Linux Mint / Windows Network - Unable to mount location

Linux Forum ^ | Me

[ducttape45]

Good evening fellow Freepers. I'm in search of some computer assistance with Linux Mint and accessing a Windows network.

In times past, whenever I programmed Linux on a computer, I never had problems getting it to interface with my Windows network. That all changed in recent weeks/months, apparently.

Now, whenever I try to access a Windows network with a Linux machine, I get this error:

Unable to mount location
Failed to retrieve share list from server: No such file or directory

If you look at the discussion going on at the link, I've tried almost everything suggested, and then some. But so far, nothing has worked. There are other discussion forums on this topic, and again, nothing those suggested work.

So I thought I'd consult Linux experts here to see if anyone else has run into this problem and what possible solutions you might have.

Thank you and have a great evening!

[ducttape45]

I tried this:

smb://192.168.50.183/Downloads

and I get this:

No such file or directory

Yet my other Windows machines see it fine.

[Duke of Milan]

I have an ac1900 with ddwrt and 2 usb ports that I have 2 ssd’s connected to that can be seen by all my devices, but I don’t run linux except for occasionally playing with linux. It is more curious that your linux os does not see your routers drive - Windows should not even be involved in that, it should be linux os to router - no winos involved...

[threefinger]

You’ve not yet mentioned whether this Windows share is on a PC you’ve been able to access via Linux in the past. Or that you might have don to that PC before this started happening.

I’ve used gigolo on occasion when SMB mounts were being uncooperative. It’s in the default repository.

I’ve been on Mint since v.15 and v.21 is far and away the buggiest and most temperamental Mint I’ve used.

And it’s still flaking out. There was an update in early April that caused my volume control to disappear at least every other day. There were dozen’s of work-arounds but the only one that worked for me was to reboot.

If I’m going to have to reboot it that regularly, I might as well be on Windoze.

[Openurmind]

“I’ve been on Mint since v.15 and v.21 is far and away the buggiest and most temperamental Mint I’ve used.”

I have a lot of different installs on a lot of different drives to test. I have had problems with everything above 20.0. Using 20.0 has been very stable and working well for over a year now. So far 18.3 was good, and 20.0 is good. all the other have been buggy or had driver issues.

Chasing the newest is not always best.

[threefinger]

"...I have an ac1900 with ddwrt ....

DD-WRT is DA SHIZ! Turns mere mortal rooters into Super-Rooters.

[linMcHlp]

Again, try:

On the Windows machine (”Machine B”), create a folder (aka directory) to share:

C:\shthis

and enable sharing for it - and be sure that user “joeA” has full permission for access to that folder.

So, you would be trying to connect from the Linux box (”Machine A”) to:

smb://192.168.50.183/shthis

Sometimes helps, when both machines each have a user account that is using the exact same username and password:

Machine A (Linux box)
Username: joeA
Password: smpassWordA

Machine B (Windows box)
Username: joeA
Password: smpassWordA

- - -

Reading material

https://www.varonis.com/blog/ntfs-permissions-vs-share

https://www.makeuseof.com/mount-ntfs-windows-drives-in-linux/

- - -

All the info I have for you; good luck.

[Openurmind]

Thank you for the ping my old friend! :)

[Duke of Milan]

It might be easier troubleshooting why your linux machine can not see the router usb since that does not involve windows and solving the usb problem has a high probability of solving the windows share problem — in fact you don’t seem to have a windows share problem since the usb on the router is not seen. (btw my ac1900 is Netgear, just to be clear.)

[Openurmind]

I haven’t tried it yet because I don’t have any Windows boxes any more but have you tried “Warpinator “?

They have it in the SW Manager repo...

[Varmint Al]

Have you tried Warpinator. You will need to install it on the Linux computer and the Windows network. Then you should be able to transfer file.

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[ducttape45]

A couple months ago I was able to see the USB drive on the router with Linux. Now it won’t, and that’s what first alerted me to this problem.

[ducttape45]

Up until a couple months ago, Windows and Linux interfaced just fine. I bought a faster Netgear router and I thought maybe that was the problem. But I just hooked up an ASUS router and I still have the same problem.

[ducttape45]

I tried that, it didn’t work either.

[linMcHlp]

Advanced Troubleshooting Server Message Block (SMB)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/troubleshoot/troubleshooting-smb

SMB troubleshooting guidance

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/networking/troubleshoot-smb-guidance

[Bikkuri]

I don’t recommend Dolphin if you are not using KDE. It was made for KDE.
It will work, but not fully.

[TuxCommando]

DID YOU CHECK TO SEE IF MAC FILTERING IS ENABLED ON YOUR NETWORK SOMEWHERE

TRY USING A LAN CABLE TO SETUP THE SHARE, EITHER DIRECTLY FROM YOUR HOST PC OR THE BACK OF THE ROUTER, IF THAT WORKS THEN YOU KNOW ITS A WIFI EQP OR PROTOCOL ISSUE

[Openurmind]

Could you have gotten a Windows update that shut off the connection from the windows side? They are doing that now...

[ducttape45]

The setup for my router says it’s off. Should it be enabled?

[Duke of Milan]

If the usb drive plugged into the router can not be seen by your linux machine, but is seen by the windows machines, you do not have a windows sharing problem, you have a network problem with (most likely) the linux machine, or the router setup with the linux machine.

The sharing problem between the windows machines and the linux machine is a side effect of the linux machine network problem.

Until the linux machine can see the files on the router usb drive, troubleshooting the windows sharing is downstream of the problem because the router-linux box network problem needs to be solved first.

When the linux box can see the files on the usb drive, your windows sharing problem will be solved at the same time.

[ducttape45]

Good summary of the facts. The only question now is, what is causing Linux not to see network shares or the USB drive on the router? I’ve done everything I’ve asked to do, and nothing works.