Where to put a "common" directory?

[Odyssey]

Now that I have my /home issues sorted, I now see the next step. At this point my wife is using Windows mostly and occasionally OS X and I use one Windows and two Linux computers (Ubuntu 7.04 and 8.04).

I use my computers for the following in roughly this order of frequency:
Browsing
Email
music listening (both local mp3's and Internet streaming)
document processing (formatted and text)
spreadsheets
forum activity for problem solving

Her computer use will be basically the same as mine except she sometimes watches TV on hers and does not use forums much.

I have extensive files going back several years, well classified and structured so that things are relatively easy to find. I would like to have all of this information in one place and accessible from any computer (linux or windoze, apple much less important) in our lan. My first thought was to put it all on a NAS device, but assuming it can be impemented, I'm wondering if it could be on any one of the computers and I'll just backup to the NAS.

Considering that 98% of these files are on NTFS format, but that increasingly linux will the OS of choice so that over time so I can minimize Windows, what would be the logical place (assuming disk space not an issue) for a common directory?

TIA

P.S. Not entirely sure this post should be in the OS forum, but if not, where?

[Gina]

I have all my music on my NAS drive but TV recordings are currently on my P4 multi-media computer on an ext3 partition with backups (where wanted) on the NAS. I have the NTFS writing utility enabled in Linux and use that to copy files from Windows XP - though Linux can read NTFS perfectly well natively (without special NTFS support). The reason for the NTFS writing support is that I sometimes use Linux to move rather than copy Windows files and moving means writing to the NTFS file system to delete the original. I prefer the ext3 file format as it's faster and suffers far less from fragmentation.

The reason I don't keep video files on the NAS is the lower speed of access (even with a wired system) with video running at 4GB per hour of recording.

I'd keep all my common files on the NAS but for two reasons 1) As above the lower speed of access and 2) Not all apps allow network access yet so these files have to be local.

So... I would suggest having your common files on a partition formatted to the more efficient ext3 format on a PC that is generally switched on - if you'd prefer not to use your NAS. There is an ext2/3 driver for Windows to allow read/write access to ext3 formatted file systems.

[Odyssey]

Gina, thanks for yours but I'm struggling a bit and have these questions:

P4 multi-media computer on an ext3 partition

since this is using ext3 I assume that this computer is a linux OS. When you use the term "multi-media" I trust you are just describing the overall function and use of that computer (as opposed to a Windows Multi-Media computer). What pieces of software have you settled on to handle (1) music and (2) video files? What other software including utilities do you use to make the multi media experience work?

I have the NTFS writing utility enabled in Linux and use that to copy files from Windows XP

Are the NTFS files in a "common directory" file repository or just files as and where they may be? Also what is the name of the "NTFS writing utility"

I prefer the ext3 file format as it's faster and suffers far less from fragmentation.

Not sure how this fits into your system. Are you copying files from an NTFS HDD, using them and then moving the changed copy back to NTFS? Or do they now take up a new (permanent) location on an EXT3 HDD becoming an increasingly larger resource as the NTFS source decreases correspondingly?

I'd keep all my common files on the NAS but for two reasons 1) As above the lower speed of access and 2) Not all apps allow network access yet so these files have to be local. So... I would suggest having your common files on a partition formatted to the more efficient ext3 format on a PC that is generally switched on

I am thinking that this is the approach that I will take, backing up the lot to my NAS. My 8.04 has a 500GB SATA so there is plenty of room. I am also thinking that this should be in it's own partition, which will become number 4 (/, /swap, /home, and now /common). Do you recommend always staying with 4 primaries if no more than 4 partitions are needed? I am thinking that it might be recommended to use 3 primary and one extended even if there are no present plans for a 5th partition.

In your experience, what is the best way to move the files from NTFS to EXT3. I have in my mind that a straight copy is not the way?

If I want to consolidate my existing 7.04 files (word processing, spreadsheets, etc) on the 8.04 with the files that I will have moved over from NTFS, how does one go about this taking file permissions into account?

Also which apps that you use do not support network access? (I can think of Firefox bookmarks, even if you use Foxmarks [which I recommend highly])

There is an ext2/3 driver for Windows to allow read/write access to ext3 formatted file systems.

What is the name of the driver and do you find it entirely satisfactory?

Whew! That's a load of questions and I will appreciate your time and effort to respond.

[Gina]

Double post - sorry

[Gina]

Gina, thanks for yours but I'm struggling a bit and have these questions:OK I'll take your questions one at a time - some may need me to look things up so I might have to get back on those.

Firstly, my Pentium 4 PC which I referred to as multimedia - it's a Medion Titanium MD 8386 Wireless Multimedia Entertainment System to quote it's full title :lol P4 HT 3.2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, two 160 GB SATA hard drives, ATI Radeon X740XL PCI-E graphics card with VGA, DVI and TV (inc SCART) outputs, digital and analogue TV tuner plus FM radio, bluetooth, wireless KB and mouse, multi card reader, video and audio inputs.... I think that's it. Software it came with was Windows XP (rather than MCE) plus a software bundle containing various TV playing and recording, DVD production etc. and a whole lot of other multimedia stuff. Hence the name of "Multimedia Entertainment System".

It is now a multi-boot system with 3 different versions of Ubuntu Linux and Win XP. At first I had all the first HD and most of the second containing Windows and it's files in NTFS partitions. I first installed Ubuntu onto the 2nd drive leaving all the 1st for Windows but I have gradually reduced the size and number of NTFS partitions and replaced them with ext3 including a data partition on the 1st HD.
What pieces of software have you settled on to handle (1) music and (2) video files? What other software including utilities do you use to make the multi media experience work?For music I use either Totem or Rhythmbox (no LAN support so local files only) and for video mostly Totem though I do use Kaffeine sometimes and also use it for DTV. Kaffeine is the only app I've found so far that works with my TV tuner. MythTV I really can't figure out! I've looked at a number of other apps too.
Are the NTFS files in a "common directory" file repository or just files as and where they may be? Also what is the name of the "NTFS writing utility" I keep my data files in appropriate directories/folders and subdirectories but these have, in the past, been on drive C of Windows but also a separate partition for data. Later I rationalised things. This was my HD setup :- HD1 - Windows NTFS, Backup NTFS, Recovery FAT32 - HD2 Data NTFS - then later ext3 partitions containing Ubuntu systems, associated /home and SWAP plus an ext3 Data partition. Later still I deleted the Data NTFS on HD2 in favour of ext3 and also the NTFS data partition on HD1. I also moved many files from NTFS partitions to ext3 and reduced the Windows and Backup partitions.

When I got a NAS drive I backed up everything of value onto that.

I'll get back to you on the NTFS utility.
Not sure how this fits into your system. Are you copying files from an NTFS HDD, using them and then moving the changed copy back to NTFS? Or do they now take up a new (permanent) location on an EXT3 HDD becoming an increasingly larger resource as the NTFS source decreases correspondingly?The latter as I hope I've explained :lol
I am thinking that this is the approach that I will take, backing up the lot to my NAS. My 8.04 has a 500GB SATA so there is plenty of room. I am also thinking that this should be in it's own partition, which will become number 4 (/, /swap, /home, and now /common). Do you recommend always staying with 4 primaries if no more than 4 partitions are needed? I am thinking that it might be recommended to use 3 primary and one extended even if there are no present plans for a 5th partition.I would recommend making an Extended partition rather than 4 Primary ones. That way you will be able to add partition(s) later. If you have 4 Primary partitions you can't add any more without first deleting one of the partitions.

I prefer to keep my data files in a separate partition from the Ubuntu systems - it saves confusion - I have separate /home partitions for the different versions as there can be differences in the setup values (which are stored in /home/username). I'm testing Intrepid Ibex (the next release) and a separate /home is recommended as a bug might possibly cause corruption of files. Also, I have an Ubuntu Studio system (with a kernel specifically designed for real-time data streaming and extra multimedia apps installed by default.In your experience, what is the best way to move the files from NTFS to EXT3. I have in my mind that a straight copy is not the way?I haven't heard of any objection to normal copy - I generally use drag-and-drop with two windows open (source and destination). But your next point can have a bearing... If I want to consolidate my existing 7.04 files (word processing, spreadsheets, etc) on the 8.04 with the files that I will have moved over from NTFS, how does one go about this taking file permissions into account?Copying files from Windows is no problem because Windows doesn't use permissions. In Linux though some files may be owned by root and you need root privileges to copy them (sudo cp source destination in command line or use gksu nautilus if you'd prefer a GUI copying environment. Another problem can arise if you made a partition as root or from outside the system you are using to copy. In these cases the owner may be root and you may need to change the permissions (as root) before you can write to the new filesystem. Get back to me if you'd like more info on this (or anything else).Also which apps that you use do not support network access? (I can think of Firefox bookmarks, even if you use Foxmarks [which I recommend highly])Yes, I use Foxmarks and I too highly recommend it :) Rhythmbox doesn't provide network access for one (unless I've missed something) don't think Kaffeine does either.What is the name of the driver and do you find it entirely satisfactory?I'll get back to you on that.Whew! That's a load of questions and I will appreciate your time and effort to respond.:lol No problem :)

[Odyssey]

Gina, Great reply and very helpful. We are out of town for overnight, and then extended visitors this weekend through the next. But I'll be thinking about all this and sneaking in a bit of research and checking back here possibly with addl questions. Thanks again.

robert

[Odyssey]

Gina, Things went all to pieces just after the above and I had to put all my IT stuff on hold and am just getting back to it. Having reread the above, I have more questions. One is do I understand your existing file system to be conceptually (not literally) along these lines?

/
/swap
/home
/other data including music, video etc.

and that all of these are ext3 (except for /swap which I gather may not be ext3 but rather it's own format of some sort?)

Also I used " / " for the system, but not sure that this is right. Is / the same as /boot and if not, what is /boot? Is " / " correct for system?

Next is the still murky copy thing. I have my /home still on my 7.04 computer and need to get it over to the /8.04 system and to be able to access the files from the various computers on my home network. I know from previous (unhappy) experience that if you do a straight copy the permissions do/may not work right.

BTW, the 7.04 computer will be going elsewhere once the /home directory is transferred over to the 8.04 puter and so will be out of the picture, but doubtless there will be other future linux computers coming into the lan.

I have in my mind from somewhere that rsync is a recommended way to transfer files though from a cursory read it looks more like a utility for backups than a one-off file copy.

But the "Another problem can arise if you made a partition as root or from outside the system you are using to copy" that you mentioned seems to apply here. So I am still a bit 'fused how to best go about this and your further guidance is requested.

Once it does get moved to the 8.04, and I get the /data directory set up in its own partition, I have the same question about how best to move the existing data, music and photos over to it from an NTFS hdd. Since as you point out, file permissions are not involved, I expect that a straight copy will suffice on this, but have never tried to copy from a Windows computer to a linux one. I suspose that I could use a copy command from Ubunutu to reach out to the windows files, but in any case there may be some networking issues to sort out before any copying can be done.

An alternative would be to actually bung the windows hdd into the linux computer, but there is a lot of shutting down, opening cases, unplugging and plugging involved in that and if I can do over the network, that will be much easier.

Finally, when I then want to read from and write to the /data partition from a windows or apple computer, can the process be transparent for software (e.g. open office modifying an existing document or spreadsheet) or is it a copy the file over to windoze/OS X, process it and send it back? If the latter, is there going to be an issue with windows or apple reading a file from an ext3 formatted hdd?

Whew! Another long winded set. Your format of copying a bit and replying to that bit and repeating makes it very easy to follow your answers. Thanks in advance.

[Odyssey]

Found your refs to the ntfs-3g and Ext2 for windows, so hopefully that part is sorted.

[Gina]

Gina, Things went all to pieces just after the above and I had to put all my IT stuff on hold and am just getting back to it. Having reread the above, I have more questions. One is do I understand your existing file system to be conceptually (not literally) along these lines?

/
/swap
/home
/other data including music, video etc.

and that all of these are ext3 (except for /swap which I gather may not be ext3 but rather it's own format of some sort?)

Also I used " / " for the system, but not sure that this is right. Is / the same as /boot and if not, what is /boot? Is " / " correct for system?swap is not part of the filesystem. it's a special partition with it's own type of format used to extend memory if RAM isn't enough and is also used for holding RAM contents during hibernation.

"/" is the root or base of the main filesystem. This is the name given to the partition for the main part of the OS. "/boot" is where boot files are kept. It is usually a directory (folder) off the root in the main OS partition but may alternatively be a separate partition of it's own. This is used in certain special cases which I don't think are relevant here.


Yes, I use the standard ext3 format - this is considered in most ways the best, though it's not the only one as you can see when setting the format type. And yes, most of my setups are basically 4 partitions - system, home, data and swap. The system, home and swap have to be specified when installing a system - they are all parts of it. "data" is separate and is mounted separately (if you follow me). I often have several Ubuntu systems on a hard drive with one "data" partition which is easily shared by all of them.

Got to go and do something else now - I'll be back later to answer your copy question.

[Gina]

Part 2 :-
Next is the still murky copy thing. I have my /home still on my 7.04 computer and need to get it over to the /8.04 system and to be able to access the files from the various computers on my home network. I know from previous (unhappy) experience that if you do a straight copy the permissions do/may not work right. I didn't think permissions were an issue when transferring files over the LAN (but I could be wrong). Have you had problems doing this? - or only when copying between directories or partitions on the same machine? I think if you use the samba file sharing system the permissions aren't copied - being a Windows type system.

I have in my mind from somewhere that rsync is a recommended way to transfer files though from a cursory read it looks more like a utility for backups than a one-off file copy.
I've just started using rsync to update ISO files from the Ubuntu servers. Took me a little while to get it right but it worked. It's certainly very useful to synchronise files between systems where there is only a small amount of change - as opposed to copying the whole file. I doubt there's any advantage for copying whole files where another version doesn't already exist. (But I'm not really familiar with rsync)
But the "Another problem can arise if you made a partition as root or from outside the system you are using to copy" that you mentioned seems to apply here. So I am still a bit 'fused how to best go about this and your further guidance is requested.
Probably the easiest way to make the new partition usable is to use chown (as root, in a terminal) to assign ownership to you. Then, as owner, you will have permission to create directories, read/write files and copy files into it from elsewhere (provided you have read permission for the files you want to copy).
Once it does get moved to the 8.04, and I get the /data directory set up in its own partition, I have the same question about how best to move the existing data, music and photos over to it from an NTFS hdd. Since as you point out, file permissions are not involved, I expect that a straight copy will suffice on this, but have never tried to copy from a Windows computer to a linux one. I suspose that I could use a copy command from Ubunutu to reach out to the windows files, but in any case there may be some networking issues to sort out before any copying can be done. There is no extra problem copying files from a Windows system - it makes no difference which type of OS is concerned - the files are converted to network format packets and transferred across the network then converted to whatever format is involved at the other end. Any computer on the network can be any version of Windows, Linux or Mac, Sun Microsystems, Unix, whatever - just as long as they have a standard file sharing system. The internet uses the same data packet format.

An alternative would be to actually bung the windows hdd into the linux computer, but there is a lot of shutting down, opening cases, unplugging and plugging involved in that and if I can do over the network, that will be much easier.Absolutely, it's easier to enable file sharing on each computer and just copy across - though it is slower.

Finally, when I then want to read from and write to the /data partition from a windows or apple computer, can the process be transparent for software (e.g. open office modifying an existing document or spreadsheet) or is it a copy the file over to windoze/OS X, process it and send it back? If the latter, is there going to be an issue with windows or apple reading a file from an ext3 formatted hdd?No problem with the file system format. As I said above, the OS is irrelevant - files are converted to network format and converted back at the other end. Starting and finishing file formats can be different. The problem of file format only applies to moving or copying files within one machine. This is where you sometimes need the conversion apps or special driver in Windows to read/write ext3, for instance.

However, what you may have to watch is that the app in one type of system can read the files of the other app. ie. Open Office is able to read and write MS Office "doc" files etc. But you may have to convert or import/export the data in the right application data format (this is a different meaning of "format" from the OS filesystem format). In the case of word processor documents you may lose some of the document formatting on conversion (yet another variation of the meaning of "format" :lol).

That seems a long-winded explanation - I hope it makes sense - I've a feeling I'm not quite at my best tonight.

Whew! Another long winded set. Your format of copying a bit and replying to that bit and repeating makes it very easy to follow your answers. Thanks in advance.Glad to help and try to make replies as clear as possible :)

[Odyssey]

Many thanks. Let me now recap to see if I have this all straight.

I have two computers: A (Ubuntu 7.04) with a /home partition that has a fair amount of stuff in it including a desktop that is configured and laid out as I like it, along with some data files that do not necessarily need to be on /home.

Another is B with 8.04 that has virtually no data on it (I'm using "data" to mean doc, txt, jpg, mg3's etc).

On B, which has a 500GB SATA hdd, I have set up a big partition (I'll call it /data) to hold all my collected data from over the years (TOF, i.e., "The Old Files").

So if A and B are networked, I can copy the entire contents of /home from A over to /home on B and if I run into any permission issues I can use chown as you mentioned to resolve them.

Using 8.04, I can then copy from TOF from my XP hdd to the large partition on B and thereafter should be able to retrieve from and write individual files to /data on B with the XP and the Apple computers.

If a new linux computer "C" comes onto the lan, I will be able to mount /data on B and have access from C just as if it was on the C hdd? Presumeably as root on B, I will need to give permission to C.

Tweatking? Clarification? Corrections?

Thanks again.

[Gina]

Mostly correct - but I think I need to clarify one or two things. I'll do that tomorrow - it's already gone midnight here and I'm off to bed.

[Gina]

Many thanks. Let me now recap to see if I have this all straight.

I have two computers: A (Ubuntu 7.04) with a /home partition that has a fair amount of stuff in it including a desktop that is configured and laid out as I like it, along with some data files that do not necessarily need to be on /home.

Another is B with 8.04 that has virtually no data on it (I'm using "data" to mean doc, txt, jpg, mg3's etc).

On B, which has a 500GB SATA hdd, I have set up a big partition (I'll call it /data) to hold all my collected data from over the years (TOF, i.e., "The Old Files").Do you know how to label partitions? If not This Wiki Page (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RenameUSBDrive) shows how to label all sorts of partitions including ext3 (further down the page). The next Ubuntu provides this facility within GPartEd, which is very useful, but there are still bugs to be fixed and it's not recommended for general use yet.

I'm wondering if there's confusion between the name of a partition and it's mount point in the system. Where you have a separate home partition, for instance, the mount point is /home. This means that any reference to /home or sub-directories off it, is redirected to the separate home partition. This partition can be labelled with whatever you like but the system will know it as /home. Other partitions (and drives) are usually mounted off /media. viz. if you have a partition called data it's usual to mount it as /media/data. This is what Ubuntu will do if you request access to this partition. I hope that makes things a bit clearer.

So if A and B are networked, I can copy the entire contents of /home from A over to /home on B and if I run into any permission issues I can use chown as you mentioned to resolve them.Yes, though if you run the copy from B you should not have any permission problems. Of course, you will need to set /home on A for file sharing. Then (using computer B) open a window on the network to /home on A and a window on B and you can drag-n-drop files and folders across to copy them. Doing it this way round will mean you own the files and folders (directories) you've copied onto B.
Using 8.04, I can then copy from TOF from my XP hdd to the large partition on B and thereafter should be able to retrieve from and write individual files to /data on B with the XP and the Apple computers.Basically, yes, but use B for the copying as I said above. The destination will be /media/data (or whatever) on B.

If a new linux computer "C" comes onto the lan, I will be able to mount /data on B and have access from C just as if it was on the C hdd? Presumeably as root on B, I will need to give permission to C.Yes, but you will need to set file sharing on C to cover whatever you wish to copy. You will not need to be root on B but will need to go on C to set up sharing. The alternative is to set sharing for your data on B and write to it from C but I'm not sure if the permissions will need re-setting on the copied files.

[Odyssey]

I probably understand just enough to think I know how to do something, only to learn that I don't, so all clarifications are much appreciated. (I think I am OK on mount points and naming, but will probably be back with questions when I try to execute.) You mentioned "will need to set /home on A for file sharing." I had never thought about the need to set file sharing on a linux computer, although it is obvious that it will need to be done given linux's higher level of security than windoze and even the latter requires file/folder sharing.

Since each of A and B have /home set up on separate partitions, once I have set the file sharing on A, presumably all I need to do is open /home on B, find /home on A and copy over.

Then I open the data directory which i will need to have mounted as you describe and for consistency will name it /data, find the folder in C (the Windows computer) and copy it over to B.

Is this all correct?

I seem to recall that NFS is preferred over SAMBA, but am unsure. Do you have a recommendation on this? I chose NFS and see from the details that it also seems to install SAMBA.

Thanks again for all your patient assistance.

[Odyssey]

In my limited previous limited experience with Ubuntu networking, each computer found the other all by itself. Beginners luck!

I can ping each computer from the other, but clicking on Places/Network on each does not reveal the other. A (7.04) sees itself, my windows computer, and my wife's windows computer, but not B.

Does B also need NFS in order to find the others and for the others to find it?

Edit: BTW, where is "Sharing" in 8.04? I can find Network and Network Tools, but not Shared Folders.

[Odyssey]

I have now installed NFS on B, but Shared Folders didn't show up. Don't know that I particularly need it now because the critical folder is /home on A which is already shared.

The problem is that while they can ping each other, neither shows up in the others Places/Network.

B can see the windows computers and itself and the same for A. but not each other.

[Gina]

I sometimes get that problem. Check that you have samba installed on both systems and that the folder(s) you want to share are showing that sharing is enabled. You may need to reboot to get the changes to take effect.

[Odyssey]

The folder to share is of course /home on A (7.04) and it shows as shared. Nothing on B needs sharing.

NFS (and therefore SAMBA) is installed on both computers (although I do not have a shared folders in my Admin panel on B which makes me wonder if NFS did install correctly). I have restarted B twice to no avail.

Do I need to restart A as well? Thanks.

[Odyssey]

From reading, it seems that the Samba that is installed is Samba-client. Does one or both computers need to have Samba-server installed?

Thanks.

[Gina]

According to the docs, you only need to install samba on the computers you want to use as servers. When you right-click on a folder and choose Sharing options, a dialog pops up asking to install samba (if not already installed). NFS seems to have been put aside for some reason. Strange, because NFS is the standard Linux network file sharing app - samba is only really needed for use with Windows. Maybe the client side samba is installed by default but the server side needs installing separately if you want to share files/folders on that machine.

There seems to be some confusion generally over file sharing setup. The Share Folders option has been removed from the System > Administration menu and a right-click on a folder/file is used instead. Apparently, this doesn't always work and there can be problems - particularly with Windows transfers. It seems to be working fine for me ATM but I have had trouble in the past.

BTW I hadn't noticed my PM box was full - have now cleared some space.

[Odyssey]

Hi Gina,

Thanks for that. Very helpful. It seems that file sharing is not the issue, because I have successfully set up sharing on the /home of my 7.04.

But it doesn't do me any good because my 8.04 computer cannot see the 7.04 and vice-versa (except for pinging where they can clearly see each other).

Is this a mounting issue or what? I can't understand why each Ubunutu computer can see each of the two windows computer on the lan, can ping all other computers, but cannot see each other.

Edit. I put:

smb://192.168.0.108 (the IP address of the 7.04 computer) into my Firefox browser (on my 8.04 computer) and get a

small white box at the top of the screen which contains two lines:

"index of smb://192.168.0.108/ (on the top line) and

NAME SIZE LAST MODIFIED" (on the second line)

This is encouraging but not very rewarding.

and I also put

smb://192.168.0.108/home into my Firefox browser and get a

File Not Found message

Is " smb://192.168.0.108/home " exactly correct syntax for the /home folder on the .108 puter (because I know how unforgiving linux is with one character incorrect)?

[Gina]

I've never tried accessing another network computer using Firefox so I'll have to do a little research. I always use nautilus via Places > Network menu.

Is your /home folder named "home" (without the quotes) as share-name? If not I don't think that IS correct.

A bit later...
Having a bit of trouble using Firefox but you can use "smb://sharename" in nautilus - or sub-directories eg. "smb://mybookworld/public/Ubuntu_Info" which is the address of my backed up Ubuntu info on my NAS drive ( a WD mybookworld 1TB network drive)

Later still..
OK Firefox working... address smb://192.168.0.2/PUBLIC/Ubuntu_Info lists files in my Ubuntu_Info folder
...
And so does smb://mybookworld/public/Ubuntu_Info

[Gina]

Been doing some experimenting. According to system error messages, you can't share your home folder (not owner). You can however, share folders within /home/username. I have set up the standard Public folder in my home ( ie. /home/gina/Public) for sharing on my AMD64 and trying to access it from my P4. Now... although the AMD64 system name is showing in the network list, I cannot access it from my P4. So I have the same problem as you.

I have a few things I can try. For one thing I'm running Intrepid so I'll reboot into Hardy and check again - just in case it's a development bug.

Edit... Not that - same in Hardy. But in searching in synaptic I've found system-config-samba which looks interesting :) Just going to install it on the AMD.

Later... Installed - It added Samba entry in Admin menu. The Public share wasn't there but printer sharing was - so I added the Public folder to the sharing list. Now (after a reboot) I can see the folder over the network on my P4.

Now why the Sharing Options from the right-click folder menu didn't do the job, I don't know but using the Samba tool did. So... I suggest trying that.

I'm off to the Ubuntu Forums to see what I can find about all this and maybe post a bug report or add to one.

[Odyssey]

Hello Gina,

Your last two lead to modest progress and, inevitably, other questions,

Agree that Nautilus is better. Using it (from 8.04) with:

smb://192.168.0.108/ (the 7.04 computer ip address)

there is no error message and it shows a folder named print$. Clicking on the print$ folder brings up a sign-in box with the lines

Enter Password
Password required for share print$ on 192.168.0.108
Username: Robert
Workgroup: Workgroup

While the name Workgroup originates on my Windoze computers, the second line above seems clear that it is looking to the 7.04 computer. Yes?

(BTW, how does one capture a screen to post into a thread?)

Now if I enter:

smb://192.168.0.108/home/

or

smb://192.168.0.108/home/robert/

I get the error message:

Couldn't display "smb://192.168.0.108/home/robert"
Error: Failed to mount Windows Share

In the 7.04 computer, I thought I had properly shared the folder /robert under /home, i.e., /home/robert

and when viewed with Nautilus, there is a little red circle with what appears to be a white icon of a house, which I take to mean that it is shared (but probably just indicates a "home" folder.) If I right click on /robert and chose Share Folder, it brings up a box entitled Settings for folder '/home/robert' with this info:

Shared Folder
Path: /home/robert
Shared Through: Unix networks (NFS)
Hosts
Allowed host/network | Read only
192.168.0.106

Also I don't see any info on the share name I gave it (if I did, i.e., have no recollection of actually doing that and cannot see how to do it) and suspect that I need to figure that out so that I can enter the correct share name in the Nautilus on the 8.04 computer, without which it is not going to connect.

So from the above, unsure whether this is a naming issue or a mounting issue?

Right clicking on /robert and choosing Properties and looking at the Basic tab, the line

Name: robert

might indicate that I gave it the sharename robert, but not sure.

I am still confused about the 8.04 computer because there is still no "Shared Folders" in System/Admin and if I right click on /robert in that computer there is no Share Folder there either. Clearly I need to install something on that computer. Have installed NFS, which installed the Samba Client. What else is needed? Should I add: system-config-samba?

Many thanks.

[Gina]

Hello Gina,

Your last two lead to modest progress and, inevitably, other questions,

Agree that Nautilus is better. Using it (from 8.04) with:

smb://192.168.0.108/ (the 7.04 computer ip address)
You can use the name of your system rather than the IP address if you want... eg. I've called this one P4-Intrepid to show this is the P4 and running Intrepid. The Hardy system I named P4-Hardy.
there is no error message and it shows a folder named print$. Clicking on the print$ folder brings up a sign-in box with the lines

Enter Password
Password required for share print$ on 192.168.0.108
Username: Robert
Workgroup: Workgroup

While the name Workgroup originates on my Windoze computers, the second line above seems clear that it is looking to the 7.04 computer. Yes?
print$ is the share name used for printer sharing - it is not a file folder for sharing files. Yes, the IP address does show it's your 7.04 PC.
(BTW, how does one capture a screen to post into a thread?)
Applications > Accessories > Take Screenshot brings up the Take Screenshot dailog. You can choose full screen or current window. If you set a small delay in snapping you won't capture the screenshot dialog but just the stuff you want. Click Take Screenshot and after capturing the shot you'll be invited to save the image. Save it wherever convenient - Desktop is easiest I find.
Now if I enter:

smb://192.168.0.108/home/

or

smb://192.168.0.108/home/robert/

I get the error message:

Couldn't display "smb://192.168.0.108/home/robert"
Error: Failed to mount Windows Share
You cannot share your home folder or your username folder. Moreover, you cannot use your username as the name of a share. When you set up a folder for sharing the share name defaults to the folder name (ignoring case). The network path is then systemname/sharename intermediate folders in the filesystem structure are not relevant - network paths use just the share names.
In the 7.04 computer, I thought I had properly shared the folder /robert under /home, i.e., /home/robert

and when viewed with Nautilus, there is a little red circle with what appears to be a white icon of a house, which I take to mean that it is shared (but probably just indicates a "home" folder.)That indicates the home folder - shared folders are shown by double arrows in a little red box. (I'll post some screenshots) If I right click on /robert and chose Share Folder, it brings up a box entitled Settings for folder '/home/robert' with this info:

Shared Folder
Path: /home/robert
Shared Through: Unix networks (NFS)
Hosts
Allowed host/network | Read only
192.168.0.106

Also I don't see any info on the share name I gave it (if I did, i.e., have no recollection of actually doing that and cannot see how to do it) and suspect that I need to figure that out so that I can enter the correct share name in the Nautilus on the 8.04 computer, without which it is not going to connect.

So from the above, unsure whether this is a naming issue or a mounting issue?
It's a naming issue - see my explanation above
Right clicking on /robert and choosing Properties and looking at the Basic tab, the line

Name: robert

might indicate that I gave it the sharename robert, but not sure.Well, I don't know aboout NFS but AFAIK samba doesn't allow that.

I am still confused about the 8.04 computer because there is still no "Shared Folders" in System/Admin and if I right click on /robert in that computer there is no Share Folder there either. Clearly I need to install something on that computer. Have installed NFS, which installed the Samba Client. What else is needed? Should I add: system-config-samba?

Many thanks.There is no longer a Share Folder option in the Admin menu (goodness knows why but the developers in their infinite wisdom... ) As I think I said before, I don't know why the official default method of sharing doesn't work as it should but sometimes it doesn't - a bug has been filed so hopefully this will be sorted out by the time Intrepid Ibex (8.10) is released.

I had problems until I installed system-config-samba - with that I could set up working shares. So, yes, I suggest you try it.

EDIT... This board no longer seems to support attachments so I'll have to save my screenshots on another server and post as image links. Usually with vBulletin systems (such as this) you can choose Manage Attachments below the edit box and upload your pics directly from a file browser on your computer.

I'll post the screenshots later.

[Odyssey]

Gina, Thanks for yours which helps me move forward.

Good suggestion about using computer names. Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to find what Ubuntu computers names and share names are

BTW, thanks for the guidance on capture a screen. Unfortunately, as you say, no help here.

The fact that Nautilus could at least find print$ on .108 is real progress.

I have now shared /desktop under /robert by right clicking. I then went to System/Admin/Shared Folders and found that each of:

/home
/home/robert
/home/robert/desktop

are all showing little red "tabs" at the bottom of each folder icon, each with white letters "NFS" on them. Does this indicate that they are shared? Clicking on Properties for each would lead one to think that they are.

Will work on figuring out how to find the computer names and share names so that I can set up my path in the new computer so it can see the old one.

Never thought I would think that Windows networking management looked good (and easy.)

[Gina]

Finding your computer name is easy - just run a terminal - eg.gina@P4-intrepid:~$ P4-intrepid is my computer name.

The share name for a shared folder can be found by right-clicking on the folder and choosing Sharing Options. All working share names can also be found by using Places > Network and double-clicking your computer name.

Yes, I would think NFS labels on folders would indicate sharing using NFS. As far as I can remember, I haven't used NFS.

[Odyssey]

Some progress:

To find/change computer name:

Sys/Admin/Network/general tab

On the road again for several days, but will install system-config-samba when I get back.

[Odyssey]

Wooops! I see I have cross posted. Started that earlier and got interrupted.

Yes, by choosing Places/Network, the name of this computer and all those on the network are visible. Thanks for that. (Sometimes the answer is just in front of your fact)

By using the name of this computer from the new one, I can see print$ again, but if I add /desktop or /robert or /home, it gives me the "Failed to mount..." message still.

[Odyssey]

I had no idea how close the (partial) solution was. I noted what you said about not using NFS, so I selected "Windows Network" in folder shaon the older computer and presto, there it was on my new machine.

However, even though I marked it as available as Read Only, I cannot copy it from the old to the new. The error message is:

The folder cannot be handled because you do not have permission to read it. Will be experimenting to get past this, but if you can see the solution, I would be grateful for your early advice. Maybe I can take the computer with me this time.

Thanks again,
robert

Edit: Does either computer need to be restarted?

[Odyssey]

Wow, do I feel silly. Right at the bottom of the permissions screen is the line:

Apply permissions to enclosed files.

Now copying.

Many thanks for your continuing assistance.

robert

[Gina]

Glad you finally got it working. Never mind about feeling silly - I posted a question on the Ubuntu Forums and the answer was so simple I felt silly. Not the first time either :lol But I take the view that if I can't find the solution reasonably quickly, it does no harm to ask - it may help someone else with the same problem.

[Gina]

Please ignore this post - senior moment! :lol