Sharing files with Windows

[SidewaysTuesday]

I'm sorry if this has a simple answer but I can't find it. It does seem to be a popular subject but Google has been unhelpful - well, I haven't found the right thing to type into the search engine yet at least. I thought I'd give this a go. I've searched through here and the best I could find was advice to install something called system-config-samba which just throws lots of error messages about missing files. I removed it A lot of the advice I've found seems to be very out of date, some of the changes to smb.conf suggested even stop Samba working altogether.

I would like to share some folders with my Windows machines. I installed Samba so I have a 'Share' tab. I select 'Share with Samba', 'Allow Guests', 'Everyone - Full Control'. That seems the least restrictive combination to me.

At the moment I can see the shared folders on the Linux machine from Windows and open them but I can't create files or folders, I'm told I "need permission to perform this action".

I don't get asked to log in but really I don't want to have to enter a password anyway. What can I do?

Thanks.

[oshunluvr]

You can start by posting your samba config.

You've included no real information in your post except that it's not working to your liking.

[SidewaysTuesday]

Samba config? Do you mean the smb.conf file?

#
# 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, Ubuntu)

# 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

#======================= 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 = yes

# 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 = no

# 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 = 0777

# 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 = 0777

# 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

[oshunluvr]

Please, in the future rather than making your post 5-6 pages long, enclose a long cut-n-paste using either QUOTE or CODE tags. They're in the editor bar the QUOTE looks like a cartoon balloon and the CODE is a pound symbol. It's much more readable that way.

I edited this one for you.

[oshunluvr]

Sounds like you need to do more research. I don't use SAMBA much, but I recall you have to add a samba account on the server (your Linux samba install) and a password so that others can log into samba. Hopefully, someone will come along with more up-to-date info.


You might try creating an actual share instead of trying to do it using whatever you're trying to do.

Something like this in your smb.conf;

[FONT=monospace][COLOR=#000000][Documents][/COLOR]
   comment = Shared files 
   path = /mnt/shared
   force user = nobody
   force group = users 
   create mask = 664
   force create mode = 664
   directory mask = 6775
   force directory mode = 6775
   browsable = yes
   guest ok = yes
   read only = no

[/FONT]

I have this in mine and my Windows machines can access the share.

[SidewaysTuesday]

I've read a lot of things which contradict each other and offer solutions which don't work. Why does Samba add a tab to the folder properties if it's no use? Why have a GUI and type everything into the console or manually edit config files?

If I do this in smb.conf:

[MP3]
path = /home/MP3
force user = nobody
force group = users
create mask = 664
force create mode = 664
directory mask = 6775
force directory mode = 6775
browsable = yes
read only = no
guest ok = yes

and restart smbd/nmbd I can see the shared folder but Windows tells me I need permission to create files which is exactly what it did before I edited smb.conf.

[oshunluvr]

This looks relevant:

https://superuser.com/questions/1125...th-samba-share

Figured it out. After attempting many suggestions found around the net all day, I finally found one that works.
I found this solution here: https://superuser.com/questions/1125...th-samba-share
I performed this in Windows 10:
Run > Secpol.msc
then I set Local Policies > Security Options > Network Security: LAN Manager authentication level to 'Send NTLMv2 response only. Refuse LM & NTLM
I also did this on my linux server:
Added the line: ntlm auth = yes to my smb.conf

I have no idea what this means or why it was needed, but it works. I'll have to do some research into this..

[SidewaysTuesday]

I can already access the folder, I can't change the contents. I'm not providing a password to connect to the share, I'd rather not - I just want the share to be open.

[SidewaysTuesday]

Doh.

I was sat staring at it, as you do, when I clicked on the Permissions tab. There are permissions for Owner, Group and Others. I thought maybe I'm considered 'Other' since I haven't provided credentials, so I changed that. It works! I can now Robocopy into the folder. I have to use /COPY with the options set to DT as it still throws an error trying to change the archive flag but I can live with that.

With this setup I don't need to do anything to smb.conf.

[SidewaysTuesday]

Interestingly, to me at least, this works on the system disc but not on the other one. The share mentioned above is in the home folder. SDB1 doesn't respond in the same way, I have no access at all if I share a folder on SDB1. My Windows 7 client can't even see that a symbolic link is there if I create one so that won't work either. There's a post about this problem with no answers so that one may take more research.

[oshunluvr]

Hmm, nothing like a simple solution that was right in front of you.

Samba does not follow symlinks by default. Perhaps by adding these to smb.conf:

[global]
allow insecure wide links = yes

[share]
follow symlinks = yes
wide links = yes

https://www.samba.org/samba/docs/usi...-CHP-8-TABLE-1

[SidewaysTuesday]

I didn't have a [share] section so I added it, testparm says this:

# Global parameters
[global]
      allow insecure wide links = Yes
      dns proxy = No
      log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
      map to guest = Bad User
      max log size = 1000
      obey pam restrictions = Yes
      pam password change = Yes
      panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
      passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
      passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
      server role = standalone server
      server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
      syslog = 0
      unix password sync = Yes
      usershare allow guests = Yes
      idmap config * : backend = tdb

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

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

[share]
      available = No
      wide links = Yes

It seems to be ignoring the 'follow symlinks' bit?

Windows can't see a symlink if I put one in a shared folder. I can 'Share with Samba' on the symlink itself. This makes the symlink visible as a shared folder from Windows but I can't access it. Symlinks themselves don't have permissions. The folder the symlink points to has full permissions for Others like the ones I've got working. Basically the symlink seems to behave just like the folder it points to, which isn't too surprising really. I suspect the symlink idea is a dead end.

All this has helped me get a grip on what I'm trying to do though, that means my Googling is more relevant so eventually I got this to work. I made a share in smb.conf like this (some of it may be redundant):

[Video]
path = //media/user/VIDEO/
force user = user
force group = users
writeable = yes
guest ok = yes
create mask = 0777
directory mask = 0777

For some reason this works better for the mounted drive. 'user' is me when I'm logged on to the Linux box. That's progress, I can view the contents from Windows. I still can't change them though, despite 'Others' having full permissions on the drive itself.

[SidewaysTuesday]

Still no progress on getting the mounted drive to do as it's told and now I find that files copied by ROBOCOPY from the Windows machine end up with ownership by 'nobody' and SUDO CHOWN can't change it. Ubuntu isn't really making me feel like I'm in charge at the moment. It's back to Windows for this box, I think.

Edit:
Of course, you won't get far if you give up. So, more searching and I discover two things. Without a forced user in SMB.CONF the files are created by 'nobody'. Using permissions '6777' and a forced user gives me files with inherited permissions from the folder they're in. More progress. I still can't write to /media/user/ folders but I seem to be getting closer. T^here's still far too much editing text files and typing things into the Terminal for my liking - what's the use of a GUI based system if you have to do everything like you're in the 1970s? It's why I find PowerShell so tedious. I don't want to have to learn programming to use my computer.