trouble sharing folders across LAN

[pstock]

I know this issue is covered in many threads, but having read them, I am still failing.

Here's my situation.

1. My Windows XP laptop (call it XP1) failed last week, on a Blue Screen error.
2. Fed up with WIndows, I am ready to just convert it to Linux (ubuntu.)
3. First though (as the Ubuntu install is suggesting using 100% of the HDD and I fear that might mean wiping out whatever is there) I would like to backup some key files.
4. easiest way to do that would be over our LAN, to either another windows machine (WXP2) or another Ubuntu machine (call it Ubuntu 2).
5. I have been booting the laptop to Ubuntu from the install CD and running it without doing the install.
6. I have set up file sharing on XP1 and Ubuntu 2 and can move files between these two.
7. I have tried to set up file sharing on the laptop and have installed Samba but, even though I can see the other machines on the LAN, I do not seem able to write files to them. Nor can I see the Laptop (running CD Ubuntu) from another machine.
8. Samba (on the laptop) does not seem to allow me to specify a machine across the network for shaing.

what am I doing wrong. I can't believe this should be this complicated. is there something about running Ubuntu only from CD that is preventing me from file/folder shaing, either by pulling files from it or pushing files to the other machines.

peter

[eTech97]

Have you added the user to Samba?
1. smbpasswd -a user
2. smbpasswd -e user
3. Make sure that the user that you add exists as a user in Ubuntu
replace user with the username that you wish to add

Cheers!

[pstock]

thanks

but can you answer me this?

"user" is a user on the local linux machine, the laptop off of which I am trying to migrate the files?
or is it a user on a a network location machine?
when I boot the laptop with the Ubuntu CD, it shows "live session user". is that the User?

peter

[coopstah13]

What you should do is mount the network drive you want to write to, you can specify the user to use (one that gives you write access). This is the code you would use

sudo mkdir /mnt/share
sudo mount -t cifs -o username=<user>,password=<pass> //<ip>/<share> /mnt/share

Replace <user> with the username, <pass> with the password (if applicable), <ip> with the IP of the machine with the share, <share> with the sharename to map.

[pstock]

sigh.
thanks for trying to help, but "mounting drives" and IP share....? I fear Linux is beyond my ken.
I'll have to find a simpler way to deal with this.
thanks anyway.
Peter

[rcgreen]

It shouldn't be this complicated. There should be an icon
on the desktop indicating your Windows partition. Just open
it and see if you can find the files you want to back up.

You should also be able to see the other computers on
your network by default. Places-->Network

Open the network and navigate to a shared folder on the other
machine. Drag and drop between these windows.

Unless something is wrong, this should work out of the box.

[pstock]

Hello, thanks for looking at this.

when I do Places > Network
I see "Windows Network".
when I click through that I get to "135Collier" (which is the group with the windows box computer where I am trying to dump this stuff.
then I can see "HPBox" (which is the windows box computer on which I have a big "shared" HDD where I want to park these files)
then I see nothing. no folders.
so I can go: Places > Network > (several network locations) > HP Box ... then nothing.

the only items on the Linux laptop desktop are:
Examples (a folder)
Install (this is runnig off the CD remember)
40GB Media

I don't see an icon indicating a Windows partition (unless that is the 40GB Media HDD.)

after some fiddling an hour ago, I did see the Root location on the Network Places from the HPBox machine. But it seems to have disappeared now after the Linux laptop hung and needed to be rebooted.
I "thought" the smbpasswd -a and -e root caused that Root to show up, but on reboot, when I type those commands again, I am only seeing Printer and Faxes on the Ubuntu laptop from the windows box machine.

[pstock]

ahah! success!
thank you all (ultimately I think it was the Samba suggestion that did the trick, though this still remains a bit arcane.)
after doing the smbpasswd stuff I forgot that I had to explicitlty add a share via Samba.
Excellent. sorry for showing my frustration and ignorance.

Peter