Samba and Gnome Files

Issues & Assistance
1

Hi guys,

I have a problem since a few time, i think that since i had some issues with a gnome update that affected my system (Budgie Desktop). Then i purged all my gnome stuff in my system, and reinstalled only what neccesary. But I think some stuff lost some configuration, or wasn’t properly reinstalled.

The issue is about the following: Using Gnome Files as FM (now 47.2, but problematic since versión 44, i think), when i connect to a network share (samba, afp, ftp…) through “Other locations” option, although i type in correct values for user, domain/workgroup, and password, and also mark the “Remember forever” option, it mounts ok the share, but if i unmount it, when i try to mount again, although it remembers data for user an domain/workgroup, it does not remember the password, and i have to type it again, although previously marked to remember it.

I don’t achieve a fix to it, i’ve searched a lot, but don’t get an answer to that.

System is up to date now, and in the past almost weekly updated via pacman, so i discard problems with it.

So it fails with samba as with afp or ftp, i don’t think there were misconfig with samba. Don’t know how to review gvfs configs, if it has to do something.

It also fails with Caja and PCManFM, i have as alternative DE, which for me makes sense so they works over GTK like BudgieDE

Did someone else suffer a similar issue, and /or knows how to fix it, or at least can give some hint for a path to follow?

I paste below a screeshot of the window as i configure in files/nautilus the connection to the share i want to connect.

Thanks in advance,

Regards

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image604×584 29.7 KB

2

I would suggest starting from the troubleshooting section here: Samba - ArchWiki .

Is smb.service running?

systemctl status smb.service
1 Like
3

Hi, yes, it’s running

it shows

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image601×276 19.5 KB

but below adds

image

it refers to a folder that doesn’t exist. I don’t know what that error means nor what relation has to possible malfunction. It seems to be a log issue, so not too much important…

In a first look at troubleshooting web in archwiki, i don’t find reference on that folder. But I would need time to take a detailed look on it and study if something has to do with my situation.

Do you think thou that it’s a samba issue? As I said early I have the problem with other protocols too and other type of shares, like afp or ftp, for example with a NAS that serves the shares by samba and ftp. But aside of it, I created another folder under /home, outside my home folder, to share with a network scanner, so it can put on it scanned documents, that’s why I came back to configure samba share prior to try wiht nfs, with the idea on my mind to set this new folder as a network share that eventually could stay available to other users in my LAN. Don’t know if i explain myself correctly. That new folder, as i said, is accessible via samba, but after I unmount it, if i mount it again, nautilus, or some stuff that works with same framework, does not remember the password typed early.

At this moment, in addition to fix the problem, i’m trying to understand what’s going on and why

Thanks

4

I do not know yet. What is the output of

pacman -Q | grep gvfs

?

5

I’m not experiencing any issues in Budgie, but I am using Nemo file manager. I have a mapped drive to a SMB host (NAS). When I select it (bookmarked) it will automatically connect and display the files in that mount and i’m not prompted for the password. You probably need to make sure you have gvfs-smb and/or smbclient along with a proper smb.conf file.

extra/gvfs-smb 1.56.1-3 (gnome) [installed] Virtual filesystem implementation for GIO - SMB/CIFS backend (Windows file sharing)

Sorry, if this isn’t much help, but generally if you are able to mount and save the password, isn’t working, then I would suspect something with PAM, but I’m not certain.

6

gvfs 1.56.1-3
gvfs-dnssd 1.56.1-3
gvfs-mtp 1.56.1-3
gvfs-smb 1.56.1-3

7

I have mapped my drive to a Samba host, an Iomega Home Network hard drive NAS. Yes, it’s old but it still works!! :sweat_smile: This is why I access to it via ftp. It doesn’t matter too much to me. I have it to preserve some old data, that obviously have replicated in other drive. Also serves to me to make some testing. Accessing to it via ftp, Files/Nautilus, nor Caja nor PCManFM don’t save the password for the bookmark. I think it has not to do with Samba service…

In other hand, a few months ago, a WD My Book Live I had attached too, died (the board, not the disk; fortunately data could be saved and recovered). It worked well until I had the problem with Gnome I mentioned before. It’s not a problem anymore. In origin I had on it a network share to send there files scanned from a network scanner (a multifunction printer attached to my LAN).

After WD NAS died, now I have created a directory in /home to replace that function, and I wanted to make it accessible to the scanner to send there scanned files. This is why i’m configuring Samba again, but besides I can connect via Samba, and scanner recognizes the share and can send files to it, it also doesn’t save the password for the bookmark in Files/Nautilus, Caja nor PCManFM…

One of my suspects is that I had to create from scratch smb.conf, and probably need to add some lines to configure correctly access to these shares from LAN, but for me it doesn’t make sense with other accesses like via afp or ftp, which takes me to a probable issue with gvfs, I think. The /etc/samba/smb.conf file was missing when I purged Gnome from my system a few years ago due to the problem I had with some update inconsistencies between Budgie and Gnome. There is yet some thread about it in another entry.

It really comes from way behind…

I think I would feel more confortable if I could wipe completely any Samba and gvfs configurations from my system, so I could be sure all I do about that were from the very start. I don’t have more affections so I think that would be better, or at least not too much crazy. Although reparing it could be more instructive, I don’t think I’m in a good position to face that right now.

BTW, I have another machine in my LAN, running Zorin OS with its Gnome Desktop implementation.

From it, my Samba share is fully operative as it is right now, and FM (Gnome Files 42.6) saves the password in the bookmark…

That supports my point that maybe the problem isn’t related to Samba service, but something related to gvfs or GTK, or some misconfiguration around Budgie, or Gnome stuff in my machine that acts as server for that, although is my work machine as user.

I usually don’t use that Zorin machine, because it’s not my machine, it’s my son’s one, so I usually don’t put my hands on it either, at least as much as with mine…

Hope this can help to focus the problem more accurately

8

I do not understand your problem yet. Is the problem about not saving the password? If yes, check this:

9

Indeed, the problem is that it does not save the password.

I have read the Linuxmint post you share, but I never had to do what they say when I didn’t have the problem.

I would restore gnome desktop, but I don’t trust it to fix the configuration files that may be affected, other than that it seems to me that it would be a “steamroller” solution.

Don’t you know where to configure what might be affected in gnome, nautilus or libraries? In dconf editor I can’t find anything?

10

Good news!

I think I fixed it! I found in a Red Hat documentation web an information that led me to a page called “Management of GVFS mounts passwords”. I took me to the lack of gnome-keyring package in my system (seems to be one of those I purged in its day), so the hint @Hi-phile gave about PAM was in the right way.

The keys were all stored on my system, but it seems that Nautilus (neither Caja nor PCManFM) had no way of finding them without gnome-keyring installed. This was affecting the keys for samba, ftp, afp, etc, which coincides with the problem I was having.

I finally found the solution. In the end it was silly, but until now I found it difficult to do the proper searches.

Thanks to both of you @Hi-Phile and @shivanandvp for addressing my query and for any hints I might need.

Regards

1 Like
11

Glad you were able to figure this out, and yes some Gnome programs still use system libs too.

[sudo] password for user: 
Name            : gnome-keyring
Version         : 1:46.2-1
Description     : Stores passwords and encryption keys
Architecture    : x86_64
URL             : https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-keyring
Licenses        : GPL-2.0-or-later  LGPL-2.1-or-later
Groups          : gnome
Provides        : org.freedesktop.secrets
Depends On      : dconf  gcr  gcr-4  glib2  glibc  libgcrypt  pam  systemd-libs
Optional Deps   : None
Required By     : qtkeychain-qt6
Optional For    : chromium  git  libsecret  slack-desktop
Conflicts With  : None
Replaces        : None
Installed Size  : 3.31 MiB
Packager        : Jan Alexander Steffens (heftig) <heftig@archlinux.org>
Build Date      : Fri 12 Jul 2024 10:03:10 PM PDT
Install Date    : Tue 16 Jul 2024 03:41:29 AM PDT
Install Reason  : Installed as a dependency for another package
Install Script  : Yes
Validated By    : Signature