Simple Samba File Sharing (like Ubuntu)

[grege]

Note: The upgrade to Samba 4 does not change the procedure. It works just as well under Samba 4 as it has under Samba 3

I have a home network which has a Multimedia PC and a WDTV Live network media player and I need to share a folder in my home folder to stream my home movies to a TV. Standard Samba makes this difficult. The simple way that Ubuntu sets up passwordless Samba shares makes this very easy. This HowTo is for those users who have the need to set up shares in this manner. The instructions should work for Squeeze and newer.

To get started install samba and nautilus-share through Synaptic. You will need to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf as Superuser (su).

1
In the global section of /etc/samba/smb.conf add the line

usershare allow guests = Yes

Find the line ; security = user and add this line directly after
map to guest = bad user

In newer installations this line will already exist.

2
As su run these two commands from a term

chgrp sambashare /var/lib/samba/usershares

chmod 1770 /var/lib/samba/usershares

Ensure the group sambashare is added to your user profile - Just go into "Users and Groups" and check, add if necessary. Look in Manage Groups, scroll down to sambashare and select properties and select you user name to be a group member. It is not enough that your login name is in the list, it must also be selected. If Users and Groups is not in your menus you need to install the package "gnome-system-tools".

3
Restart and you should be able to right click on a folder and select "sharing options" just like in Ubuntu, and others on your network (including media players) should be able to see and browse the shared folders.

The share definitions are stored in /var/lib/samba/usershares automatically by nautilus-share. The share definitions are NOT stored in smb.conf

A user called Altair4 on the Linux Mint Debian Edition forums helped refine this howto with his critique of my slightly out of date approach that I used before.

I have tried to make it as short and simple as I can, anyone with ideas or improvements please speak up .

[Turn]

hello,

I followed this howto, and i can share folders now..
but from other pc's, io cant see them

i can see the pc, and i can even open it, but no shares show up!

[sqlpython]

Edit: Post Deleted

[grege]

@sqlpython

The instructions in the link you provide are not going to work to create Ubuntu style click and share folders. Share definitions in smb.conf will not work in this manner. They must be in /var/lib/samba/usershares

My howto is for a very specific style of share and is not intended as a general howto for Samba.

[grege]

hello,

I followed this howto, and i can share folders now..
but from other pc's, io cant see them

i can see the pc, and i can even open it, but no shares show up!

I have tested the instructions on 6 different Debian installs - Squeeze or newer - and it has always worked. So please review all the steps and look for spelling errors.

First question - as a normal user when you right click and share do you get a hand symbol on the folder to indicate it is shared?

It is important to do all of the steps, the chgrp and chmod commands allow for the appropriate permissions. Also it is vitally important that you are a member of the group sambashare. In Users and Groups go to manage groups and scroll down to sambashare and select properties. Your username will be in the list, but it needs to be selected to be active.

let me know how you go.

EDIT:

On your Debian machine can you see your own shares in Nautilus when you select network? If not it is just not working.

I have occasionally had my network just not work for no logical reason. If my WD TV Live is the first device active then it blocks the rest. Sometimes the order of starting is important. Windows machines, particularly Windows 7, can block a Samba share for no apparent reason. I have a friend with a Billion router and two Ubuntu machines and his shares just never work. I have a Billion router (different model) and a mix of Debian, Ubuntu and XP with various network devices and it all just works as long as I turn off the WD TV Live when I have to restart the network. Once running i can turn the WD TV Live back on and it functions properly.

So, also try a bit of trial and error.

[Zero]

Thanks for this, followed your exact instructions and works fine for me. Much appreciated. Cheers.

[Turn]

hello,

I followed this howto, and i can share folders now..
but from other pc's, io cant see them

i can see the pc, and i can even open it, but no shares show up!

I have tested the instructions on 6 different Debian installs - Squeeze or newer - and it has always worked. So please review all the steps and look for spelling errors.

First question - as a normal user when you right click and share do you get a hand symbol on the folder to indicate it is shared?

It is important to do all of the steps, the chgrp and chmod commands allow for the appropriate permissions. Also it is vitally important that you are a member of the group sambashare. In Users and Groups go to manage groups and scroll down to sambashare and select properties. Your username will be in the list, but it needs to be selected to be active.

let me know how you go.

EDIT:

On your Debian machine can you see your own shares in Nautilus when you select network? If not it is just not working.

I have occasionally had my network just not work for no logical reason. If my WD TV Live is the first device active then it blocks the rest. Sometimes the order of starting is important. Windows machines, particularly Windows 7, can block a Samba share for no apparent reason. I have a friend with a Billion router and two Ubuntu machines and his shares just never work. I have a Billion router (different model) and a mix of Debian, Ubuntu and XP with various network devices and it all just works as long as I turn off the WD TV Live when I have to restart the network. Once running i can turn the WD TV Live back on and it functions properly.

So, also try a bit of trial and error.

Sorry i didnt respond sooner, i moved to Ubuntu shortly after, but somehow it doesnt seem right
i'll be having a go at this again over the weekend, and then i'll post the results

[Airix]

Thanks for this post i had to copy the smb.conf file from my ubuntu computer to get the files to be visible but all works well and good now... this issue was puzzling me so thanks a whole bunch for a good tutorial

[BLTicklemonster]

We use a Sony PS3 and I was wondering if this would make my Debian machine visible on our network? At present all the PS3 detects is my wife's Windows 7 machine. (boo hiss eh?)

Thank you for this How To. Can't wait to get home and give it a go.

[grege]

We use a Sony PS3 and I was wondering if this would make my Debian machine visible on our network? At present all the PS3 detects is my wife's Windows 7 machine. (boo hiss eh?)

Thank you for this How To. Can't wait to get home and give it a go.

It should work, however sometimes Windows 7 machines on the network can block access.

On my network I have one Windows 7 machine, two Debian and one Ubuntu, plus three media players and a NAS, and it all works fine. Each device can see the others and one of the Debian machines is the main repository of multimedia content.

[BLTicklemonster]

Brilliant, thank you! Easiest ever!

[ethyrdude]

This worked pretty sweet, I can share files easily on my Debian computer with my Windows 7 computer, am working on getting it to work the other way but I have confidence I will solve that shortly too, as I am running thru another how to now.

[gychang]

To get started install samba and nautilus-share through Synaptic. You will need to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf as Superuser (su).

1
In the global section of /etc/samba/smb.conf add the line

usershare allow guests = Yes

Find the line ; security = user and add this line directly after
map to guest = bad user

In newer installations this line will already exist.

2
As su run these two commands from a term

chgrp sambashare /var/lib/samba/usershares

chmod 1770 /var/lib/samba/usershares

Ensure the group sambashare is added to your user profile - Just go into "Users and Groups" and check, add if necessary. Look in Manage Groups, scroll down to sambashare and select properties and select you user name to be a group member. It is not enough that your login name is in the list, it must also be selected. If Users and Groups is not in your menus you need to install the package "gnome-system-tools".

I am trying to use this in my crunchbang machine. I am lost after 2 terminal commands. How do I ensure group sambashare is added?, is it done in smb.conf, ?nautilus?

thanks for all your efforts.

gychang

[grege]

I am trying to use this in my crunchbang machine. I am lost after 2 terminal commands. How do I ensure group sambashare is added?, is it done in smb.conf, ?nautilus?

thanks for all your efforts.

gychang

Group sambashare will be created automatically when you install samba and nautilus-share.

[agh_]

I followed this howto on Debian wheezy but after I installed nautilus-share I had to solve a problem with smbd not starting with the default configuration of /etc/samba/smb.conf (I had to change guest account to guest account = nobody) that gave me error

Code: Select all

'net usershare' returned error 255: net usershare add: cannot convert name "Everyone" to a SID. The connection was refused. Maybe smbd is not running.

After I changed that, I can now make shares but they do not appear on the network, don't know why.