SMB, Samba, "Windows cannot access" / "check spelling", disappearing shares in Windows Explorer

[UnraidC]

Edit: what seems to have stabilized things a bit is not using the shares export option "Yes-Hidden" anymore, but using only "Yes" or "No".

Edit: turns out a few days later that the problem occurred again, to my despair  Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Hello,

 

Context:

1. Have set up Unraid server, which is the most IT-technical project I have ever done - my professional expertise lies elsewhere but I am eagerly trying to learn.
2. Docker containers etc. work fine, up to now have always been able to access webgui's so that has not been an issue (yet).

 

The problem I am running into is that often I cannot access the shares through my Windows Explorer.

 

It is very inconsistent, sometimes I can, sometimes I cannot (e.g. after a reboot of pc, or of Unraid, or most often after pc went to sleep, etc.). The "solution" is then to reboot the desktop and/or unraid (sometimes several times) but it is a hassle and cannot be the intended way of working.

 

The error message that I get is Windows cannot access "server name" and to "check the spelling".

 

At that stage the server is also not detectable in the network. It basically makes the Unraid server unusable for the purpose it was intended when I cannot consistently access the shares through windows explorer...

 

I have tried everything I could find online I think, sometimes based on posts of several years ago, but the problem remains so I now landed at the point of complete desperation after having wasted a lot of frustration and hours of very scarce free time on this. I hope something positive can still be salvaged from it with the help from people here who know better.

 

The current situation is as follows: 

Router set to allocate a fixed local IP address to the Unraid server. In Unraid itself the IPv4 address assignment is set to automatic and it picks up the IP address allocated to it by the router (edit: afterwards have also tried changing it to static with the same router allocated IP while also still letting the router allocate the IP, but does not seem to change anything either way).  I can also access all webgui's of Unraid itself and various dockers through this address using the assigned ports. Note: before this I set only a static address in Unraid itself (the same one as now is allocated by the router) and did not have the router assign it, this made no difference (in fact I hoped setting the IP address in the router vs in Unraid would fix things).

 

SMB setting as follows based on some forum posts I found. Note the extra configuration settings, which originally only consisted of the first line (ntlm auth = yes). Whether these settings are here in full, only the first line or nothing at all does not seem to affect anything.

 

All shares are private like this (sometimes export = "yes" and sometimes "yes (hidden)". I always refer to user 1 credentials.

 

Insecure guest logins have been disabled under local group policy editor / local computer policy / computer configuration / administrative templates / network / lanman workstation.

 

Under credential manager in windows the user 1 credentials have been added and allow me to access the shares when they sometimes show up.

 

This is what shows up in the log.

 

Please feel free to request any necessary info I possibly forgot to include here and I will adjust this post accordingly.

 

Any and all help would be welcome and very much appreciated, I genuinely gave it my best try based on the information I was able to piece together from various online sources before bothering people with it here. I hope I did not bite off more than I can chew and end up having wasted my time and money on this but it is looking bleak 

 

Thank you so much for having a look!

Edited February 18 by UnraidC
edited for clarity, typo's and extra screenshots

[trurl]

Attach Diagnostics to your NEXT post in this thread.

[UnraidC]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:16 AM, trurl said:

Attach Diagnostics to your NEXT post in this thread.

 

Edit: diagnostics added in a post below.

Edited February 11 by UnraidC
edited for clarity

[trurl]

If you think there are any other things that need to be anonymized in Diagnostics, please let us know.

[UnraidC]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:55 AM, trurl said:

If you think there are any other things that need to be anonymized in Diagnostics, please let us know.

 

Edit: diagnostics added in a post below.

 

Edited February 11 by UnraidC
edited for clarity

[trurl]

In general, don't know in advance what might be useful. Saves a lot of back and forth to just post the zip.

 

Your IP should be local, and nobody can access your server from outside your LAN if you are doing it right.

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/manual/security/

 

[trurl]

Your syslog is going to contain

46 minutes ago, UnraidC said:

share names etc. that reflect my personal file structure

share names are anonymized, except Fix Common Problems might show those in syslog if it is giving you any warnings about them. Diagnostics doesn't show any folder or file structure below the share level, and we often need to help people with the way they have their shares configured.

 

All of diagnostics are text files you can examine yourself. You probably aren't going to get much help without posting them.

 

13 minutes ago, trurl said:

Saves a lot of back and forth to just post the zip.

Almost everyone on the forum, including moderators, are your fellow Unraid users, trying to help each other. The few of us who help a lot have a lot of other threads to help on, and back and forth might take days.

[Frank1940]

Tell us about your Windows side of the equation---  Windows 10 Pro, 23H2, etc.

 

Make sure that your Windows Network Profile is 'Private' and not 'Public'...

 

(Many of these problems are on the Windows side of the equation.  MS caters to the corporate world and to them security is paramount.  MS is now dedicated to keeping Windows clients from connecting to any suspicious server!)

 

There is a white paper about how to set things up for Windows 10 and everything in there seems to work for Windows 11.  You can find it in the first post of this thread:

 

         https://forums.unraid.net/topic/110580-security-is-not-a-dirty-word-unraid-windows-10-smb-setup/

 

Since you seem determine to not to post up information because of privacy concerns, you may have to work through things on your own.  Unraid will work reliably in the Workgroup mode if both Unraid and the Windows clients are set up correctly.  (Using Active Directory is definitely more of a challenge!)

[UnraidC]

Hello,

 

Apologies for the delayed reply, have been completely swamped by work the past few days but still very eager to follow up on this 

 

I am trusting your expertise over mine, so diagnostics attached below:

 

[diagnostics file removed]

 

 

Additional information re: desktop:

• Windows 11 Pro
• Version 22H2 (when checking for updates it says everything is up to date).
• I have followed all the guides mentioned above I believe (private network, credentials set up (originally for only the name, then also for the IP - sometimes the IP one works when the name one does not, but almost always when 1 has the issue the other gets the "check spelling" error as well), set up network drives, no insecure guest logons, SMB 1.0 turned off in Windows Features - screenshots in OP).
• The desktop does not share any folders (only Unraid exports shares, all private).

 

Would be great if you would be willing to have a look - thank you in advance!

Edited February 13 by UnraidC

[trurl]

44 minutes ago, UnraidC said:

only Unraid exports shares, all private

Can you access public shares?

[Frank1940]

Did you setup the Network Neighborhood in Windows?   Can you access just the server through Windows Explorer?  

 

 To access just the server directly through Windows Explorer, you type the following in the Address Bar window of Windows explorer:

\\{server_name} 

You should then see all of the shares that you have set up and exported on that server.  You will only be able to access those shares that you have been granted access permission in the Unraid Share setup tab.

 

By the way, I would not be setting Windows credentials for both the IP address and the server name at the same time.  (I have not been able to access the server via the IP address for the last several Unraid versions and Windows updates.  [ I use server_names for my Windows credentials.]  I don't know what is going on but I suspect that backdoor may have been blocked.)  Remember that Windows will only allow one connection from a client computer to each server.  Once you establish that connection, any attempt to establish a second connection will fail with some sort of error message.  And, often, that error message will not be a true indication of what the problem really is!  That is one thing that makes troubleshooting these problems so very difficult.  Before you get upset about this error situation, remember that MS is not only dealing not only with the error codes from the Unraid OS but every other server OS that exists!

 

Personally, I don't like to type long path names on the Address Bar.  Too easy to make a mistake.  I start with the server name and drill down the tree.  If there is a particular share (or a folder within a share) that I constantly access, I setup a (Windows) Mapped Drive and have it connect at startup.  (Of course, the Network Neighborhood type of setup makes this easy!)

 

IF you are using a wireless connection, make sure that this setting is on 'Private network'.  You can change it by clicking on it. 

[Frank1940]

I download your Diagnostics.  Are you exporting many of your shares as 'Yes-Hidden'?  (I am not familiar with the code for hidden SMB shares but I don't recognize that code in the diagnostics...)   If you are, un-hide them until you have everything working!   (Linux is case-sensitive and that make a big problem for most windows users!!!)

[UnraidC]

16 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

I download your Diagnostics.  Are you exporting many of your shares as 'Yes-Hidden'?  (I am not familiar with the code for hidden SMB shares but I don't recognize that code in the diagnostics...)   If you are, un-hide them until you have everything working!   (Linux is case-sensitive and that make a big problem for most windows users!!!)

 

Yes, I had several shares as export "Yes - Hidden". Based on your post I changed all exported shares to just "Yes" now, but this did not change anything: after desktop went to sleep and logging back on I again got the "check spelling" error.

 

Re: case sensitivity: my shares are structured like this for example:

1. Documents

2. Images

 

I.e. a digit followed by a dot and a space followed by a capitalized word. Do you think that is causing issues?

Edited February 11 by UnraidC

[UnraidC]

17 hours ago, trurl said:

Can you access public shares?

 

Given the context the server is intended to be used in I do not want other people on the network to be able to put something onto a public share, (i.e. all exported shares must be private for my use case). As such I did not have any public shares set up.

 

Even so, I added one just now to see if it makes any difference going forward (but would not want one structurally). Will report back on this later if this would solve anything.

Edited February 11 by UnraidC

[UnraidC]

16 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

IF you are using a wireless connection, make sure that this setting is on 'Private network'. 

 

Both desktop and server have wifi turned off and running on an ethernet lan connection.

 

Quote

Did you setup the Network Neighborhood in Windows?

 

No but I thought that was only necessary when you don't have this view automatically (from the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB setup" PDF referenced earlier in this thread):

 

Under Network, I can see the Unraid server when it works (like ELSIE1 in the example screenshot above, but with my own unraid server name), but often after waking dekstop from sleep it is not there anymore.

 

All of the shares have been added individually as network locations, as well as the unraid server itself. But I have done it directly and not in a separate "Network Neighbourhood" folder, is there any reason why adding the extra step of a folder would change anything you think?

 

Quote

Can you access just the server through Windows Explorer? To access just the server directly through Windows Explorer, you type the following in the Address Bar window of Windows explorer: \\{server_name}

 

Yes when it works I can access the server via Windows Explorer. The problem is that often it does not show up under Network, thus not allowing me to access the shares from Windows Explorer (not from the "Network" view like in the screenshot above, not from the mapped drives under This PC and not from the quick access links referring to them).

 

Quote

I would not be setting Windows credentials for both the IP address and the server name at the same time.  (I have not been able to access the server via the IP address for the last several Unraid versions and Windows updates. 

 

Originally I was only using the server name. Because of the issues I experienced I also tried to use the IP, but the issue persists ("check spelling" error and not seeing the server nor the shares in windows explorer when waking desktop from sleep). I have not noticed any differences whether or not I am connecting through IP or server name, nor with having only 1 or multiple credentials (i.e. only or both based on name and IP) set up.

 

Quote

If there is a particular share (or a folder within a share) that I constantly access, I setup a (Windows) Mapped Drive and have it connect at startup. 

 

All the drives were added as a network location individually and afterwards those netword locations were pinned to quick access as well (i.e. the experienced issue is not due to typo's).

 

Curious about your thoughts!

Edited February 11 by UnraidC

[Frank1940]

9 minutes ago, UnraidC said:

Under Nerwork, I can see the Unraid server when it works (but often after waking dekstop from sleep it is not there anymore).

 

 

This is the big problem that the Network Neighborhood is intended to address.  Windows SMB no longer properly detects all of the servers that are on the Local Network.  (As explained in that PDF document, this condition has existed for several years.)   In fact, as I recall, even back then, there would be times when servers could take up to forty minutes to appear under Network.  (SMB was introduced back when 386-20Mhz CPU was the King-of-the-Hill and polling times were set to tens of minutes to reduce the overhead on the CPU!) 

 

Are you leaving the server on 24-7?  This seems to help.  I put all of my  Windows Media players (Windows 11 pro, 23H2) to sleep and they never have problems being connected to the mapped drive to the media files on one Unraid server.  And once the clients are awake, I have never had a problem connecting through my Network Neighborhood.   (Basically, I have four servers on my network-- two Unraid servers and two Windows 11 pro computers in a peer-to-peer configuration.)  All shares are private.  Share access is mostly read-only because I worry about Ransomware attacks.  There are two desktop computers which my wife and I use on a daily basis.  Those computer are shutdown at night and restarted in the morning.  Again, they have not had any issues in over two-and-half years with file access.  Both of them connect to a shared address-book database on a mapped drive to a folder on one of the servers.  

 

You seem to have only one server  and, perhaps, the Network Neighborhood concept seems a bit of overkill but if it works, so be it.  (In the past, I have often said that solving SMB problems is more witchcraft than science!) 

 

Get things working using the simple possible setup and make sure that it continues to work for a few days.  Than try the more complex setups/situations one at a time and verify that nothing has been broken before going on.

 

1 hour ago, UnraidC said:

Yes, I had several shares as export "Yes - Hidden". Based on your post I changed all exported shares to just "Yes", but this did not change anything: after desktop went to sleep and logging back on I again got the "check spelling" error.

 

 

Try turning off sleep on your desktop and see if the problem clears up.   (I created a desktop shortcut to put the Media computers into sleep mode and pinned it to the taskbar.  But I found out that for this to work properly, I had to disable the hibernation mode. But that is a story for another day.) 

[UnraidC]

34 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

This is the big problem that the Network Neighborhood is intended to address.  Windows SMB no longer properly detects all of the servers that are on the Local Network.  (As explained in that PDF document, this condition has existed for several years.)   In fact, as I recall, even back then, there would be times when servers could take up to forty minutes to appear under Network.

 

OK, I will give it a try and report back.

 

Quote

Are you leaving the server on 24-7?

 

Yes, aside from the recurring reboots sometimes to try and get the shares to show up again up to now (hopefully resolved at some point and then in theory to stay on permanently).

 

Quote

Try turning off sleep on your desktop and see if the problem clears up. 

 

This is a tricky one given my use case and circumstances, will try the Network Neighbourhood first - fingers crossed.

 

Thanks for your time and assistance!

[UnraidC]

Quick question on the Network Neighborhood instructions:

 

Quote

 

1. Right-click on a blank spot on your Windows Desktop. From the drop down menu, pick New and then Folder. Rename this folder to Network Neighborhood. 
2. Right-click in the folder, select New from the drop down menu and Shortcut from the next menu. You enter the name of the first computer as shown before.
3. The next step is to integrate it into Windows Explorer. Right Click on the Network Neighborhood folder that is on your desktop and select Properties. Click on the Sharing Tab.

 

The Network Neighborhood folder I created per the instructions is not automatically shared like shown in the sceenshot in the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB Setup" pdf referred to above.

When I click the Share button in the Properties/Share tab of my Network Neighborhood folder, it says:

 

After a while, I get this message:

 

No idea what the problem would be.

 

To circumvent this, I click Advanced Sharing then I can tick a box to "share this folder":

 

This then results in the folder appearing to be shared like in the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB Setup" pdf:

 

I then copy the blacked out network path (which refers to the folder on the desktop).

 

Following that, I try to add the network location as instructed, resulting in this:

 

So that does not seem to solve things

Edited February 11 by UnraidC

[Frank1940]

12 hours ago, UnraidC said:

Quick question on the Network Neighborhood instructions:

 

Quote

 

1. Right-click on a blank spot on your Windows Desktop. From the drop down menu, pick New and then Folder. Rename this folder to Network Neighborhood. 
2. Right-click in the folder, select New from the drop down menu and Shortcut from the next menu. You enter the name of the first computer as shown before.
3. The next step is to integrate it into Windows Explorer. Right Click on the Network Neighborhood folder that is on your desktop and select Properties. Click on the Sharing Tab.

 

The Network Neighborhood folder I created per the instructions is not automatically shared like shown in the sceenshot in the "Unraid & Windows 10 SMB Setup" pdf referred to above.

 

Here is a screenshot of that part of the instructions:

 

You are now done with the Network Neighborhood Properties.  Click on the 'X' in the upper right corner and close it.  The only thing we needed was the 'Network Path:' to this folder and it is on the Windows Clipboard.  

 

We now move onto this step:

 

Below is a screenshot of the left pane of Windows Explorer with an arrow indicating where to right click:

 

Then follow the remaining instructions.

================================

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

================================

By the way, you can use the Network Neighborhood folder that is on your desktop to access your server.

 

Just double click on it to open it and double click on the shortcut to your server that you created earlier.  You do not have to integrate it into Windows Explorer but that step is a very convenient feature.

 

One more thing.  Make absolutely certain that your Connection (Wireless or Ethernet) is set to 'Private Network' as shown below:

 

The 'Public Network' setting is for connection to network in Public places-- WiFi hotspots, McDonald, motels, airports, etc.  It is much more restrictive in permitted activity. 

 

I also use 'Sleep' for my Media servers and I can tell you it is a bundle of snakes.  The standard Windows built-in sleep setup just did not work right for me.  To be honest, it was not a network issue but audio issues in that it would refuse to properly recognize my AVR when it woke up.  The solution was found after several days on Google and a bit of a kludge but things seem to work now.  (I think it was actually going into some type of hibernation mode rather than a true sleep mode.) 

[Frank1940]

OH, I hope you are using an Windows user account with Administrative Privileges to set things up..

[UnraidC]

I think the instructions skip a step because when just creating a Network Neighborhood folder on my desktop it does not become shared?

 

I am indeed working from the Admin account of the windows desktop.

Edited February 12 by UnraidC

[Frank1940]

44 minutes ago, UnraidC said:

I think the instructions skip a step because when just creating a Network Neighborhood folder on my desktop it does not become shared?

 

 

You are right.  There is a possibility that the folder may not to shared when first created.  (I had mixed results when I was testing just now on a second WIN11 computer and now I can't get back to the case when creating a new folder that it is not already being shared.  Double razzinfrass WINDOWS!!!!  Both computers now create new folders are shared when created.)  If it is not shared (and it will say so on that Sharing tab of the folder's Properties) , click on the 'Share' button.  Then left click on the name in the box to highlight it and click on the 'Share' button. 

 

I am not a Windows IT Professional and I have used Google a lot to gain what small insight that I have about how Windows networking works under the hood.   I have learned just about enough to make me really dangerous.  And I know from my previous experiences at least 50% of the 'solutions' on the Internet don't work...

 

 

Edited February 12 by Frank1940

[UnraidC]

4 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

If it is not shared (and it will say so on that Sharing tab of the folder's Properties) , click on the 'Share' button.  Then left click on the name in the box to highlight it and click on the 'Share' button.

 

 

 

I tried that in my earlier post but would get the same "check spelling" error in the end.

 

As you say, the internet solutions do not seem to be working...

 

What a mess indeed, was hoping for a smoother experience when I got started with Unraid 

Edited February 12 by UnraidC

[UnraidC]

I'm hesitant to say it but for the past 2 days the issue seems to have improved (watch it going wrong tomorrow of course).

 

I am not sure what made the difference, but I think it may have been putting every exported file to "Yes" now and no more "Yes - hidden"

 

Was not able to set up the Network Neighborhood with any results.

 

Will see how it goes and report back if anything changes.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, fingers crossed that it remains stable...

Edited February 13 by UnraidC

[UnraidC]

Unfortunately the problem came back a few days later now: again got the "check spelling" error...

 

Really don't know what to do anymore. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated