Vista - Mint Network Issue

[llogg]

I have a problem with my home network. I have a wired router with a Mint (10) machine and a Vista machine connected. A printer is connected to the Mint machine. The Mint machine is a dual boot with Vista as well.

When both desktops are booted into Vista I can share files back and forth and print from both computers.

When one desktop is booted into Mint I can see the Vista machine and (after some legwork) share files from it. The Vista machine pretends not to see the printer in the network and sharing center, but I can actually print from it. The Vista machine cannot see the Mint computer in the network and sharing center, but if I go to the search bar and type the ip address and computer name I can access files on it.

How do I get Vista to see the Mint computer on the network without having to type in the ip address manually each time I want to look for a file? Thanks in advance.

[llogg]

When I run

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service nmbd status

I get "nmbd stop/waiting"

When I run

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service nmbd restart

I get "restart: Rejected send message, 1 matched rules; type="method_call", sender=":1.47" (uid=1000 pid=2530 comm="restart) interface="com.ubuntu.Upstart0_6.Job" member="Restart" error name="(unset)" requested_reply=0 destination="com.ubuntu.Upstart" (uid=0 pid=1 comm="/sbin/init"))"

The same for service nmbd start.

Is this part of the problem?

smbd is running, btw.

EDIT:
I feel dumb. $sudo service nmbd start got the daemon running, but Vista still can't see the Mint machine.

[llogg]

After I ran "sudo smbpasswd -a username" and set up a samba password I could see something on Vista, but it calls it "unknown device" and cannot access it. I do not have smbfs installed. Do I need this?

EDIT:
Installed smbfs and does not seem to have changed anything even after restarting smbd and nmbd.

Do I need to install likewise-open?

[llogg]

bumpx1

[altair4]

From the mint machine post the output of the following commands:

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testparm -s

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smbtree

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hostname

[llogg]

Here are the results of those commands:

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testparm -s

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Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
rlimit_max: rlimit_max (1024) below minimum Windows limit (16384)
Processing section "[homes]"
Processing section "[printers]"
Processing section "[print$]"
Loaded services file OK.
Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
[global]
   server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
   map to guest = Bad User
   obey pam restrictions = Yes
   pam password change = Yes
   passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
   passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
   unix password sync = Yes
   syslog = 0
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
   max log size = 1000
   name resolve order = lmhosts wins bcast host
   dns proxy = No
   usershare allow guests = Yes
   panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
   force user = matt

[homes]
   comment = Home Directories
   valid users = %S
   read only = No

[printers]
   comment = All Printers
   path = /var/spool/samba
   create mask = 0700
   guest ok = Yes
   printable = Yes
   browseable = No

[print$]
   comment = Printer Drivers
   path = /var/lib/samba/printers
   guest ok = Yes

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smbtree

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WORKGROUP
   \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX      matt-LENOVO-XXXX server (Samba, Ubuntu)
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\matt-pc           
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\matt              Home Directories
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\Brother-HL-5370DW-series   Brother HL-5370DW series
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\Print_to_PDF      Print to a PDF File
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\IPC$              IPC Service (matt-LENOVO-XXXX server (Samba, Ubuntu))
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\print$            Printer Drivers
      \\MATT-LENOVO-XXXX\homes             Home Directories


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hostname

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matt-LENOVO-XXXX

[altair4]

Edit smb.conf as root:

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gksu gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add the following line in the [global] section :

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netbios name = matt-lenovo

It does not have to be "matt-lenovo" but it does have to be 15 characters or less in length ( Windows rules not Linux )
Save smb.conf and in a terminal restart samba:

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sudo service smbd restart

You've got a [homes] section in your smb.conf so you either added it yourself or you are using the Debian edition of Mint. If it's the Debian Edition the command to restart samba is:

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sudo service samba restart

Wait a few minutes for the network to reset itself after restarting samba and try to browse to the share again.

[llogg]

Thanks for your help. After doing that the Vista computer still just "sees" the Mint computer but calls it "unknown device". Any other suggestions?

[altair4]

I have never seen the "unknown device" error message - at least in connection with samba - before. When I have time I'll look at the Windows forums and see what that means in SMB. IT's possible that this is some weird variation of a nebios name resolution problem that can happen when Windows has a hyperactive antivirus or firewall running. You might want to disable all those temporarily just to see if you can browse to the share.

[llogg]

Firewall is disabled. I don't think it's the antivirus as that hasn't changed and it had recognized it before.

[llogg]

The Vista apparatus cannot see the Mint computer in the arrangement and administration center, but if you can go to the seek bar and blazon the ip abode and computer name can admission files on it.

I'm not sure I completely understand your statement, but I think you're restating my problem. Vista does not recognize the Mint computer, but I can access files on the Mint computer from the Vista computer by going to the ip address of the Mint computer or by setting up my Mint hard drive as a network drive in Vista. I'd rather it just work as a LAN though, which is the problem I still have.

[Poisoned Dragon]

The one time I needed my girlfriend's pc (Linux Mint 11) and the home theater pc (Vista) to link together, I encountered the same problem. It turns out that some linux distros tend to make long computer names. For *nix machines, this is acceptable. For Windows, this usually exceeds the character limit that Windows imposes on computer names. My suggestion is to change the computer name on the Linux Mint pc to one that is less than 16 characters.

Basically, if your Linux Mint pc name looks like "computer-22f3ef-32ef443g", it's going to show up as unknown device on the Windows network map. Shave it down to "computer-22f3ef", and it'll be recognized.

I hope that helps.

[altair4]

My suggestion is to change the computer name on the Linux Mint pc to one that is less than 16 characters.

Been there tried that and it's 15 characters not 16:

Add the following line in the [global] section :

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netbios name = matt-lenovo

It does not have to be "matt-lenovo" but it does have to be 15 characters or less in length ( Windows rules not Linux )

EDIT: Sorry, you clearly said "less than 16 characters". My fault.

[Poisoned Dragon]

oops.... I must have missed that post. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so redundant. With that said, I don't think Vista/7 relies on netbios for lan networking. This is an old protocal which potentially predates Windows 2K, at least. It's not enough to change the netbios string in smb.conf. You have to change your hostname.

To display your current hostname type this in the terminal.

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hostname

It will display your current host name, If it doesn't match the netbios string you set in smb.conf, that's the root of your problem. Now it gets interesting. To edit the host name, you have to edit the /etc/hostname file. To do this with root privilages type this:

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gksu gedit /etc/hostname

Now you can change the hostname to whatever fits that 15 character limit. After you save your changes, you can reboot and comfirm your result at the login screen or at the terminal window.

Let me know if that was helpful.

[altair4]

To display your current hostname type this in the terminal.

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hostname

It will display your current host name, If it doesn't match the netbios string you set in smb.conf, that's the root of your problem.

By default the netbios string isn't in smb.conf. But it is in the default samba settings:

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testparm -sv /dev/null | grep "netbios name"

It may be the wrong length which would force you to do one of two things:

* Change the hostname the way you described. This will automatically change the default "netbios name" parameter in samba ( after a reboot ) so there is no need to add it to smb.conf.

* Or leave the hostname as it is and simply add "netbios name = ..." to smb.conf with the correct length, restart samba, and run the following command to verify that it has changed:

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testparm -sv | grep "netbios name"

Or even a:

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testparm -s | grep "netbios name"

Or better yet run the following samba client command to see if it picks up the new name:

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smbtree

Both a samba client and a Windows machine should see the samba server with this new name.

This comment is simply not true:

It's not enough to change the netbios string in smb.conf. You have to change your hostname.

In a typical home network there is no lan side dns and the only way to communicate is with the "netbios name" which Windows will recognize and can still use.

[Poisoned Dragon]

Ok.... So, I looked up netbios on the net and saw that it's still an active component in windows networking. I even disabled it to see if my girlfriend's pc disappears from the network window, on my Vista pc. It does. The only other things I did different from the default smb.conf are:

1) I changed the workgroup string because I use a custom name on all of my windows machines. Just for giggles, it wouldn't be a bad idea to double check that the workgroup name in your smb.conf matches your windows workgroup name.

2) I changed the security string from "user" to "share". This way, I don't need a username and password to access Linux shares. This shouldn't be important to you, since you haven't even reached this point.

Beyond all of this, I may not have enough information on your network layout to understand why it's not working for you.

[altair4]

I've enjoyed having this discussion but you do realize that I am not the original poster of this thread, right?

The original poster's last entry was 8 months ago so I suspect he owns a MacBook Pro now.

[Poisoned Dragon]

I know you're not. I just thought you were having the same issue.
Besides, I'm sure we've put enough info here to help somebody.

[altair4]

Covers 2 or 3 topics from the looks of it. Enjoyed the discussion.

[llogg]

I'm still around guys, I had just given up on this. After seeing your replies a looked into it a little more and found a tutorial that made the point that if the workgroup and netbios names are not all capitals in the smb.conf then it may cause problems. Mine were not all caps, so I changed that and now Vista sees my Mint box and Mint sees my Vista box no problem. Sharing files and printers like gangbusters. I do have to start nmbd manually with every reboot though, which is annoying. Thanks for your help.