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Is there any simple GUI way to make an SMB share persistent? I don't quite remember the steps, but on Windows, once you've mapped a share to a drive, you're given the option to 'reconnect on boot' (or something like that).

I figure I can just edit fstab, but this is something I have less technical users (as in GUI only) wanting to do, and it would be nice if there was some simple way to accomplish this.

[Note: Edited the title to reflect that while I originally specified 'persistent' for my use, something that's can be consistently accessed is fine.]

Tim Lytle
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4 Answers4

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Gigolo is an SMB broswer with an 'autoconnect' option when you bookmark a share. Click on the icon to install gigolo (from Software Center or sudo apt-get install gigolo) and it's pretty easy from there.

(Another answer, no extra apps, but it's not perfect: Navigate to the location in Nautilus and Add a Bookmark (Bookmarks -> Add, or CTRL-D). Each login you'll need to navigate to the share to mount it (sorry!), but once you have, it will be mounted in /home/username/.gvfs/ )

Zanna
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Jeremy
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If you define "persistent" as "user always can click on it" then standard tools will do:

  1. Go to "Places -> Connect to Server..."
  2. Select "Windows share". Enter connection data.
  3. Select "Add bookmark".

Now persistent bookmark will be available on your "Places" menu and on the left navigation panel in file browser (nautilus).

Vilmantas Baranauskas
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  • Perfect, use that for FTP all the time, forgot it would be the same for other network connections. – Tim Lytle Nov 29 '10 at 14:58
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    This does not mount at boot, it connects when you navigate to the bookmark, it also does not work for other applications trying to access the share. This is not equivalent to editing the fstab. – trampster Nov 30 '10 at 05:24
  • @trampster Agreed, however, for my use defining "persistent" as "user always can click on it" is fine. I'll update the title accordingly. – Tim Lytle Dec 17 '10 at 06:15
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even better way is to mount it not as a windows share, but as a local drive which allows for unity searching as explained here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MountWindowsSharesPermanently navigate to here: Mounting unprotected (guest) network folders

First, let's create the mount directory. You will need a separate directory for each mount.

sudo mkdir /media/windowsshare

Then edit your /etc/fstab file (with root privileges) to add this line:

//servername/sharename /media/windowsshare cifs guest,uid=1000,iocharset=utf8,codepage=unicode,unicode 0 0

After you add the entry to /etc/fstab type:

sudo mount -a

This will (re)mount all entries listed in /etc/fstab.

blackhawkover
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Go to network.. select disk or enter the smb:/ipnr.. check keep persistent or any term that everyone understands.

Kevin Bowen
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erikje
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