Member Avatar for solo

Hi, I've been trying to figure out how to log on from my xp box to the samba server running on a redhat 9.0 box.

Everything seems proper, I can access locally from the linux box and
the xp can see the samba server too. When I double click from the work group, it prompts for the user name and passwd, so far so good. BUT
I CANNOT LOGON!

The log file prints out the following:
[2003/12/23 01:26:45, 2] smbd/password.c:pass_check_smb(575)
pass_check_smb failed - invalid password for user [solo]
[2003/12/23 01:26:45, 1] smbd/reply.c:reply_sesssetup_and_X(1001)
Rejecting user 'solo': authentication failed

I am using exactly the same user and passwd from linux to access the samba server, and it works from there.

Here is my smb.conf, the passwd was generated using smbpasswd
I've googled all around, nobody else seem to have this problem, so I
must be doing something very wrong. Also the XP box does not require
a passwd to logon, just in case it matters.

any help is greatly appreciated, thx,
-solo

------------------ smb.conf -----------------------
[global]
workgroup = Home
server string = Samba Server
hosts allow = 192.168.1. 192.168.2. 127.
log file = /var/log/samba/%m.log
log level = 2
max log size = 0
security = user
encrypt passwords = yes
smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd
socket options = TCP_NODELAY SO_RCVBUF=8192 SO_SNDBUF=8192
dns proxy = no
[music]
comment = Music
path = /share/Music
browseable = yes
writable = no
public = yes
create mode = 0664
directory mode = 0775

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  • 5 Replies
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  • 4 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by ibi001

Dani AI

Generated

This is a classic authentication mismatch rather than a network problem: the client can see the server but Samba’s password check rejects the credentials (the log shows an authentication failure for user solo). was on the right track — the Windows account and Samba’s password database must line up — and ’s hosts/ACL point is worth a quick sanity check even though visibility shows the server isn’t being completely blocked.

Common causes

  • The Samba passdb doesn’t contain the expected NT/LM hash for the username the XP client is actually sending.
  • Windows is supplying cached or blank credentials (XP’s simple file sharing and blank-password policies are often involved).
  • Client/server hash/negotiation mismatch (NTLM/NTLMv2) or an older Samba that doesn’t accept the authentication type Windows is using.

Quick, practical checks (can be done from the server)

testparm -s
pdbedit -L -v
smbclient -L //servername -U solo
tail -f /var/log/samba/<client>.log

Use these to confirm the Samba config is valid, list Samba users, attempt a CLI auth from the server, and watch the authentication handshake in the logs. Temporarily raise Samba’s auth log level if you need more detail.

Windows-side and short fixes

  • Clear any stored/mapped credentials on the XP client (use the Stored User Names dialog or rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr) and then explicitly connect with the account you intend to use.
  • If the XP account has no password, give it one (Windows often refuses blank-network logons); alternatively configure Samba to accept null passwords, but that weakens security.
  • If NTLMv2 is involved and Samba is old, consider upgrading Samba or adjusting the client to fall back to the server-supported protocol (not recommended long term).

If the problem was intermittent and resolved after reboots (as reported), it was likely a cached-credential or client-side negotiation issue. The reliable fix is to ensure the Samba passdb contains the right user/NT hash and force the client to present the intended credentials.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for alc6379

try encrypt passwords = no in your smb.conf and restart samba.

does that make a difference? Also, is your XP username solo? I've had a lot of trouble accessing Samba shares as a different user than what my current XP username is...

Member Avatar for knute

How many computers are on your network anyway? If there is only 2 then why is your hosts allow set up so odd?

Member Avatar for TheOgre

You need to add a samba user to the samba server. Normally, whatever you use as a login on your WinXP box shold be added to your *nix box by doing:

smbpasswd -a username

If you use a password on your WinXP box, make it the same password in samba so you won't have to login to access the samba shares.

For example, if I use "TheOgre" on my Windows machine with a password of "password" and I want to access network shares on my *nix machine, I would add a normal user account to my samba server called "TheOgre" and set a password called "password." Next, I'd create a samba user called "TheOgre" and set the password to "password" (matching my Windows login.)

Create a user account on your *nix box (different distro's use different methods, so i'll skip it here, assuming you know how to do that already.)

To create a samba user, follow this example:

smbpasswd -a TheOgre # The -a switch is for "add"
Set a password for the new samba user when prompted, then you're done.

Next time you want to access a network share, and you're logged in to your Windows box with that username, you won't be prompted to enter a username/password.

If all else fails, check the manpage for smbpasswd (man smbpasswd)

Hope this helps!

Member Avatar for solo

actually everything now works fine, no config is changed,
just a few reboots? have no idea why it worked now, yet another xp mystry for me. Thanks for your replies.

Member Avatar for ibi001

I had the same problem logging in with windows... I had a standard id and
standard password and still it would not let me in... Maybe I didn't add
the correct user id for samba ????? Windows would not let me in....
I had security turned off and it still would not allow my password to take effect...
I will do what u said above and see what happens....Thanks much.... There
should be some type of edits to know that the user id and password
submitted will work.... Don't u think....

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