user name, and a password. Furthermore, the information is often conflicting, confusing, and incomplete. The GUI-based "solutions" are just as confusing. Every Samba or Nautilus GUI that I have seen in Ubuntu requires that the domain name be entered (even though there is no domain in a Windows-workgroup-based network. Leaving the domain name blank is not an option, because the Connect buttin remains grayed out.

I've been checking on the progress of Linux for the last ten years and it has advanced light years since I first looked at it. The only remaining deal breaker is the inability to easily and seamlessly integrated with a Windows workgroup network without setting up a full-blown domain with Samba in control.

I would greatly appreciate any help that anyone can provide.

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actionparsnip
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Best actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

From:
MCSWEBS
 \\UBUNTU
  \\UBUNTU\Brother-HL-4040CN-series Brother HL-4040CN series
  \\UBUNTU\IPC$ IPC Service (ubuntu server (Samba, Ubuntu))
  \\UBUNTU\Public
  \\UBUNTU\print$ Printer Drivers
 \\MCS7
 \\FADS1A9C20
Receiving SMB: Server stopped responding cli_chain_cork failed anonymous failed session setup with NT_STATUS_NO_MEMORY
 \\EMILY-VISTA
 \\BRENDA-VISTA

We can see you have no shares on the vista systems. If you DO have shares you should check your firewall is allowing the local network to access the shares.

you can now press ALT+F2 and type:

smb://EMILY-VISTA/sharename

replace sharename with the actual share name (i suggest you avoid spaces in share names too). It should now open.

Revision history for this message
actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#2

You'll find issues occur with Vista and Win7 as they implement shares differently to how it was set out, its down to authentication. If microsoft had kept the same smb method / security etc, this wouldn't happen and is why you can access the Ubuntu share easily. The same is also why vista and Win7 can talk nicely as they both use Microsoft's re-written stuff.

Ubuntu is not so privvy to this underhanded stuff so you must make exceptions for the OS. If Microsoft talked more openly with the Linux community then things would be a whole lot smoother but they are a business and don't want to help the competition so you are unfortunately stumped by poor support on the obvious end of the stick, Microsoft.

You can make things a lot nicer by using advanced sharing of the folders and have a username with appropriate access (yes, you may want some users to only have read access) associated with the share but it MUST have a password (I know windows users LOVE blank passwords, security is such a nuisance). You will then be asked for credentials which you can store in the OS for it to be used in subsequent connections. You can then access the share. You could even add an entry in /etc/fstab to mount the share at boot

Revision history for this message
Sam McSpadden (sam-mcswebs) said : 		#3

Thanks for your quick response. Although the problem is not completely solved, you 've given me enough information to proceed on my own and I need the learning exercise. Unless you have some additional insight into what I need to next for a simple fix, we can mark this one complete.

Typing smb://EMILY-VISTA/sharename, as you suggested, did not work. However, I tried substituting the IP address for EMILY-VISTA (smb//192.168.1.100/sharename) and the share opened. This tells me that I've some additional work to do in setting up some sort of name resolution table in Samba. The manuals should be full of information on this topic. Strangely enough, the username and password that worked successfully in opening the share was a Windows username/password, and not one that is known to the Ubuntu system. Being able to connect to the share is definitely a sign of progress.

Next, I tried using smb://<IP number>/sharename on the Win7 machine. It prompts for a username and password, but the password is repeatedly rejected. I'm convinced this has to do with advanced security settings in Windows 7 and it is not terribly important that I make the connection work at this time. The Windows firewall is not an issue, and all my Windows shares are password protected for multiple users with various levels of protection.

Choosing the Nautilus Places>Network GUI appears to be a minor stumbling block because the displayed computer names are apparently not associated with their IP numbers and the connection fails.

Thanks once again!