Samba | Failed to mount Windows share: Permission denied

[Boarnads]

Hi there,

I've been trying to setup samba via webmin and have run into several permission problems. I'm trying to setup several shares that require no authentication.
Below are the current problematic shared folders and their status:

'/media/username/My Book'
Visible in network but get the following when trying to access it

Unable to mount location. Failed to mount Windows share: Permission denied

'/home/username/Videos'
I can access this from the network but I cannot access any of the individual files, I can only browse through the folders.


smb.conf

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#
# Sample configuration file for the Samba suite for Debian GNU/Linux.
#
#
# This is the main Samba configuration file. You should read the
# smb.conf(5) manual page in order to understand the options listed
# here. Samba has a huge number of configurable options most of which 
# are not shown in this example
#
# Some options that are often worth tuning have been included as
# commented-out examples in this file.
#  - When such options are commented with ";", the proposed setting
#    differs from the default Samba behaviour
#  - When commented with "#", the proposed setting is the default
#    behaviour of Samba but the option is considered important
#    enough to be mentioned here
#
# NOTE: Whenever you modify this file you should run the command
# "testparm" to check that you have not made any basic syntactic 
# errors. 

#======================= Global Settings =======================

[global]

## Browsing/Identification ###

# Change this to the workgroup/NT-domain name your Samba server will part of
	workgroup = workgroup

# server string is the equivalent of the NT Description field
	server string = %h server (Samba, Linux Mint)

# Windows Internet Name Serving Support Section:
# WINS Support - Tells the NMBD component of Samba to enable its WINS Server
#   wins support = no

# WINS Server - Tells the NMBD components of Samba to be a WINS Client
# Note: Samba can be either a WINS Server, or a WINS Client, but NOT both
;   wins server = w.x.y.z

# This will prevent nmbd to search for NetBIOS names through DNS.
	dns proxy = no

#### Networking ####

# The specific set of interfaces / networks to bind to
# This can be either the interface name or an IP address/netmask;
# interface names are normally preferred
;   interfaces = 127.0.0.0/8 eth0

# Only bind to the named interfaces and/or networks; you must use the
# 'interfaces' option above to use this.
# It is recommended that you enable this feature if your Samba machine is
# not protected by a firewall or is a firewall itself.  However, this
# option cannot handle dynamic or non-broadcast interfaces correctly.
;   bind interfaces only = yes



#### Debugging/Accounting ####

# This tells Samba to use a separate log file for each machine
# that connects
	log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m

# Cap the size of the individual log files (in KiB).
	max log size = 1000

# If you want Samba to only log through syslog then set the following
# parameter to 'yes'.
#   syslog only = no

# We want Samba to log a minimum amount of information to syslog. Everything
# should go to /var/log/samba/log.{smbd,nmbd} instead. If you want to log
# through syslog you should set the following parameter to something higher.
	syslog = 0

# Do something sensible when Samba crashes: mail the admin a backtrace
	panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d


####### Authentication #######

# Server role. Defines in which mode Samba will operate. Possible
# values are "standalone server", "member server", "classic primary
# domain controller", "classic backup domain controller", "active
# directory domain controller". 
#
# Most people will want "standalone sever" or "member server".
# Running as "active directory domain controller" will require first
# running "samba-tool domain provision" to wipe databases and create a
# new domain.
	server role = standalone server

# If you are using encrypted passwords, Samba will need to know what
# password database type you are using.  
;	passdb backend = tdbsam

	obey pam restrictions = yes

# This boolean parameter controls whether Samba attempts to sync the Unix
# password with the SMB password when the encrypted SMB password in the
# passdb is changed.
	unix password sync = yes

# For Unix password sync to work on a Debian GNU/Linux system, the following
# parameters must be set (thanks to Ian Kahan <<kahan@informatik.tu-muenchen.de> for
# sending the correct chat script for the passwd program in Debian Sarge).
	passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
	passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .

# This boolean controls whether PAM will be used for password changes
# when requested by an SMB client instead of the program listed in
# 'passwd program'. The default is 'no'.
	pam password change = yes

# This option controls how unsuccessful authentication attempts are mapped
# to anonymous connections
	map to guest = bad user

########## Domains ###########

#
# The following settings only takes effect if 'server role = primary
# classic domain controller', 'server role = backup domain controller'
# or 'domain logons' is set 
#

# It specifies the location of the user's
# profile directory from the client point of view) The following
# required a [profiles] share to be setup on the samba server (see
# below)
;   logon path = \\%N\profiles\%U
# Another common choice is storing the profile in the user's home directory
# (this is Samba's default)
#   logon path = \\%N\%U\profile

# The following setting only takes effect if 'domain logons' is set
# It specifies the location of a user's home directory (from the client
# point of view)
;   logon drive = H:
#   logon home = \\%N\%U

# The following setting only takes effect if 'domain logons' is set
# It specifies the script to run during logon. The script must be stored
# in the [netlogon] share
# NOTE: Must be store in 'DOS' file format convention
;   logon script = logon.cmd

# This allows Unix users to be created on the domain controller via the SAMR
# RPC pipe.  The example command creates a user account with a disabled Unix
# password; please adapt to your needs
; add user script = /usr/sbin/adduser --quiet --disabled-password --gecos "" %u

# This allows machine accounts to be created on the domain controller via the 
# SAMR RPC pipe.  
# The following assumes a "machines" group exists on the system
; add machine script  = /usr/sbin/useradd -g machines -c "%u machine account" -d /var/lib/samba -s /bin/false %u

# This allows Unix groups to be created on the domain controller via the SAMR
# RPC pipe.  
; add group script = /usr/sbin/addgroup --force-badname %g

############ Misc ############

# Using the following line enables you to customise your configuration
# on a per machine basis. The %m gets replaced with the netbios name
# of the machine that is connecting
;   include = /home/samba/etc/smb.conf.%m

# Some defaults for winbind (make sure you're not using the ranges
# for something else.)
;   idmap uid = 10000-20000
;   idmap gid = 10000-20000
;   template shell = /bin/bash

# Setup usershare options to enable non-root users to share folders
# with the net usershare command.

# Maximum number of usershare. 0 (default) means that usershare is disabled.
;	usershare max shares = 100

# Allow users who've been granted usershare privileges to create
# public shares, not just authenticated ones
	usershare allow guests = yes
	username map = /etc/samba/smbusers
	security = user
;	encrypt passwords = yes
	guest ok = yes
;	guest account = nobody

#======================= Share Definitions =======================

# Un-comment the following (and tweak the other settings below to suit)
# to enable the default home directory shares. This will share each
# user's home directory as \\server\username
;[homes]
;   comment = Home Directories
;   browseable = no

# By default, the home directories are exported read-only. Change the
# next parameter to 'no' if you want to be able to write to them.
;   read only = yes

# File creation mask is set to 0700 for security reasons. If you want to
# create files with group=rw permissions, set next parameter to 0775.
;   create mask = 0700

# Directory creation mask is set to 0700 for security reasons. If you want to
# create dirs. with group=rw permissions, set next parameter to 0775.
;   directory mask = 0700

# By default, \\server\username shares can be connected to by anyone
# with access to the samba server.
# Un-comment the following parameter to make sure that only "username"
# can connect to \\server\username
# This might need tweaking when using external authentication schemes
;   valid users = %S

# Un-comment the following and create the netlogon directory for Domain Logons
# (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain controller too.)
;[netlogon]
;   comment = Network Logon Service
;   path = /home/samba/netlogon
;   guest ok = yes
;   read only = yes

# Un-comment the following and create the profiles directory to store
# users profiles (see the "logon path" option above)
# (you need to configure Samba to act as a domain controller too.)
# The path below should be writable by all users so that their
# profile directory may be created the first time they log on
;[profiles]
;   comment = Users profiles
;   path = /home/samba/profiles
;   guest ok = no
;   browseable = no
;   create mask = 0600
;   directory mask = 0700

[printers]
	comment = All Printers
	browseable = no
	path = /var/spool/samba
	printable = yes
;	guest ok = no
;	read only = yes
	create mask = 0700

# Windows clients look for this share name as a source of downloadable
# printer drivers
[print$]
	comment = Printer Drivers
	path = /var/lib/samba/printers
;	browseable = yes
;	read only = yes
;	guest ok = no
# Uncomment to allow remote administration of Windows print drivers.
# You may need to replace 'lpadmin' with the name of the group your
# admin users are members of.
# Please note that you also need to set appropriate Unix permissions
# to the drivers directory for these users to have write rights in it
;   write list = root, @lpadmin


[Pictures]
	path = /home/username/Pictures
	valid users = username
;	writeable = No
;	browseable = yes

[Videos]
	guest ok = yes
	path = /home/username/Videos
;	writeable = No
;	browseable = yes



[WDShare]
	path = /media/username/My Book
	writeable = yes
;	browseable = yes
	guest ok = yes

'ls -l' gives me the following
drwx------ 1 username username 8192 Feb 17 02:18 My Book
drwxr-xr-x 9 username username 4096 Feb 18 04:48 Videos

I also tried chmod 777 for My Book prior to ls -l command, it appeared to complete successfully although the permissions dont seem to have changed.


Any help in resolving this issus would be greatly appreciated
Regards,
Boarnads

[Pjotr]

You might try Gigolo:
https://sites.google.com/site/easylinux ... /reserve-6

Works flawlessly with my own NAS....

[altair4]

You might be able to fix both problems by forcing the remote quest to appear to be you - at least for your samba shares anyway:

Edit smb.conf and under the workgroup = workgroup line add this line:

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force user = username

I'm using your reference to "username" so change that to whatever your real user name is.

Then restart smbd:

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sudo service smbd restart

[kwisher]

Is the MyBook formatted as NTFS? This could be the problem as NTFS doesn't work with Linux permissions, iirc.

altair, please correct me if I am all wet.

[altair4]

Based on this posting I had assumed it was NTFS because of the permissions

drwx------ 1 username username 8192 Feb 17 02:18 My Book

That's why I suggested "force user = username" since both shares are guest shares.

[Aristotelian]

I had this problem recently. I believe I fixed it by opening file manager as root, then right-clicking on the folders in question and changing permission to read/write access for all users.

[Boarnads]

The hdd is NTFS but Ive gotten the shares to work before with NTFS drives without the 'force user', I just cant remember what I did.
However I'm now using 'force user = username' which seems to have fixed the problem, I'm just wondering are there any negatives to 'force user', would I be better off getting the permissions working, especially for the 'Videos' share?

Thank you all very much for your help.

[altair4]

Warning: This is going to be an unbelievably long answer

Let's take the worst case scenario and assume the client machine is running Windows and that the user on that machine is named "bob".

When bob tries to access your Mint machine Windows automatically passes his user name to Samba. If there is no match in the samba password database for "bob" the "map to guest = Bad User" parameter is invoked and changes "bob" to the default guest user in Mint which is literally "nobody".

"nobody" doesn't have access to "/media/username/My Book" at all ( actually no one has access to that folder except "username" ) and only has read access to /home/username/Videos. "force user" makes "nobody" "username" so he now does have access to both. Depending on how you create the samba share definition it still has a gatekeeper function in that if you set it up to be read only the Windows client cannot write even though he is now "username".

If however the user name on the Windows machine is also "username" and his name does appear in the samba password database then he is no longer a "Bad User" and he comes across as "username" and the situation is resolved. If this is the case then you could add yourself ( username ) to the samba password database:

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sudo smbpasswd -a username

Now the Windows user is also the Linux user and he has access to both shares without the need for "force user". But this will only work for the Windows user "username". You would still need the "force user" if you have many windows clients.

If however the client machine is running Linux the situation changes.

The Linux samba client doesn't pass a user name when it tries to access the Mint machine because ... well .... Linux thinks that's goofy. The Linux client will always come across as "nobody" unless the share requires credentials. In this scenario - for a guest share - "force user" is the easiest way to resolve the situation without changing the guest share to a private share requiring credentials.

Either way "force user" doesn't give the remote user full access to your entire box only to the samba shares and only within the parameters set in the share definition for those shares.

Edited for spelling - I just can't spell

[deleted]

Setting up a Simple Samba Server is easy on Linux if you assume your samba share user have an account on your Linux workstation.
This will automatically share user homes

edit the original /etc/samba/smb.conf (don't start with an empty smb.conf)

In the [global] section:
add

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    follow symlinks=yes
    wide links=yes
    unix extensions=no
    client lanman auth = yes
    client ntlmv2 auth = no

This allows samba clients (like Windows) to follow the symbolic links (symlinks) defined on your SolydXK samba server.

In the [homes] section:
change

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    browseable = yes
    read only = no

and uncomment ( remove the leading ; )

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    create mask = 0700

restart samba to reload smb.conf
add your samba users using smbpasswd.

In your case where you want to share:
/media/username/My Book

just do:
ln -s /media/username/My Book /home/username/My Book

That will symbolically link /media/username/My Book to My Book in username's home where samba can see it and follow the link.
-Hinto

[altair4]

And my advice is to ignore the previous post. It won't work.

Gosh, we have had this dance so many times before .................

[1] Mint is not SolydXK
[2] There is no [homes] share defined in Mint, the standard Ubuntu desktop, or any of it's derivatives.
[3] You are forcing credentials being passed when all the user has is guest accessible shares.
[4] Even if the homes share were defined you are allowing access to the entire home directory not just the folders desired.
[5] Did I already mention that the user only has guess accessible shares?
[6] And this command:

ln -s /media/username/My Book /home/username/My Book

Will only result in a broken link since you forgot about the space.

[deleted]

I did the exact same thing on Mint, RHEL, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, #!, Siduction, Suse, OpenSuse.
And there is a [homes] section, it's commented out (so uncomment it, too)
No sweat.
The key is smb.conf mods.
It's nothing mystical.
-H

[altair4]

And I would encourage you to continue to use it - on your own systems. For Mint it will not work. And please read the original posts in a given topic so you get a sense of the user's requirements.

Someone one said: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result"

You keep posting this thing expecting this time it will work and I won't comment.
Every time you post it I do in fact respond expecting you to fix it.

Ain't we a pair. We're going to end up in adjoining rooms at the asylum.

[deleted]

Actually it works on my 5 different mint 17.1 systems, but don't tell them.
My idea is to take something *known* to work, then modify it for your purposes instead of starting from scratch every time.
On _any_ distro I hop to (which isn't hard either) I make those mods and there are no problems, even on Mint. As a matter of fact, it was Mint that I actually flushed the steps out on.
-H

[Boarnads]

Thank you altair4 for your thorough explanation of "force user", this is the solution I have implemented
and it's been working perfectly.

A big thank you to everyone else for your suggestions.