Invalid Login to Gentoo Samba from Windows 11

alienjon · Veteran Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 1723

So my goal is to setup a file server that is accessible from other computers on my home LAN. I already have a Gentoo server up and running, have installed Samba per the wiki and reviewed the guide. It starts up without any errors in the logs or dmesg. In File Explorer in windows the server even shows up, but when I try to open it, and it asks for my credentials, I get "Access is denied." errors. I've tried the username as both [username] and [domain]\[username] as well as both the samba password for that user and the server login for that user. The guides seem to work great, until they don't, and I'm honestly not even sure what I'm looking for online, as everything is a little off of my problem. Here's my setup:

rab0171610 · Guru Joined: 24 Dec 2022 Posts: 420

I am just speculating here. I had a similar problem at some point in the past. It may be that the smb protocols are different between the two machines. You may need to do a little research to find out what versions of the smb protocol your version of samba and Windows both support. Without looking into it further, I cannot say definitively.
I currently have this in my smb.conf:

alienjon · Veteran Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 1723

@rab0171610
No change. Lots of ideas like that floating around and hard to really know the problem. "Access denied" really isn't all that helpful on the Windows end.

I have been toying around on the Samba server configuration on my Gentoo box, though, and am focusing on this error:

alienjon · Veteran Joined: 09 Feb 2005 Posts: 1723

So after additional testing, searching online, and testing varying log levels I tried clearing the smb.conf to the default one I had. I'm suspecting the problem is something about the global settings. The following seems to work in that I can login with WORKGROUP\{username} and password:

rab0171610 · Guru Joined: 24 Dec 2022 Posts: 420

I have been using samba for years in various capacities. We set it up frequently when using Windows, Linux and Novell Servers, Linux and Windows workstations in college. I have used it in my personal networks as well through all of the Windows iterations. I have found that Samba documentation is increasingly lacking and vague. I find the configuration has become overly complex and tedious, especially with regards to security and users/login options. In other words, it used to be a lot more intuitive and easy. It was relatively easy to setup and troubleshoot. In my personal opinion, it has become overly complicated due to increased minimum security requirements.

That being said, I have a very open, private home network with very little samba security. While many prefer NFS due to the fact that it is a native protocol, I prefer to use samba for simple file sharing and access between file browsers from one Linux computer to the other (KDE). I am afraid that the last time I tried to set it up, I found it more difficult than ever. I basically left it open Windows XP style with open access. Both computers on my private home network can access the others home directories, with no password or login required. The only limits are restrictions on allowed IP addresses. The router has dedicated IP by Mac address filtering. That is what works for me. I understand that others in more complex and shared networks may need better security or user restrictions, with password and username based access. I am afraid that I went with the minimal security, easier access route and am no longer as fluent in the current configuration or security options of smb.conf. Hopefully someone with more current working knowledge can help you at some point. If you do figure out what the issue is I am curious to know the solution for future reference. Please keep us updated.