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SMB File Sharing on Lion

Hello,


Since upgrading my Mac Book Pro to Mac OS X Lion I can't connect my WDTV Live device to it. It used SMB file share and now it just doesn't work.

Any ideas on how to fix this issue?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 24, 2011 8:38 AM

Reply
46 replies

Aug 1, 2011 2:05 PM in response to msmarko

For those of you trying to access SMB shares, I found a free and easy solution.


Since a lot of people report they are able to access their NAS using apps other than the Finder itself, I decided to look for a free Lion-compatible File Manager to use instead of Finder.


I have found muCommander ( http://www.mucommander.com/ ) and indeed it works fine. All I did was click on the button highlighted bellow, go to "bonjour services" and select my NAS. It prompted me for my username and password and voilá, it works fine.


User uploaded file


I keep Finder for everyday use and just load muCommander when I want to access the NAS. At least now I don't have to start my WinXP VM anymore just to access it.


Hope it helps you all.

Aug 4, 2011 10:22 AM in response to msmarko

Apple has changed their SMB implementation, and rather than using an open source (based) approach, they have a proprietary SMB implementation that does not work with legacy SMB clients. The other solutions here look valid, basically either you need to upgrade the client to support the highest standards, or you need to use a different kind of file sharing.


In my case, all the Apple SMB code is turned off and I am using a MacPorts version of Samba 3. The install for this is not trivial.


Very disappointed in Apple on this one. Hopefully they can implement a legacy switch for older clients.

Aug 5, 2011 3:48 AM in response to g_mac_man

Since, as you said, the install of Samba 3 is not trivial (requires the development environment, etc.) can you just post the compiled binaries somewhere to download and install ?


This would help many users currently unable to connect to SMB shares but unwilling or not capable to recompile Samba 3 from the source code.


Thanks

Aug 5, 2011 5:35 AM in response to g_mac_man

I have seen this tutorial, but to be honest I don't feel comfortable doing this. What if Apple fix this, how easy is to remove samba 3 from your Mac?

The other problem is that, if I as a software engineer don't feel comfortable installing Samba 3, what will the average user say.

I expect that Apple will fix this soon, or that someone else will write some easily installable/maintanable sharing software.

In the meantime Vuze-Media Server implementation might be just fine.

Aug 5, 2011 5:47 AM in response to msmarko

The uninstall is pretty easy with macports, and I've worked with macports before and not had any issues. The full Samba 3 implementation is a little hardcore, true enough. However, I use the mac as a server dedicated for the purpose, so the risk was worth it for me. If you've made a full backup of your system anyway, you can always go back if things aren't working to your liking.


Hey - it's an opportunity for someone to make some money for those that don't want to do a Samba 3 install.


Another option is to install a uPNP server (there are many) if you are streaming content. XBMC does this fairly well.

Aug 17, 2011 4:38 PM in response to msmarko

That's too bad. I don't think I'm going back actually. At the time I set up a Mac as a server, I got a great deal on the hardware. For me, I just want something to work as a file server, and when I need to, media server. Samba 3 has given no hiccups in 2 weeks of use, is easily configurable, and performs better than Snow Leopard SMB anyway. Under Snow Leopard heavy network shares would slowly cause things to get grumpy, requiring a service or system restart. As of yet, that has not happened for me (It's still early days though).


I don't think Apple takes the server market seriously, just look at their actions over the past year or so. If you want a server, look elsewhere is what I keep hearing. A mini is a good home server, but what about a machine with dual power supplies, easy to service, easy to upgrade. But I digress... They are not listening.


For SMB, if anyone has any other good file sharing solutions please post them here. Those with legacy clients, broken by Apple's new implementation, will thank you!

Nov 7, 2011 11:01 PM in response to g_mac_man

Sice 10.7.2 didn't bring any imprvements to this problem I decided to install macports and their samba.

Installing procedure is not so complicated. One can have a few issues once it is installed, to configure it, turn off apple's net bios service, but besides that it's relativly simple. Therefore, I wouldn't suggest rolling back. It's enough to install reguar samba.

Nov 15, 2011 4:23 AM in response to msmarko

Same here I can't get my WD TV Live Hub to connect to my MacBook running Lion but my MacBook can find my WD TV Live Hub. I can see my MacBook over the stock SMB protocol in Lion but I am asked for a username and password on the WD TV Live Hub. I've tried every username/password combination that I use on the MacBook but it says it's invalid.

SMB File Sharing on Lion

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