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Can't connect via SMB

Prior to installing Lion, I would connect to our shared drives at work via SMB. Today, after installing Lion, I can't connect to my shared drives. The one SMB connection that works is to an FTP server. I connect via SMB to map the drive in my Finder rather than using an FTP program. This still works fine.


However, I can't connect to the shared drive for file sharing. In the Connect to Server box, I have "smb://PathToFiles" . Is smb:// the correct prefix to use now that Lion is funky with SMB support?


I'm sorry...I really don't know much about SMB connections, what kind of server it is that I'm trying to connect to, or much else. I know we run Windows Exchange, but I'm not sure if that's the server that hosts these shared drives...I just need to connect to get back to work. Any help would be AWESOME.

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 1:55 PM

Reply
132 replies

Nov 14, 2011 7:23 AM in response to Tomb Stone

Last night, I was beginning to think that Apple got so excited about the iCloud that they probably purposely created this bug so that we would all get frustrated and subscribe to the iCloud and then our problems would all go away in an instant. But then I think it's a ridiculous thought because the SMB setting is still available under File Sharing in the prefs. I'm just frustrated because I need to get files off of my Mac (it says my startup drive is full) and I'm now unable to do so with my current hardware. I honestly believe that Lion has taken me back 12 yrs, to when I wasn't able to transfer files to/from a PC. I now regret purchasing Lion and wish that I kept Snow Leopard. Maybe I should tell all my friends to not purchase Lion for at least another 6 months and have them spread the word. I can't believe that Apple released an OS product having this bug. Didn't they test it prior to launch? Oh right, they tested iCloud instead. Now, they portray themselves as unreliable to me.

Jan 11, 2012 11:54 PM in response to john-mac

page 2 of this link

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3197723


And here is the text that I wrote in it in case you still can't see it.


I had problems with this a few months ago so I took time off to not think about it. Now, I've returned to this and I must have had magic under my fingertips.


For my Lion to Windows XP Pro file sharing, it looks like I found a fix on my end.


1. First, I went into Sharing > File Sharing

I added my Public folder since I must have removed it some other day.


2. Next, I went into Network and removed my existing Wifi connection and created a new one.

Then I went into Advanced, TCP/IP > set Using DHCP > Renew DNS Lease and then added my WINS Workgroup name.


3. I went to Go>Connect to Server>entered my PC's local IP address as smb://###.###.#.###/ and BINGO! I have a connection. It connected to my PC as a Guest even though my Guest login is turned off on my PC.


It didn't ask me for a login info like it used to under Snow Leopard.

Now, I'll wait and see if my connection disconnects. So far, it's been 15 minutes and still have a connection.


I hope this helps someone else.




>>> Note: Since finding this solution, my network connection with Windows XP Pro SP3 has not been lost. It's been 8 days and my Mac is still connected to a Windows share folder as I write this <<<

Jan 13, 2012 4:52 AM in response to upeace

I'm getting a similar issue, that i cant quite find an answer to within these man posts.


I've jsut installed a new NSD, OS X 10.6 has connected to it as an SMB server, and teh access permissions are set through teh device's own software.


However, when another user accesses the drives they have restriced access, to sub folders, as you showed on once of your posts. The user has full access on the device itself, and when looked at through teh get info pane it shows no ablity to change their permissions only that they have no access.


futher when they create a subfolder this is restricted accessablity by them only, even though the drive controls permissions.


in my case the entire network is mac based there is only one virtual pc via vm fusion that needs to access the NSD....


I am pulling my hair out... any ideas would be very helpfull other wise the new NSD is a complete waist of time and money and its back to drop box....

Jan 13, 2012 11:10 AM in response to Daryl12345

Our Windows7 computer always has issues connecting when it's turned on. We are able to log in every time if we do the following:


  • press Windows + Break key
  • change settings
  • select network ID
  • select this computer is not part of a domain
  • enter "WORKGROUP" as the workgroup name (or whatever your workgroup is for both Mac and PC)
  • restart the computer
  • the computer should connect with any account on Lion Server (username/password)


This is painful, but it works everytime for us. Apple is aware of this and working on improving SMB.

Jan 30, 2012 1:59 PM in response to upeace

For certain Windows versions you need to blank the DOMAIN, using the backslash character.


For example, if you want to connect with a Mac user like "pressctx", you need to introduce "\pressctx" as the username when connecting from Windows. This will blank the domain part that is NOT needed for a MacOS SMB share connection.


The password is, as normal, the password of the original Mac user account.


MacOS X version tested: Mac OS X Lion

Windows version tested: Windows 7 Home Premium

Share used: SMB network connection sharing for Mac OS X

Jan 30, 2012 3:04 PM in response to upeace

Hi guys,


after carefully reading a million posts about this issue, I finally figured what would resolve it in my case.


What I did was:


1. Open Finder.

2. Select "Go" in the menu bar.

3. Select "Connect to Server" menu item.

4. Enter the server address as follows (this example fits of course only my environment): smb://workgroup;alexanderschott@192.168.178.100/media


Please note that

a) "workgroup" refers to the workgroup configured in the WINS settings in OSX Lion.

b) the ";" is important!

c) "192.168.178.100/media" points to the share on my NAS

d) LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT: "alexanderschott" is my user in Lion. On my NAS I created a user with the SAME username (Seagate Blackarmor 110)!!


Hope this helps!


Alex

Jan 30, 2012 3:53 PM in response to renownentertainment

But what happens if the computer is part of a Windows domain? Wouldn't that take the computer out of your Windows domain entirely? If you want to re-join the Windows domain, then the domain users who log back in from this computer would lose their profiles and Windows re-creates an new profile for them. Is that the case? If not, how are you able to re-use the existing domain profiles every time you take the machine out and back in into the domain?

Jan 31, 2012 9:46 AM in response to upeace

Just in case, I found an answer that worked for me under a Windows Forum. I don't want to copy and past the whole answer here, just in case it is agaist the rules, but it is under the question "Windows 7 cannot connect to Mac - Help!" The answer is from a Windows person, Shinmila H. Surprisingly the setting is in Windows, not in Mac. It has to do with LAN Manager Authentication in the Group Policy. She has two options, one for Windows 7 Pro under Group policy settings and the other is a direct edit to the registry for those who don't have Windows 7 Pro. My situation was that I did not have any problem connecting from XP Pro to Mac, but the Win 7 Pro machines wouldn't connect. My Win 7 machines would "see" the Mac Server, but wouldn't connect via the login options. Now they all open the folders right away without having to log in. (Same User ID and password on both sides; Windows and Mac.) Below is the link; not sure if it will work.


http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-networking/windows-7- cannot-connect-to-mac-help/a2a62c23-0aae-4b5a-a646-f089468bc6cc?page=1&tm=132803 0881784#footer

Jan 31, 2012 10:18 AM in response to elpietri

The windows LanMan 1.1 registry change is not a fix for this issue, as previously posted.


Under OSx Lion, SMB functionality was written by scratch by apple, replacing the previous Samba SMB services due to the upgrading of the Samba license to GPL 3, which prevents Apple from using it in a commercial product liek OSx. Under 10.7.x, the Apple SMB support is for SMB2, and not the previous version as this windows hack provides.


The other technaratti here can correct any inaccuracies, but if you are creating an SMB share on OSx 10.7.x, which has a windows 7 client (also SMB2 by default), this will not fix the problem.

Feb 1, 2012 12:16 PM in response to LostLib

Oops! With all the exitement I didn't have a chance to read through all the 86 posts. Very weird; after logging out the clients and logging them back in, the Mac server is gone from the Windows PC's. I reverted the changes and now everything is working fine on all PC's. I hope that tomorrow everything still works. I'm almost convinced that there is a Gremlin inside my network.

Can't connect via SMB

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