How can I access my PC (XP pro) data files with Linux/Fedora
 

I see my first post was 19 Sep '11 - can't believe so much time has passed. I'll repeat some of what I said to give the background to my current problem.

I've been using Microsoft's stuff since MSDOS 3.11 - all the way through to XP, skipping only Windows Millenium. I bought a Laptop around 3 months ago that had Win 7 pre-installed and I didn't like it so I finally decided to experiment with Linux (having been reading Linux magazines for more than a year).

After a few cock-ups (long story) with various distros I got a set-up working (Fedora) and I linked by cable without trouble to my Netgear Router (Cable and Wireless -G WGR614 v9) but couldn't get a connection via Wi-Fi. After a struggle over a long period, I managed to find info on the subject and finally got a Wi-Fi link working.

BUT, what I really need is access to my files. This would be the big step in converting me to Linux.

My Windows PC has 2 Sata drives. The first stores XP & all the apps, the second stores all my data (around 50 thousand files). That data is backed-up onto a USB drive AND onto another Sata drive in a NAS box connected to my router.

Mapping to the NAS box via XP was easy but via Fedora on my laptop I'm getting nowhere - none of the searches I've done on the 'net has come up with a solution that works - tho' how much is due to me not understanding the solutions offered ... who knows.

Can anyone give me a newbie set of instructions to access my data?
I find accessing files on the NAS is quite slow (from XP) and I'm wondering if it would quicker if the laptop could access my files on the PC (via Wi-Fi through the router) - but I'd be grateful for info on either scenario.

Just in case this has anything to do with the problem, I should say that I've been having trouble updating Fedora: I allow the auto-update to run pretty much every day but it fails with a string of error messages. I've just tried using yum -y update (stumbled on that on the 'net this morning) and I think it worked OK: I got several screens filled with messages like -

Package module-init-tools.i686 0:3:12-5.fc15 will be updated
Package module-init-tools.i686 0:3:12-5.fc15 will be an update

and quite a few lines with the word duplicate in it so I'm assuming they had updated on an earlier attempt.

Using cat /etc/fedora-release tells me I'm using Release 15 (Lovelock). Tho', confusingly, elsewhere it says
fedora-release-rawhide-15-3

Thanks for any help.

Harry

This thread from the Fedora forum may be helpful.

Thank you bigrigdriver, I have checked that thread, but where do I go from there?

I have entered:
yum update
yum clean all
yum install samba samba-common

Then, when I go to file manager, I can look in Network, Browse Net and see Windows Network. But when I click on that I get:

Unable to mount location

Failed to retrieve share list from server

I can start Firefox and log onto the NAS box with the name & password I set up for the laptop but this just gives me the Account info I'd set up. How do I get to my data files on the NAS?

I have read the Wiki re Mount but it is not clear to me how to use it.
Does it matter what name I give to the drive I want to mount?
I can't mount nasbox without, presumably, identifying nasbox in the fstab folder.

There is a reference to a folder called etc\fstab but I have looked in the File System folder and found etc but there is no such folder as fstab listed within it. I have looked in Desktop Help and can't even see an explanation/option on creating a new folder called fstab.
And if I could, I wouldn't know how to define my "nasbox" entry.

Ah. I now find that fstab is a file NOT a folder.
I've looked inside it but I'm still no wiser on how to define my nasbox.

Any suggestions .... anyone?

Thanks,
Harry

Lost inspace!
 

After searching around as admin in my NAS box I found an entry that tells me the device name is /dev/hdc and the MountPoint is /mnt/ide3.

So I hurry off to fstab and open it up in gedit and type in the above ... and save the file .... except I can't save the file! I need to be logged in as root, presumably. But when I log in as root in a terminal I can't find a way to access the fstab file. So I quit the terminal and log out of the session and try to log in as root - but I can't log in as root from the start-up login ...????????

Help - This is driving me crazy ... AAARRRGGGHHH!

Harry

What do you mean? Why can't you run your favourite text editor?

This is usually the case. The idea is that you shouldn't log into the GUI as root, because it's probably easier to break things that way.