networking Lubuntu to win7

I have tried to get my head around Linux before and would like to try again. I have installed Lubuntu on an a old P4 pc to use as a backup/NAS for a Win7 PC. I have installed it with 3 IDE drives and Lubuntu.

(1) I am trying to get it to be seen on my network so as I can transfer files/movies back and forth.

(2) Also how to get the drives seen from the networked PCs

Any pointers/links to how to do this would be most appreciated.

G

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1 Answer

Assuming the computers on your network are Windows PCs, the easiest way to share files and folders from Lubuntu would be to configure samba (an open-source implementation of Windows sharing protocols).

There's a step-by-step guide here: How to Create a Network Share Via Samba Via CLI (Command-line interface/Linux Terminal) - Uncomplicated, Simple and Brief Way!...which might look a little intimidating at first, but it's definitely doable and could be a great learning experience as you get started with Linux. That wiki is a little old though, so I've updated a little bit. A more modern (but less explanatory) guide is available in the Server Guide:

Essentially, you'll need to:

1. Install Samba

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install samba

2. Create the directory to share - and I would put it either in your user's home folder or in the /srv folder (you can make this if it's not there). You can make that folder in PCManFM (the file manager) by clicking File > Create New... Folder and give it a name. If you'd rather do that in the command line, it would be something like:

   mkdir /home/*linux-username*/*folder-to-share*

(replace *linux-username* with your Linux username and *folder-to-share* with the name of the desired folder)

3. Make a backup of your configuration file in case things go wrong:

   sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf ~

4. Edit the configuration file using this command:

   sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Or, if you'd rather use a graphical text editor, you could use leafpad:

 sudo leafpad /etc/samba/smb.conf

Most of the configuration can be left alone (try not to delete anything in the file, especially the # symbols along the left edge of the page, unless you'd like to enable that option) - but you'll want to add at the bottom of the page or so:

[share] comment = Ubuntu File Server Share path = /home/linux-username/folder-to-share browsable = yes guest ok = yes read only = no create mask = 0755

Note: /home/linux-username/folder-to-share should be the same as the folder you created in step 2.

Note 2: If you are NOT okay with guests on your share, delete the line "guest ok = yes".

Note 3: Spacing is important here. Make sure you have exactly one space on each side of the = character.

5. You might need to add yourself as a samba user:

   sudo smbpasswd -a *username*

6. You will need to restart samba for this to take effect:

   sudo restart smbd
   sudo restart nmbd

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