Ubuntu

Connect XP to Ubuntu on Wired Network

Asked by wacole

I have an XP SP2 machine [Peeves] that is connected over a wired network through a hub to a Ubuntu 8.10 LTS machine [PenguinBeach].

The XP machine, Peeves, can see the Ubuntu machine, PenguinBeach, through "View workgroup computers" under My Network Places, however clicking on the PenguinBeach icon produces the message "\\Penguinbeach is not accessible. ...". Right-clicking on that same icon and selecting Properties produces the message "The server Penguinbeach could not be found on the network".

I have spent much time with the thread "Connecting Ubuntu to Windows network" [https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nautilus/+question/8091] which has been very helpful but deals with a slightly different aspect of xp-ubuntu connectivity; specifically cgaski can see his Ubuntu machine from his Windows machine and can see shares, but cannot open the shares and work with the files in those shares. My problem is more basic: I can't see any shares in my Ubuntu machine from my XP machine, even though I can see the Ubuntu machine on the "net view" list, I cannot do anything with it.

I have done the following:

* Using "net use" from the command line on the XP machine have tried to create a mapped drive which points to my Ubuntu share. [net use x: "\\PenguinBeach\home\wcole" /USER:wcole] The result of that command was "System error 53 has occurred. The network path was not found."
* Have made sure that Samba and Ubuntu have the same username and passwords by exercising the smbpasswd command. As far as I can tell, that has worked.
* Have added the line "netbios name = PenguinBeach" to the smb.conf file to make sure that XP is correctly reading the Ubuntu machine name.
* Have examined the smb.conf file to make sure that the one share I use was correctly configured. It shows as:
        [wcole]
            path = /home/wcole
            available = yes
            browseable = yes
            guest ok = yes
            writeable = yes
            comment = Home Directory

I can successfully ping from the XP machine to the Ubuntu machine.

I can successfully ping from the Ubunti machine to the XP machine.

Any guidance that could be offered would be very welcomed; I can't think of what else to try.

Thank you very much,

Bill Cole

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said : 		#1

try running:

sudo smbpasswd -a wcole

Type your password 3 times (once to enable sudo then 2 to set the same password for the share)

you can then add an extra line to your smb.conf that states:

valid users = wcole

When your XP client connects, you will be challenged for username and password, your username will be wcole and your password will be your login password.

You can also test the name resolution with ping in a windows command prompt. If the ping fails but you can ping by IP then set the file server to use a static ip address (rather than dhcp) and add an entry in:

%SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\

for the name so that it resolves correctly. Should sort you out. Let us know how you go

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wacole (bga-cole) said : 		#2

Thanks very much for the reply.

I have updated the Ubuntu password, added the "valid users" line to smb.conf and have pinged the IP address. I then shut down and restarted BOTH machines.

The IP address ping was successful [I'm not clear about "test the name resolution with ping ...."].

None of this resolved the problem. I'm still seeing the same error messages. I have this feeling that I need to describe some other aspect of the problem, but I'm not sure what that would be.

To refresh on the status of the connectivity problem:

* I can connect from Ubuntu [Penguinbeach] to XP [Peeves], see shares, open shares and operate on files on the XP machine.
* I can see the Ubuntu machine from my XP machine, but when trying to open the Ubuntu machine from the XP machine, XP tells me that "The server Penguinbeach cannot be found on the network." or "\\Penguinbeach is not accessible. ..." [right-click Properties].

I have set an account on the XP machine that has the same username and password as the account on the Ubuntu machine and have logged into both. The XP machine's account has administrator privileges.

This is just such a mystery. The reason I would like to solve this is I would like my backup program, which resides on the XP machine, to be able to backup the Ubuntu machine. [I've tried numerous Linux backup programs, all with various degrees of unsuccess - but that's another thread and, for the moment off-topic.]

Thanks very much, Bill Cole

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dmizer (dmizer) said : 		#3

It looks like you are trying to share your entire home directory. Since there are a huge number of sensitive configuration directories that would otherwise be viewable and editable from Windows (a very bad thing), you should consider sharing a dedicated folder inside your home directory instead.
/home/wcole/Public

Also, look for the "security" option and set it to "security = share", restart samba or reboot after the change. Also, do you have a "netbios name" option? If not, add it like so:
netbios name = PenguinBeach

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