There is a huge amount of thread that deal with this topic.
Please forgive yet another query.
This is near trivial (I imagine): to share files all pc's must be oin the same workgroup. I used the procedure below to change the new Zorin pc to the common name:
But even after a restart I see:
But then:
As my first week on Linux, I don't really what the heck I'm doing with these commands.
I will appreciate any hints as to whether we have a proper WORKGROUP=PLM or not?
Hey rahzan:
First of all:
To find out if your Zorin machine is actually using your custom workgroup name (PLM), open your Terminal and run this command:
testparm -s --parameter-name=workgroup
What this does:
testparm: This is a diagnostic tool for Samba (the service that talks to Windows).
-s: Tells it to run "silently" without a bunch of extra technical chatter.
--parameter-name=workgroup: Tells it to look specifically for the workgroup entry.
It should print a single word. If it says PLM, you are successfully configured! If it says WORKGROUP, the change didn't stick or wasn't saved in the right file.
Also, are you trying to connect to this share from a Windows machine, or is this strictly for a Linux-to-Linux setup?
Thanks.
It turns out I ran that command just before your post and it is showing: PLM
So it SEEMS I have it right.
Is there reason the other commans says: "No workgroup available"?
My ulitmate purpose is to be able read and write files from a win-10 pc to somewhere on the Zorin pc which is to be my main workstation.
From the steps I've seen in many threads, I have to create a new folder under /HOME and right click and enable sharing, but I can't find the "sharing" option.
Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
OK, then some of the additional info I found for you may be redundant. Nevertheless, here it is:
Modern Samba (and modern security standards) disables SMB1 by default. Since the older "Workgroup" browsing protocol relies heavily on SMB1/NetBIOS, smbclient often struggles to display the workgroup name even if the service is running perfectly.
testparm only checks if your syntax is valid and what the internal variables are set to. It confirms that Samba thinks its workgroup is PLM.
When you run smbclient -L, it tries to enumerate shares and browse the network. Without SMB1 enabled, the traditional "Workgroup" list doesn't populate in the same way, leading to that "no workgroup available" error—even if the shares themselves are actually accessible.
Seeing IPC$ is actually a good sign; it means the Samba daemon is responding to your requests.
Open the terminal again and run this command:
rpcclient -U "" -N localhost -c "querydominfo"
If it returns domain: PLM, your configuration is active and working.
Advice: Keep SMB1 disabled. Most modern OSs (Windows 10/11, macOS, Linux) use mDNS (Avahi/Bonjour) or WS-Discovery for browsing now.
If you are trying to make this server visible in the "Network" tab of older Windows machines or specific legacy devices, do this:
Run the following command to ensure the avahi-daemon is installed and running:
sudo apt install avahi-daemon
Avahi is an implementation of mDNS (multicast DNS) and DNS-SD (DNS Service Discovery). You might know it better by Apple’s brand name for the same technology: Bonjour.
In the old days (SMB1 era), computers shouted over the network using NetBIOS to find a Workgroup. Today, Avahi allows devices to broadcast their presence and services (like file sharing, printers, or SSH) to the local network automatically without you having to configure a central DNS server or remember IP)
TYVM!
The domain does come up as PLM. Also it seems Avahi is already installed.
I also ran:
sudo ufw allow samba
I still do not see anything under windows network at the Zorin's IP.
I'd apperciate any hints on the next step, specifically about the missing SHARING option for a folder.
Common hurdles in modern Linux-to-Windows networking: Discovery Protocols and File Manager integration.
Since you are using Zorin OS (which is based on Ubuntu/Gnome), here is how to tackle those two specific issues.
First, the sharing:
In Zorin/Gnome, the right-click "Local Network Share" option isn't always installed by default, or it requires a specific plugin to talk to the Samba backend.
Open your terminal and run:
sudo apt update
and then:
sudo apt install nautilus-share
After installing, restart the file manager with
nautilus -q
When you right-click a folder in your "Files" app, you should see a "Local Network Share" option. ( When you share a folder this way, Zorin handles the /etc/samba/smb.conf entries for you in a "usershare" directory.)
I'm much obliged. That got us almost there!
From the win-10 side it is asking for network credentials. I tried using the Zorin login credentials but it is not accepting it. What would be the cedentials for reaching the shared folder?
Glad you asked. Here are further instructions. (Shared folder addressed toward the bottom. )
To make your Zorin box show up automatically in Windows File Explorer without typing an IP, you need a small Python service called wsdd
run this command:
sudo apt install wsdd
Check it: It should start automatically. This service tells Windows, you are on the network.
Verify the path is actually shared. On your Windows machine:
Press Win + R.
Type in the Zorin ip address in the following format: (e.g., \192.168.1.15).
Hit Enter.
If it asks for a username/password: Samba is working! You just need to ensure you've added your user to the Samba database (on your Zorin machine):
sudo smbpasswd -a your_username.
If it says "Network path not found": Double-check that the smbd service is active by running:
systemctl status smbd
Samba permissions are a "double-lock" system.
Samba Lock: Set in smb.conf or the sharing GUI.
Linux Lock: The actual folder permissions on your hard drive.
Even if Samba says "Everyone can Read/Write," if the Linux folder itself belongs to root and doesn't give "Others" permission, Windows will get an "Access Denied" error.
To address this, run these two commands (but replace /path/to/folder with your actual folder):
sudo chmod -R 0775 /path/to/folder
sudo chown -R your_username:sambashare /path/to/folder
I'm replying to my own reply, because I have to get to a meeting. Here are more instructions that should get you through the end of the process. Good luck!
Make sure your changes to samba are recognized by running:
sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd
When the Windows 10 box asks for credentials, it sometimes tries to prefix your username with its own "MicrosoftAccount" or the Windows Computer Name. To force it to look at the Zorin machine:
For username: your_username (or .\your_username to tell Windows to ignore its own domain)
For password: Use the one you just set in the smbpasswd command above.
If Windows accepts the password but then says you don't have permission to access the folder, it's likely the Linux Permissions issue I mentioned earlier. Samba is letting you through the "front gate," but the folder itself is still locked.
Run this to ensure the folder is readable by the Samba service:
sudo chmod -R 0755 /path/to/your/shared/folder
Windows is notorious for "remembering" wrong credentials and not asking again. If you keep getting rejected without a prompt:
Open Credential Manager in Windows (search for it in the Start menu).
Go to Windows Credentials.
Find the entry for your Zorin IP or hostname and Remove it.
Try connecting again.
I very much appreciate the time you are giving me.
I am still stuck at the user name and password windows is aking for.
Does the command smbpasswd set the user-name Or the password?
If it is one, what about the other?
I have no idea what either one may be, or where they come from.
Foolishly, I ran the command you suggested to check the smbd service, and I receive many hunderds lines of output, in repetitive sections like this:
At the end the prompt is not back.
I assumed it was just a status check, now I'm totally lost and hope I didn't break things!
You didn't break anything. Responses in Linux can be very verbose. You should be able to end most processes with a Ctrl-C. You can also simply close the terminal using the "x" at the upper right corner, and open a new terminal.
For the commandsudo smbpasswd -a your_username, you are meant to substitute your actual username in place of where it says "your_username"..
If you aren't sure of your samba username, run this command:
sudo pdbedit -L
This will list every user currently authorized to access Samba. You must use one of the names on that list when Windows asks you for credentials.
Once you run the command the terminal will prompt for a new password with: "New SMB password:" followed by "Retype new SMB password:"
Note that in the Linux terminal, password characters you type don't show up (not even asterisks) for security reasons. It looks like nothing is happening, but it is recording your keystrokes.
But not to worry if you didn't see a prompt or aren't sure what you typed. You can simply run the command again to reset the password to something else.
to summarize:
sudo smbpasswd -a your_usernameZorinShare123).TYVM as before.
Indeed I did use Ctrl-C to stop the thing; hoped it wasn't a problem.
I also looked up how smbpassword works and tried it and the results is the same today:
**
Also the pdbedit -L returns nothing. I assumed that is correct and the smbpasswd with a -a arg will add a new user, but nay!
Terribly sorry to be a pest but this is holding up much of my work.
I had hoped simple networking on linus was not going to be a 4 day project but it is that and counting.
No problem. Please run this command and tell me the output:
sudo pdbedit -L -v
Thanks!
It seems you wrote a reply and by the time I eneted the commands you gave you had edited the entire thing.
Anywho, I did the add using the login-name and it worked, and Windows-10 can now see the files on Zorin 
However on running the systemctl restart I get something I don't undersdtand in yellow font. The output of the pdbedit is also shown
At the risk tasking more of your time
1 - I'll check on the yellow warning.
2 - I don't know, but for our case now you must use your existing Zorin username
3 - Yes
4 - I don't mind spending the time if I can help. 
But the most important thing you just verified is that your username in Linux is actually: ernesto ...in which case that is the name to use in the command - not rahzan.
That is all fine.
I only hope it sticks!
I'll try to collect all the steps you helped me take to make things work, and post a summary here.
I have to keep my notes for future set-ups anyway.
Much obliged.
Glad to help. Here's the answer to your other question:
Re: the warning: "warning, the unit file, source configuration file, or drop-ins of smdb.service changed on disk. Run systemctl daemon-reload to reload units"
This usually happens when you install a new package (like nautilus-share or wsdd) or if a system update modified the underlying service files while you were working. the solution is to follow the prompt suggestion shown:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
It won't restart your computer or even the Samba service; it just tells the system manager (systemd) to re-scan the configuration files so it knows how to handle smbd correctly.
