I am trying to find out how to get Windows 98 and 2000 to stop trying to prompt me for the password every time that I connect to my Linux machine's Samba shares.

My setup is as follows. I have a network with three computers, all Fast Ethernet through a passive hub. One runs Mandrake 8.2, one runs Windows 2000, and one runs Windows 98. Apart from "root", on the Linux machine there is one user, "james", and on the Windows machines, three users, "James", "Valerie", and "Robert" (aside from "Administrator"). The Linux machine is set to allow guest access (security is maintained by the "hosts allow" string").

Whenever I log in as "James" and restore connections to the SMB shares on the Linux machine from the Windows 2000 machine, it prompts me for a password. If I leave the box blank and just press "OK", it connects without a problem (however, it is annoying to have the box). Whenever I log in as "Administrator", this does not happen.

On the Windows 98 machine, whenever I log in as "James", it presents me when I try to restore the connection with a dialogue box asking me to enter a password. Whatever password I enter, it refuses to connect. This does not happen when the logon names, "Robert" and "Valerie" are used; it just connects without asking.

I shall now reproduce the contents of my smb.conf file:


# 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 (perhaps too
# many!) most of which are not shown in this example
#
# Any line which starts with a ; (semi-colon) or a # (hash)
# is a comment and is ignored. In this example we will use a #
# for commentry and a ; for parts of the config file that you
# may wish to enable
#
# 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]

# 1. Server Naming Options:
# workgroup = NT-Domain-Name or Workgroup-Name
workgroup = PETTS

# netbios name is the name you will see in "Network Neighbourhood",
# but defaults to your hostname
netbios name = BEDROOM

# server string is the equivalent of the NT Description field
server string = Backup server running Samba %v

# Message command is run by samba when a "popup" message is sent to it.
# The example below is for use with LinPopUp:
message command = /usr/bin/linpopup "%f" "%m" %s; rm %s

# 2. Printing Options:
# CHANGES TO ENABLE PRINTING ON ALL CUPS PRINTERS IN THE NETWORK
# (as cups is now used in linux-mandrake 7.2 by default)
# if you want to automatically load your printer list rather
# than setting them up individually then you'll need this
printcap name = lpstat
load printers = yes

# It should not be necessary to spell out the print system type unless
# yours is non-standard. Currently supported print systems include:
# bsd, sysv, plp, lprng, aix, hpux, qnx, cups
printing = cups

# Samba 2.2 supports the Windows NT-style point-and-print feature. To
# use this, you need to be able to upload print drivers to the samba
# server. The printer admins (or root) may install drivers onto samba.
# Note that this feature uses the print$ share, so you will need to
# enable it below.
# This parameter works like domain admin group:
# printer admin = @<group> <user>
; printer admin = @adm

# 3. Logging Options:
# this tells Samba to use a separate log file for each machine
# that connects
log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m

# Put a capping on the size of the log files (in Kb).
; max log size = 50

# Set the log (verbosity) level (0 <= log level <= 10)
; log level = 3

# 4. Security and Domain Membership Options:
# This option is important for security. It allows you to restrict
# connections to machines which are on your local network. The
# following example restricts access to two C class networks and
# the "loopback" interface. For more examples of the syntax see
# the smb.conf man page. Do not enable this if (tcp/ip) name resolution does
# not work for all the hosts in your network.
hosts allow = 192.168.0.

# Uncomment this if you want a guest account, you must add this to /etc/passwd
# otherwise the user "nobody" is used
guest account = ftp
map to guest = Bad User

# Security mode. Most people will want user level security. See
# security_level.txt for details.
security = user
# Use password server option only with security = server or security = domain
# When using security = domain, you should use password server = *
; password server = <NT-Server-Name>
; password server = *

# Password Level allows matching of _n_ characters of the password for
# all combinations of upper and lower case.
; Password level = 16
; username level = 16

# You may wish to use password encryption. Please read
# ENCRYPTION.txt, Win95.txt and WinNT.txt in the Samba documentation.
# Do not enable this option unless you have read those documents
# Encrypted passwords are required for any use of samba in a Windows NT domain
# The smbpasswd file is only required by a server doing authentication, thus
# members of a domain do not need one.
encrypt passwords = yes
; smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd

# The following are needed to allow password changing from Windows to
# also update the Linux system password.
# NOTE: Use these with 'encrypt passwords' and 'smb passwd file' above.
# NOTE2: You do NOT need these to allow workstations to change only
# the encrypted SMB passwords. They allow the Unix password
# to be kept in sync with the SMB password.
unix password sync = Yes
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
passwd chat = *New*UNIX*password* %n\n *ReType*new*UNIX*password* %n\n
*passwd:*all*authentication*tokens*updated*successfully*

# Unix users can map to different SMB User names
; username map = /etc/samba/smbusers

# 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 = /etc/samba/smb.conf.%m

# Options for using winbind. Winbind allows you to do all account and
# authentication from a Windows or samba domain controller, creating
# accounts on the fly, and maintaining a mapping of Windows RIDs to unix uid's
# and gid's. winbind uid and winbind gid are the only required parameters.
#
# winbind uid is the range of uid's winbind can use when mapping RIDs to uid's
; winbind uid = 10000-20000
#
# winbind gid is the range of uid's winbind can use when mapping RIDs to gid's
; winbind gid = 10000-20000
#
# winbind separator is the character a user must use between their domain
# name and username, defaults to "\"
; winbind separator = +
#
# template homedir determines the home directory for winbind users, with
# %D expanding to their domain name and %U expanding to their username:
; template homedir = /home/%D/%U
#
# template shell determines the shell users authenticated by winbind get
; template shell = /bin/bash

# 5. Browser Control and Networking Options:
# Most people will find that this option gives better performance.
# See speed.txt and the manual pages for details
socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192

# Configure Samba to use multiple interfaces
# If you have multiple network interfaces then you must list them
# here. See the man page for details.
; interfaces = 192.168.12.2/24 192.168.13.2/24

# Configure remote browse list synchronisation here
# request announcement to, or browse list sync from:
# a specific host or from / to a whole subnet (see below)
; remote browse sync = 192.168.3.25 192.168.5.255
# Cause this host to announce itself to local subnets here
; remote announce = 192.168.1.255 192.168.2.44

# set local master to no if you don't want Samba to become a master
# browser on your network. Otherwise the normal election rules apply
; local master = no

# OS Level determines the precedence of this server in master browser
# elections. The default value should be reasonable
os level = 5

# Domain Master specifies Samba to be the Domain Master Browser. This
# allows Samba to collate browse lists between subnets. Don't use this
# if you already have a Windows NT domain controller doing this job
; domain master = yes

# Preferred Master causes Samba to force a local browser election on startup
# and gives it a slightly higher chance of winning the election
; preferred master = yes

# 6. Domain Control Options:
# Enable this if you want Samba to be a domain logon server for
# Windows95 workstations or Primary Domain Controller for WinNT and Win2k
; domain logons = yes

# if you enable domain logons then you may want a per-machine or
# per user logon script
# run a specific logon batch file per workstation (machine)
; logon script = %m.bat
# run a specific logon batch file per username
; logon script = %U.bat

# Where to store roaming profiles for WinNT and Win2k
# %L substitutes for this servers netbios name, %U is username
# You must uncomment the [Profiles] share below
; logon path = \\%L\Profiles\%U

# Where to store roaming profiles for Win9x. Be careful with this as it also
# impacts where Win2k finds its /HOME share
; logon home = \\%L\%U\.profile

# The add user script is used by a domain member to add local user accounts
# that have been authenticated by the domain controller, or by the domain
# controller to add local machine accounts when adding machines to the domain.
# The script must work from the command line when replacing the macros,
# or the operation will fail. Check that groups exist if forcing a group.
# Script for domain controller for adding machines:
; add user script = /usr/sbin/useradd -d /dev/null -g machines -c 'Machine Account' -s /bin/false -M %u
# Script for domain member for adding local accounts for authenticated users:
; add user script = /usr/sbin/useradd -s /bin/false %u

# Domain groups:
# domain admin group is a list of unix users or groups who are made members
# of the Domain Admin group
; domain admin group = root @wheel
#
# domain guest groups is a list of unix users or groups who are made members
# of the Domain Guests group
; domain guest group = nobody @guest

# 7. Name Resolution Options:
# All NetBIOS names must be resolved to IP Addresses
# 'Name Resolve Order' allows the named resolution mechanism to be specified
# the default order is "host lmhosts wins bcast". "host" means use the unix
# system gethostbyname() function call that will use either /etc/hosts OR
# DNS or NIS depending on the settings of /etc/host.config, /etc/nsswitch.conf
# and the /etc/resolv.conf file. "host" therefore is system configuration
# dependant. This parameter is most often of use to prevent DNS lookups
# in order to resolve NetBIOS names to IP Addresses. Use with care!
# The example below excludes use of name resolution for machines that are NOT
# on the local network segment
# - OR - are not deliberately to be known via lmhosts or via WINS.
; name resolve order = wins lmhosts bcast

# Windows Internet Name Serving Support Section:
# WINS Support - Tells the NMBD component of Samba to enable it's WINS Server
; wins support = yes

# 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

# WINS Proxy - Tells Samba to answer name resolution queries on
# behalf of a non WINS capable client, for this to work there must be
# at least one WINS Server on the network. The default is NO.
; wins proxy = yes

# DNS Proxy - tells Samba whether or not to try to resolve NetBIOS names
# via DNS nslookups. The built-in default for versions 1.9.17 is yes,
# this has been changed in version 1.9.18 to no.
dns proxy = no

# 8. File Naming Options:
# Case Preservation can be handy - system default is _no_
# NOTE: These can be set on a per share basis
; preserve case = no
; short preserve case = no
# Default case is normally upper case for all DOS files
; default case = lower
# Be very careful with case sensitivity - it can break things!
; case sensitive = no

# Enabling internationalization:
# you can match a Windows code page with a UNIX character set.
# Windows: 437 (US), 737 (GREEK), 850 (Latin1 - Western European),
# 852 (Eastern Eu.), 861 (Icelandic), 932 (Cyrillic - Russian),
# 936 (Japanese - Shift-JIS), 936 (Simpl. Chinese), 949 (Korean Hangul),
# 950 (Trad. Chin.).
# UNIX: ISO8859-1 (Western European), ISO8859-2 (Eastern Eu.),
# ISO8859-5 (Russian Cyrillic), KOI8-R (Alt-Russ. Cyril.)
# This is an example for french users:
; client code page = 850
; character set = ISO8859-1

# Misc
announce as = NT Workstation


#============================ Share Definitions ==============================
;[homes]
; comment = Home Directories
; browseable = no
; writable = yes

# Un-comment the following and create the netlogon directory for Domain Logons
; [netlogon]
; comment = Network Logon Service
; path = /var/lib/samba/netlogon
; guest ok = yes
; writable = no

#Uncomment the following 2 lines if you would like your login scripts to
#be created dynamically by ntlogon (check that you have it in the correct
#location (the default of the ntlogon rpm available in contribs)
;root preexec = /usr/bin/ntlogon -u %U -g %G -o %a -d /var/lib/samba/netlogon
;root postexec = rm -f /var/lib/samba/netlogon/%U.bat

# Un-comment the following to provide a specific roving profile share
# the default is to use the user's home directory
;[Profiles]
; path = /var/lib/samba/profiles
; browseable = no
; guest ok = yes


# NOTE: If you have a CUPS print system there is no need to
# specifically define each individual printer.
# You must configure the samba printers with the appropriate Windows
# drivers on your Windows clients. On the Samba server no filtering is
# done. If you wish that the server provides the driver and the clients
# send PostScript ("Generic PostScript Printer" under Windows), you have
# to swap the 'print command' line below with the commented one.
[printers]
comment = All Printers
path = /var/spool/samba
browseable = yes
# to allow user 'guest account' to print.
guest ok = yes
writable = no
printable = yes
create mode = 0700
# =====================================
# print command: see above for details.
# =====================================
print command = lpr-cups -P %p -o raw %s -r # using client side printer drivers.
; print command = lpr-cups -P %p %s # using cups own drivers (use generic PostScript on clients).
# The following two commands are the samba defaults for printing=cups
# change them only if you need different options:
; lpq command = lpq -P %p
; lprm command = cancel %p-%j

# This share is used for Windows NT-style point-and-print support.
# To be able to install drivers, you need to be either root, or listed
# in the printer admin parameter above. Note that you also need write access
# to the directory and share definition to be able to upload the drivers.
# For more information on this, please see the Printing Support Section of
# /usr/share/doc/samba-<version>/docs/Samba-HOWTO-Collection.pdf
[print$]
path = /var/lib/samba/printers
browseable = yes
read only = yes
write list = @adm root

# This one is useful for people to share files
;[tmp]
; comment = Temporary file space
; path = /tmp
; read only = no
; public = yes

# A publicly accessible directory, but read only, except for people in
# the "staff" group
;[public]
; comment = Public Stuff
; path = /home/samba/public
; public = yes
; writable = no
; write list = @staff

# Other examples.
#
# A private printer, usable only by Fred. Spool data will be placed in Fred's
# home directory. Note that fred must have write access to the spool directory,
# wherever it is.
;[fredsprn]
; comment = Fred's Printer
; valid users = fred
; path = /homes/fred
; printer = freds_printer
; public = no
; writable = no
; printable = yes

# A private directory, usable only by Fred. Note that Fred requires write
# access to the directory.
;[fredsdir]
; comment = Fred's Service
; path = /usr/somewhere/private
; valid users = fred
; public = no
; writable = yes
; printable = no

# a service which has a different directory for each machine that connects
# this allows you to tailor configurations to incoming machines. You could
# also use the %u option to tailor it by user name.
# The %m gets replaced with the machine name that is connecting.
;[pchome]
; comment = PC Directories
; path = /usr/pc/%m
; public = no
; writable = yes

# A publicly accessible directory, read/write to all users. Note that all files
# created in the directory by users will be owned by the default user, so
# any user with access can delete any other user's files. Obviously this
# directory must be writable by the default user. Another user could of course
# be specified, in which case all files would be owned by that user instead.
;[public]
; path = /usr/somewhere/else/public
; public = yes
; only guest = yes
; writable = yes
; printable = no

# The following two entries demonstrate how to share a directory so that two
# users can place files there that will be owned by the specific users. In this
# setup, the directory should be writable by both users and should have the
# sticky bit set on it to prevent abuse. Obviously this could be extended to
# as many users as required.
;[myshare]
; comment = Mary's and Fred's stuff
; path = /usr/somewhere/shared
; valid users = mary fred
; public = no
; writable = yes
; printable = no
; create mask = 0765

[Backup]
comment = Backup files
path = /mnt/backup
read only = No
guest ok = Yes
fstype = EXT3
browseable = yes
writable = yes

[Upstairs]
comment = Windows partition of upstairs storage
path = /mnt/windows
read only = No
guest ok = Yes
fstype = FAT32
browseable = yes
writable = yes

[Spare]
comment = Spare Storage
path = /mnt/spare
read only = No
guest ok = Yes
fstype = FAT32
browseable = yes
writable = yes

[Upstairs2]
comment = Linux partition of upstairs storage
path = /
read only = yes
guest ok = Yes
fstype = ReiserFS
browseable = yes
writable = no

[UpstairsCD]
comment = CD-ROM drive
path = /mnt/cdrom
read only = yes
guest ok = Yes
fstype = CDFS
browseable = yes
writable = no

Some of the things that are now commented out (like "encrypted password") were not commented out before: I have been experimenting. However, none of it has made any noticable difference to the way that Samba behaves.

Ideally, what I should like is for the Linux machine only to accept connections (in user mode) when presented with the correct usernames and passwords on the network, like my Windows 2000 machine does. I am sure that it is a simple thing: does anyone know how to do it?

And, incidentally, for those of you who read my "Really Big Failure" post and were wondering what happened there, I reinstalled. I think that the whole filesystem must have become corrupted because of switching off before it had shut down properly. Thankfully, I now have all up and running (with a few exceptions) better than before, and I have learened an awful lot about Linux in the process :-) Thank you to all who helped.

Change:

security = user

to:

security = share

Just keep in mind that that leaves your a$$ hanging in the breeze security wise.

What would be better is if Linux would use your Windows username/pwd without prompting. No idea how to do that, though.

I do not understand how this will help me: setting security to share will simply prompt for each individual share after listing rather than for access in general. Seeing as I restore connections at login on the Windows 2000 machine, it would do exactly the same thing as it does now.

I also cannot understand why it only prompts when I log in as "James" (even after having disabled the "password level" and the map to users list), and not when I log in as "Administrator" or anything else. Can anyone help as to that?

Did you create an samba account for James? If so re set the password to make sure the cap locks wasn't on. After that try setting the valid user for all the shares and leave the share level as user.
If you don't know how to set up a samba user just type this at the command prompt.
smbpasswd -a username