2nd xp laptop can't write to Samba share

[maslett]

Greetings,

I have two laptops running XP pro, both with same username & passwords. One of the laptops has no problems with my file server (Samba/Mandriva) but the other one can't even read it. Both laptops have ZoneAlarm running - if I close down ZA on the 'dodgy' laptop I can see the Samba share but still can't write to it.

As one laptop works fine with the Samba share I'm guessing this isn't a Linux issue but an XP (maybe ZoneAlarm) problem.

Cheers in advance,
Matt

 

[bcastner]

A write is a permissions issue, and not a firewall issue.
Configure Zone Alarm just as if you were running Windows Networking using Netbios/SMB networking.

Did you do an add of the "dodgy" laptop to the Domain? You need to register the machine name.



____________________________
Users Helping Users

 

[John Lewis]

First, your Zone Alarm settings on the "dodgy" laptop are cleary a problem. As bcastner said, configure for Windows Networking and you should be fine.

Adding the machine to the domain would apply only if you are running a domain controller. Samba is perfectly happy in a workgroup environment.

My guess would be that the "good" laptop does not have Service Pack 2 installed, the "dodgy" one does. If this is the case, you need to visit Windows Update with the good laptop and upgrade Samba to a current version.

If there is any doubt, post your version of Samba. To find the version, log on to the linux box as root (or su to root) and run 'smbd -V' (captial V).

There have been several subtle changes to Windows Networking on XP that do not cause problems with other Windows boxes but do cause problems for Samba. These have been addressed, but versions older than the current 3.0.23c may still have problems.

 

[maslett]

Thanks all - I will try out your suggestions over the w/e and post the results.