# Suddenly unable to connect to ANY SMB share (XP, Vista, etc.)



## striders (Oct 24, 2009)

For the past 1 year, I am able to connect to my Windows "server", which is a Windows box running WinXP. All I need to do just go to Finder -> Connect and type this:

smb://MYWINDOWSBOX/c$

However, as of yesterday, suddenly it couldn't My MBP can ping, VNC and heck even do Windows RDP to ANY of my Windows boxes. It just does not want to connect via Finder file sharing (SMB).

I am trying to trace back what I did this past week that may cause this problem, but I couldn't think of any. All I did these past 1 week are:

1) Install DropBox client app
2) Install new certificate in Keychain access (iPhone development)
3) Uninstall StuffIt


FYI, the error I am getting is:

The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "smb://MYCOMPUTERNAME/c$" could not be read or written. [Error code -36]

However, if I go to Terminal and type the following: smbclient \\\\MYCOMPUTER\\C$, it DOES WORKS!! I can browse the share, change directory, etc.

It seems something is broken between Finder and SMB.

Can anyone offer any advise? Any configuration file to change?


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## Satcomer (Oct 24, 2009)

Let's reset the Finder to see if that helps. Quit any running program and then navigate to the folder /YourHardDrive/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/ and find the file com.apple.finder.plist and throw it out. Then restart your Mac.  While that is restarting go to the XP machine and find the time Server the XP syncs too. Then after the Mac restarts go to System Preferences->Date & Time and use the same time server address of the XP machine (or visa-versa) and make sure both the PC & the Mac use the same Time Server. This helps in the Kerberos sharing across computers because we should know Kerberos (file sharing) both computers need to be with seconds of each other. Using the same Time Server in both machines solves many potential sharing problems.

Then try the SMB sharing again. By the way, what version of OS X are you using? Have you ever read the articles Connecting a Macintosh running Leopard (10.5) to SBS 2003 or haring files between a Windows Vista Home Edition PC and a Mac running OS X Leopard 10.5 yet?


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## striders (Oct 24, 2009)

Hi Satcomer,

Thanks for the advise. Resetting Finder didn't do anything, but I actually find out the answer when I was about to reboot my WinXP:

Apparently, Norton Internet Security 2009 (NIS2009) had a new AV update and there is that SPECIFICALLY BLOCK ALL SMB traffic. NIS2009 reported this as an "attack":

_SMB Server Transaction Name BO
Port: 49284_

I disabled "Intrusion prevention" in NIS2009 and all is well so far.


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