I'm installing Zorin Core on my Living room computer (LR-z) that basically runs my browser/internet connection for movies, etc. My desire is to have both remote desktop access and access to a shared folder for copying items from my Win11 Pro PC to LR-z.
I have the remote desktop access working (although the system seems to reset the shared desktop password at times; haven't figured that one out).
I've installed samba; cifs. I can access Win11 files from LR-z. I can see LR-z from Win11 on the Network. I can also see the shared folder in the Home folder called PublicLR. It is shared through the Folder Sharing dialog to allow others to create etc as well as for Guest access.
BUT: when I try to access this folder from Win11, it denies access. I tried assigning a network letter, it gives me a network error that Windows cannot access the folder.
When I try to connect from a second Zorin core pc, I get the same denial. Strange that the error message from Zorin to Zorin is "Failed to mount Windows share: Permission denied" even though Zorin is the OS.
I am at a loss. I tried following [How to] Network Connect Zorin with Win 10 PC and modified the smb.config some more; now I also have a Share folder; but cannot access that from Win11 or Zorin #2.
I am sad that it is so difficult to connect these computers! I've thought of other distros, but often the remote access is the major challenge there.
I'm not familar with remote desktops but perhaps these links can help you. In ubuntu it is not exactly the same as in Zorin.
If you have auto-login enabled this can cause the problem that the password is reset after reboot.
So I'd recommend to go to settings>user and disable autologin and change it to a login with a user password. Perhaps this solves also your other problem.
Take a look at post no. 20 of zenzen
Also make sure that the slider at the top at tab "Sharing" is turned on. Sometimes when using light mode or dark mode it is nearly invisible on the screen.
Just to make sure, it would be a good idea to check if you're running the firewall on Zorin and if you need to allow it through or not. Sometimes that happens. But also, I would double check and make sure that the credentials you're using to try to connect to the shares are correct.
That's not to say you absolutely have not entered them correctly. It's just something to double check that easily gets mistyped (as I do regularly every single day at my job lol).
Have you made sure both Zorin macjines are in the same workgroup as the Win11 machine?
Also NFS might be better than using samba and cifs-tools;
" NFS File Sharing Linux Windows 11
Yes, NFS (Network File System) can be used for file sharing between Linux and Windows 11. NFS is a protocol that allows files to be shared over a network, and while it is more common in Linux environments, Windows 11 Professional and Enterprise editions support NFS for interoperability with Linux systems.2
To use NFS for file sharing between Linux and Windows 11, you need to enable the NFS client and server features on Windows 11. This involves enabling "Services for NFS" through the Windows Features dialog, which includes both the Client for NFS and Server for NFS options. Once enabled, you can create a shared folder on Windows 11 and configure it to be accessible via NFS. On the Linux side, you can mount the NFS share using commands like sudo mount -t nfs :/NFS_Share /mnt .
Additionally, Windows 11 can act as both an NFS client (accessing NFS shares) and an NFS server (hosting NFS shares), making it a versatile tool for mixed OS environments. This capability allows seamless file management across different operating systems, facilitating efficient collaboration in networked environments."
So if you have Windows 11 Pro you can use NFS. When I used to purchase Windows I would only ever buy Pro versions. Microsoft deliberately reduced network functionality in order to prevent income loss by businesses purchasing Home versions to save money on buying Pro versions.
I've thought about checking the credentials, but HOW is the question. I might have a samba password; how do I find out? And for what user? Both systems want a username and password; I'm not positive I'm using the correct one, but have no clue how to find out.
The login password is not the same as samba, correct? Perhaps I need to reset them both; suggestions as to how would be sooo helpful!
Well, here's what is interesting. I have 2 Zorin pcs. LR-z can be seen; shared folders can be seen, but not connected to. User/password combo is refused. Spare-pc can both be seen and accessed, so I conclude the WIn11Pro pc is set up properly to access Zorin folders. I just can't tweak the LR-z the same way I did months ago for Spare-pc. Rats. Shoulda written it all down carefully...
Also interesting is that even though I tried to set the workgroup for the Zorin pcs to match my home network, they have stayed as "workgroup." In spite of showing different workgroups, the Win11Pro can still access Spare-pc.
I will try turning on NFS to see if that helps. But I think it's a Zorin issue with passwords... maybe?
Thanks for your thoughts. The remote desktop seems to be working ok. It's accessing the shared folder over the network that is problematic. Ideally, I'll assign it a network letter in Windows for easy access.
You can take a look at this thread if this solution helps you. Only change ownership of the folder you want to share if it is a pure personal data folder (because I am not sure what happens otherwise - it is risky changing ownership of important system files)
Perhaps I need to simplify. Can you help me get my 2 Zorin pcs connecting to each other's shared folder? I'm not sure where to look or how to compare the essential components.
Some months ago, I successfully set up SparePC with Zorin. It can connect to Win11 shares and Win11 can access the shared folders.
BUT
SparePC cannot access the shared folders on my latest attempt to set up Zorin on LR-z. LR-z can access SparePC, but not the other way 'round. They both can see each other's shared folders, but LR-z rejects all password and anonymous attempts to connect.
What am I missing? How to I successfully change LR-z so I can access its shared folder???
I normally prefer to do things on the command line because while it's less intuitive and you have to look stuff up, you have a much better idea of what's going on. But in this case, it seems like you actually have to use the command line no matter what. Or, at least, I couldn't find a way to do it.
However, it's fairly simple to set up as you only need to ensure there's a user registered within the SMB internal database:
Thank you. That was very helpful. In fact, I am now able to access the one folder...
Related question: I also have a folder called Public that shows up on LR-z, probably from my attempts to share it. How do I find it and delete it? I cannot access it from the network (SparePC says No such file or directory), but I don't know how to find it within Zorin.
*** when I look at LR-z, I see my printer and 2 folders; public and PublicLR. This second one is the one I've shared and want. The first is the one I want to find and delete.
The public folder usually is in home directory home>USERNAME>public
But I wouldn't delete it if it is the parent public folder only if it is a child folder. Can you right-click and somewhere disable "Share this folder"?
In your user's home directory there's a folder called Public, that's probably it. Keep in mind that you can change the name of the folder as seen from other computers, although it should be easy to spot since shared folders have an emblem:
