Member Avatar for bettynew

Hello,

Is there anyone who can guide me through how to map a network drive in Vista Home Premium?

I am trying at connect to a Samba server from my laptop. I already have a user name and password for the share which I can connect to from my XP pro machine but Vista won't have it.

I have googled and found many posts about local security policy but I am getting a bit confused! So far I have attempted to map it but it won't accept the username/password combination.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by PcPro12

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Short practical add-on: the problem is usually Windows not sending the specific credentials for that Samba share, not a broken share. Rather than hunting secpol/registry edits, give Vista the credentials it should use and map the share explicitly. Add the Samba account to Vista’s stored credentials (Credential Manager / Stored User Names and Passwords) or use the built‑in cmdline credential tool, then map the UNC path — this avoids risky registry changes. (howtogeek.com)

Commands you can run (replace placeholders): 

rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr   # open Stored User Names and Passwords (GUI)

# or add a credential from an elevated prompt:
cmdkey /add:SERVERNAME /user:USERNAME /pass:PASSWORD

# clear stale mappings, then map the drive:
net use * /delete /y
net use Z: \\SERVER_IP\ShareName /user:SERVERNAME\USERNAME /persistent:yes

Storing the credential first or using cmdkey avoids repeated prompts and keeps the mapping persistent. Don’t embed secrets in shared scripts; prefer cmdkey (or prompt for the password) for safety. (learn.microsoft.com)

If you need two different accounts to the same physical server, Windows will treat connections to the same server name as a single connection and block multiple credentials. Workarounds are to connect to the server by IP or by a different DNS/hosts alias so Windows treats it as a distinct target (or disconnect the first connection before making the second). This is Microsoft’s documented behavior and the recommended workaround. (learn.microsoft.com)

Extra checks: confirm the network adapter has “Client for Microsoft Networks” and name‑resolution style matches how you connect (NetBIOS vs direct TCP). If name resolution is flaky, enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP or use the server IP. Those adapter/WINS settings and NetBIOS guidance are in the Windows networking docs. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes: mention ’s point about sharing settings — make sure file sharing and the correct client components are present before troubleshooting credentials. If the above still fails, capture outputs (ipconfig /all, net use, cmdkey /list) and check them when asking for further help.

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Member Avatar for inkcoder

This is an ongoing problem for many people and you might have to upgrade your Windows Vista to solve the problem but this is the best fix I know of...
Go into Administrator Tools>Local Security Policy>Local Policies>Security Options then go under the Policy Key: Network Security - LAN Manager Authentication Level and then change the value to Send LM and NTLM responses, then try to map your drive.

Hope this helps!
Austin

Member Avatar for bettynew

Hi thanks for the advice but Home Premium doesn't have a Local Security Policy. I have a read a few ways of editing the registry but these seem to have done nothing.

Member Avatar for submitqueen

Check the firewall setting and security policy. this should solve your problem. I feel its the firewall setting that are causing the problems

Member Avatar for bettynew

Hi. I have double checked everything. I have switched off my anti-virus and disabled Windows Firewall.
It still won't work, anymore ideas? Please.

Member Avatar for bettynew

I haven't found the solution but I have found a work around.
Use FileZilla to connect via SSH, it did the trick for me. I can now access my files on the Samba server.

Member Avatar for inkcoder

I think the only way to fix this problem is to upgrade your windows vista and then do the fix that explained in my earlier post.

Member Avatar for PcPro12

I dont know if i understood you right, but follow this...

Start>>>Control Panel>>>Network and Sharing Center

Than, under SHARING AND DISCOVERY, make sure NETWORK DISCOVERY, FILE SHARING, and PUBLIC FOLDER SHARING is turned to ON...

If you have PASSWORD PROTECTED SHARING turned to on, than you will need a password for PUBLIC FOLDER SHARING...if its off, you wont need it...

I hope this helped...

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