Trouble connecting to Macintosh OS X Server Using Windows Vista
by Rich Deem

Introduction

Your Windows XP computer had no problems connecting to your OS X server (Xserve) until you got the fancy new one running Windows Vista. The reason for the login problem is that Windows Vista by default does not support the Samba server login authentication protocol (SMB, which is used on the Macintosh OS X Server). We won't speculate why Microsoft would want to disable, by default, logins to one of their competitor's (Apple) servers.

Fixing your login problem

In order to fix the problem, you need to have administrator privileges on your computer. If you don't have these privileges, have your administrator do it for you.

  1. Select the Control Panel from your Start menu
  2. Click "Classic View" and then open "Administrative Tools"
  3. Open the Shortcut called "Local Security Policy" and confirm that you want to continue.
  4. Click "Local Policies" and open "Security Options"
  5. Scroll down the list until you get to "Network security: LAN Manager authentication level". Double-click on it to open the setting.
  6. The default Windows Vista setting is "NTVLM2 responses only". Change it to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated". Click the "Apply" button and you should be set to login.

For a visual explanation, see this page:

Get Vista and Samba to work

Home networking problems with Windows Vista

If you are having difficulty logging into home network shares and printers, make sure network discovery is turned on (it is off by default). To get there, select the Control Panel from your Start menu, then select "Network and Sharing Center". If Network Discovery is off, Select the down arrow to the right to expand the selection and turn it on. Your computer should now be able to see your network.


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http://www.godandscience.org/general/OS_X_Server_with_Vista.html
Last Modified July 25, 2007

 

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