Connect to OSX shared folders from Vista using Samba

After my recent switch to OSX, I have been having some issues getting Vista to access shared folders with OSX. Specifically, authentication to the OSX machine from Vista across the network would not work. As it turns out, the default Windows Vista is set to use only NTLMv2 authentication, which Samba (OSX’s authentication handler) does not work with.

Solution with Vista Ultimate

To solve the problem run secpol.msc to get into the Local Security Policy screen. Goto “Security Options” then find “Network Security: LAN Manager authentcation level.” Change it from “NTVLM2 responses only” to “LM and NTLM – use NTLMv2 session security if negociated”.

Solution with Vista Home Premium and all other versions.

Vista Home Premium does not have secpol.msc. Instead you must manually edit the registry. Run regedit. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa. Look for the key LmCompatibilityLevel. The default value for this key is 3. To support Samba, you should change the value from 3 to 1 (Right click on the value and choose modify). Exit regedit (no saving necessary), and reboot.