This article has been retired. There have been many changes and updates to Mandrake, Samba, KDE, etc. and most of the info is no longer valid, or, there is any easier way to do it. Please do not email me about it.

How To Network Mandrake 9.0 to Windows XP

11-26-02

   I take no credit for any of the information or methods used in this article. What I have done is simply organize it into a step-by-step guide for newbies. My goal is to allow newbies to set up their network without using "command line" or directly editing system files. The use of multiple tools might seem redundant to you Linux experts but I feel they will be of use to newbies as their network changes and they (and I) learn more. I have elected to use LinNeighborhood as my option for networking browsing. You can download it here: LinNeighborhood

*note (posted 12-01-02)

An anonymous reader sent this in. For more advanced Linux users or for a more in depth look at Samba try this guide by David Lechnyr. The Unofficial Samba HOWTO. Published on Nov. 25, 2002, it includes the Windows XP issues. Very nice! I have printed it out and added it to my favorites.

   This guide depends on the Mandrake 9.0 and Windows XP computers being fully updated as of 26 November, 2002.

   If you find a mistake or have a tip or recommendation, please email me.

   The first part of this guide comes directly from Damien "dams" Krotkine. If you look in the "about" box of the Mandrake Control Center, you will see his name there.

Here is what he wrote to me ( I have paraphrased/edited where necessary):

Here is a solution that will certainly work for your Windows network connection using Mandrake click-and-run tools.

The tool to configure Samba IS available in the control center but ONLY if you have installed drakwizard.

So, to install drakwizard. Start the Mandrake Control Center, select Software Management, then Add Software. Then search for the drakwizard in the top left entry, select it and click the Install button on the bottom right.

Now re-launch the Mandrake Control Center and you will see a new section called Server configuration.

Click on it and select Samba. A wizard will pop up to help you configure Samba on your computer. Then install LinNeighborhood, or Komba2, or ask how to activate Windows shares browsing in Konqueror.

(It should be noted that English isn't his first language, and he did this all from memory! Incredible!)

   So here we go!

Step 1:

Install drakwizard, gettext, and samba-swat

(If you don't see them in the following list they are either already installed or you haven't done all the updates from Mandrake Update.)

   Open the Mandrake Control Center. Click on Software Management and then Install Software. In the resulting screen click on the diamond shape next to All packages, alphabetical. Scroll down until you see the drakwizard entry and select it:

Select drakwizard

Now scroll down a little further to gettext and select it (this will be required to install LinNeighborhood). Scrool down more and select samba-swat (if you haven't already installed it from CD or Mandrake Update).

   Now click the Install button on the bottom. You will be asked to insert one of the Mandrake 9.0 installation CD's and you are done with this portion!

   If you downloaded the LinNeighborhood rpm at the beginning of this article then all you need to do is click on it and install it. Do so now.

Create a Network Neighborhood icon on desktop (optional)

   Right-click in an open space on the desktop and choose Create New > Directory and name it Network Neighborhood.. Now go to the KDE start menu. Go up to Networking > Other > LinNeighborhood and drag it to the Network Neighborhood folder (link here option). Next go up to the Configuration tab > then Networking > drag Samba Configuration into your Network Neighborhood folder.

Step 2

(If you are comfortable with opening a terminal window and typing a few easy commands then try this: Adding Users and Restarting Samba. These few simple commands will allow you to skip  the steps marked with a  * .)

 *Add a user

   Open the Mandrake Control Center. Click on the System icon, and then the Users icon in the resulting screen. Now click the Add icon. In the resulting pop-up window, enter the exact same name and password as your Windows account. It MUST be the exact same user and password that you are logged on to the XP computer with. Close all the open windows.

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