LinuxQuestions.org - Can't get Samba to show up on my Windows 2000 Pro

I was able to share files between RH 9 and W2k-pro. I didn't have to set-up a network drive either. But for the life of me, I can't remember how I did it. I don't remember having to customize the samba.conf files, although I did have to do a network login with a password and authentication--which may have involved those files.

One major difference may be that I have a router which acts as a print server, a gateway, a DHCP server, and such. So, If you don't have one, it makes a big difference in the set-up.

Your set-up determines the path to follow in straightening every thing out.

Something on the network needs to host the network--this means somebody has to be in charge of the services and the way they are advertised(?) on the network.

In my case, the router was the host and was in charge of DHCP, the gateway, and a primitive printserver. W2K hosted the workgroup and ran authentication on the fileshares and membership to them.

When the host boots, it announces its presence, sends out requests in a defined protocol, assigns the IPaddresses, announces available services, and listens for the responses on the network.

There can only be one source of those things. It can be W2K-pro, or an intelligent router, or your Linux box. Which ever one it is--it must run the show. Even if you choose static IP addresses. If you choose the Linux box, you have a lot of dinking to do with the W2K_pro. The default settings for pro are for it to run all of the services.

I find I can't "wing-it" for those kind of situations, I have to define the services and such on paper. I may have to do it repeatedly to get everything very clear in my mind before I change ANYTHING. I then have to write out a check-list for each O.S. of the services that are running and a plan for each step I am going to take.

Why? Because I ended up thrashing both systems--totally hosed 2000 and buggered up the RH. If you don't make a checklist, and then log everything, you can't return everything to the way it was. Some stuff doesn't just "roll-back" with a registry restoration (I know this from sad experience) unless you know exactly what you did and in what order you did them.

It sounds to me that you have Win2K running everything, and you have a Samba client.

The way it works is:

The computers have to have permissions and authentication to enter the domain. (Network login and password.)

The computers have to have permissions and authentication to be a member of the workgroup. (Assigned in both O.S.es. If I'm not mistaken, both O.S.es have a wizard/properties window to do this.)

The workgroup has a group defined in both computers as having permission to mount files on the network. The fileshares have their own membership to that group, which has permissions, passwords, authentication, and priveledges in both O.S.es. (If I'm not mistaken, both O.S.es have a wizard/properties window to do this.)

The computer user is a member of a group which is defined on both computers as having priviledges to read write and execute files within the fileshares.

So, the fileshares are assigned a membership in a group (domain/workgroup) and the priviledges for that group are assigned. The users of the fileshare then have to be defined as members of a group which has the priviledges to use the fileshare (domain/workgroup/fileshares/permitted group of users/priviledged member of group of users) on both O.S.es.

Do not set everything as root-user, as that is a great way to hose everything on both systems. Set-up a separate administrator login/password/group/membership/etc. for that. Remember, only the Administrator is supposed to hose the network.

The exact way you go about it on Linux and W2K_pro are different. The process is the same.

Either that helped give you direction, or your brain just fried.