Networking Windows > Kubuntu

This isn't exactly a security problem, but it does touch on it. I've installed kubuntu onto an old laptop and it sees the Windows network straight away, but I can't figure out how to do it in the other direction. I had Suse installed as a dual boot option some time ago, and I remember it being a right royal pain installing and configuring Samba. I had hoped that Kubuntu might have made some improvements over Suse 9, but it seems not.

While I don't have to install Samba (it's already there), this network isn't going to "just work". I saved a samba config file from Suse and thought I might be able to just copy it across - but it seems I don't have the right permissions. Linux annoys me like this - it resembles the way Vista's gone, ie all of a sudden you can't do what you want with your own computer. I'm the only user for heaven's sake, why can't I alter a file? Unlike Suse, I didn't notice a "root" option during the install and have no idea how to either go about replacing the default Samba file with my saved one, or see the kubuntu files in my network places here.

Can anyone help?

Can you use the Command Line to copy it over while using sudo? I know root is disabled by default on Ubuntu but you can still use sudo with your own password.

I could try .... what's the command for a) renaming the original samba file (in case this one isn't suitable at all, so I can keep it) and b) for copying my samba file from this pc? Sorry to appear so ignorant but there isn't much point in me trying until I can master this basic stuff - I'm just not used to command line prompts at all.

To rename the original samba file, I would use the 'mv' command. for example:

Quote:

---

mv samba.conf samba.conf.bak [it might be smb.conf I cannot remember for sure]

---

make sure that you are root by typing

Quote:

---

sudo -H -i

---

and then enter your password.

as far as copying the file from one pc to another, I would suggest a Thumbdrive, [K]Ubuntu seems pretty good about recognizing USB storage devices.

Hope this helps...

westin

Surely my network will copy the file? Don't forget I can view all windows files and folders from kubuntu. I just don't have the damned necessary permissions to replace my own samba file on my own computer ! When I try to paste the file into place, it won't allow it. Would a command line command not be able to access a networked share and copy it? If I stick it on a usb drive I'm going to have the same problem with permissions and no way to get round it.

Ubuntu (and derivatives, I assume) disables the root account by default. That means that you have to use sudo to do root tasks. Westin pretty much had it covered, but I should mention that when sudo asks you for a password, it is your password and NOT the root password. There isn't a way to set the root password and have it be useful anyway.

Cheers,
cgkanchi

EDIT: Found the Ubuntu documentation page for sudo. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

did you try sudo -H -i ? that should give you root permissions... I am running Ubuntu right not... and it let me rename my smb.conf file and create a new one. you might try pasting the file to your desktop.. from the network, [you should have sufficient permissions to do that without being root] and using the command line to move it into place, with root permissions.

Quote:

---

cp /home/username/Desktop/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf

---

[after you create a backup of your samba config file of course :)] sorry if I am not much help... but I try :(

/* edit: Check out this link if all else fails http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202605 it is a howto for ubuntu/windows networking for samba */

Hey Hey,

To have a full blown root account in Ubuntu is rather simple..

sudo passwd root
<enter your password for sudo>
<assign a root password>

To setup file sharing on Ubuntu and derivatives is just as simple..

I just shut down my Ubuntu laptop (heading home for the day), however it's as simple as right clicking on the folder you want to share and going to sharing... Tell it to share with Samba, provide a password and it will make the necessary config file changes... Very similar to doing it in Windows...

I'm also moving this to Operating System Discussions... since it's not security.

Peace,
HT

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to HTRegz again.

Thanks... I was making that way harder than it should have been.

It's still bloody annoying :( I right click "desktop" say, select sharing and "configure file sharing". It wants a password, so I give it one and I get a wonderful greyed out box up, containing all the options I want, except they're greyed out. "Enable local network sharing" either in simple or advanced form is there but can I hell access them! It's just greyed out, what kind of password is it looking for??

Where and what would I see on XP anyway? If I browsed the network would kubuntu magically appear? Looking at my saved samba file, I really wish I could copy it across.

I had moderate success in a terminal. I got root permission doing sudo -H -i, but every command I tried, I just got "could not start".

"cannot start smb.conf"

cp /etc/smb.conf /etc/smb.bak

"cannot start" ... etc

Then there appears to be no sort of link between what I'm doing in the terminal and a file I'm attempting to right click and set sharing (?)

could it have said 'cannot stat'?

in your post you have /etc/smb.conf ... it should be /etc/samba/smb.conf ... having the wrong directory would result in a cannot stat error.

Quote:

---

root@westin:~# cp /etc/smb.conf /etc/smb.conf.bak
cp: cannot stat `/etc/smb.conf': No such file or directory

---

Quote:

---

Where and what would I see on XP anyway? If I browsed the network would kubuntu magically appear?

---

Wow... your technical skills are astounding :D

It would be a smb file share... Accessible via the workgroup you setup Samba to use in neighbourhood networking. It'll also be accessible the way that any Windows share is... \\ip\sharename (or \\computername\sharename).

Anyways... I'm not sure why you're still having problems... I've never had issues with Ubuntu's filesharing.... However there is a full document on setting it up on the Ubuntu site...

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpSamba

Peace,
HT

westin, it very well could have said "cannot stat", I'm sure it probably did. I'll try it again with the text you quoted.

HTRegz, don't be so bloody rude! I'm not used to linux (and with this sort of hassle why does anyone bother with it?) and it isn't very intuitive. FYI I have been through all that Samba configure stuff and I have a perfectly working samba file but I can't copy it onto Kubuntu! Nor would it allow me to save any modifications to the current samba file, so there's little point in trying to redo it.

In Suse, you can login as root and the whole of your session gives you permission to do what you want. In Kubuntu that doesn't seem to happen. You can get root privileges in a terminal but that doesn't seem to extend to anything you do outside that terminal.

I was asking what I'd see on the laptop because I was trying to browse for network computers .... grasping at straws really. I'll give this another go, see if I get anywhere.

You can get root permissions in a terminal can't you? Just copy the file over to a "user" accessible directory. sudo to root and copy it wherever you want. If thumb drives don't work, just upload it into webmail account or to rapidshare or something and download it to the linux system that way. sudo -i should do the trick after that.
Cheers,
cgkanchi

EDIT: If you're really desperate, you could try copying it manually, line by line :D

Don't anybody tell me file sharing is easy in ubuntu/kubuntu.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cgkanchi

EDIT: If you're really desperate, you could try copying it manually, line by line :D

---

Thank you :/

cgkanchi, the file is currently residing on the desktop. You can't get much more user accessible than that.

The cp command appeared to work, or it didn't throw up any complaints anyway. However the smb.conf was unchanged when I had a look at it. I had another go at sharing my desktop. It tell my I need to be authorized to configure file sharing and invites me to put a password in. I give it the only password I've ever used on the system and it doesn't want to know - it just stays greyed out.

[EDIT] The problem is the etc directory. Trying to just drag the desktop file in now, it tells me I can't "drop any items in a directory in which you do not have write permission". This despite having done that sudo -H -i thing.

I guess searching for something to connect to from Windows isn't going to work either. How come it works so perfectly in the other direction, yet there's all this trouble viewing linux from XP?

Hmmm, are you sure this doesn't work:

(In a terminal)

Code:

---

$sudo -i
password: Your password here
#cp /home/moira/smb.conf /etc/whatever/smb.conf
#cat /etc/whatever/smb.conf (to check if it's been copied)
#exit

---

Cheers,
cgkanchi

Hi

Before I wearily get that laptop out to try this for about the hundredth time, let me make sure I'm doing exactly what you say.

The smb.conf file I want to copy over the top of the one in etc, is on my desktop (username is moiraatkinson). Forget about renaming the old one, which clearly doesn't work anyway - I'll settle for copying one across.

So the command would be #cp /home/moiraatkinson/(desktop?)/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf? Have I got that right?

Yep. That's exactly the command. The hash (#) of course, isn't part of the command, it's part (or the whole) of the prompt you should get when you're root. I just couldn't remember where the smb.conf normally resides. Been a while since I used linux.

Cheers,
cgkanchi

EDIT: Just in case you didn't get it, the $ isn't part of the command either, that's the prompt you get when you're not root.

Sorry, I'm getting "cannot stat" - it doesn't like the location of my copied file. I've tried /home/moiraatkinson/desktop/smb.conf and /home/desktop/moiraatkinson/smb.conf, but the message is the same.

Isn't it silly, insisting on your password again before you can access stuff like this? You already put it in once when you booted up.

Use the GUI file manager to find the file. It sounds like you don't know/remember where you put the file... Alternatively, just copy the original file over to Ubuntu, but this time, put it in /home/moiraatkinson . Then sudo -i and so on...

Cheers,
cgkanchi

Oh, and another thing. You might want to try doing the whole thing from the GUI. Press Alt+F2 while on the desktop and you should get a run dialog. In that, type "kdesu konqueror" without the quotes and press enter. It should ask you for your password (yes, again :D) and then come up with a file manager/web browser. Go to the address bar and type in /home/moiraatkinson . Once you've done that, you should see your home directory and be able to access the desktop. Once you can do that, just copy the file and navigate to /etc/samba and paste it there.
It's easy, just like Windows Explorer ;)

Cheers,
cgkanchi

Yeah, I'll have a go at finding my home directory (which would be a start!) and putting the file there from the desktop.

Isn't it annoying when one small part of a problem gets in the way of the original intention? I remember having a redundant entry in Vista's bcdedit file (after trying to install Ubuntu on that PC in fact) and spending so much time trying to rectify this, I was sick and tired of Vista before I even began to see what else it could do.

Well, you'll be amazed to hear that I've managed to copy across the samba file, using the terminal window :D

I'm still not able to access kubuntu from this PC - in fact, after replacing the smb.conf, I found I'd lost all the network places in the other direction, however it was easy enough to reconnect. It might be a bit optimistic to be thinking this new samba file from suse will just work, but there doesn't look like too much I'd need to change.

Can anyone confirm what I'd actually try to connect to from here? Whatever I put in after smb it comes up with "windows requires a share to publish to" or "the folder does not appear valid". File sharing is still obstinately greyed out in kubuntu, however it's greyed out with simple file sharing enabled so it should be OK.

I used to have a network place called /home/moiraatkinson/Desktop/public_html .... is that still valid? I'm sorry to sound so useless, it would be much easier if linux "just worked" the way a windows network does.

OK just to round up what I've decided to do. I'm going to download the new Suse version due out round about now and install that instead of Kubuntu. If networking is no easier in the Ubuntu/Kubuntu distros, I might as well go back to Suse which I am at least fairly familiar with.

In return for a favour, I've got someone lined up who has promised to help configure and set up the smb.conf file. It's always possible my saved copy will simply "work" as it will just be an updated version of the same OS that was on the same network, same machine etc.

Thanks for the help.