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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM Network
I've had a problem for a while now connecting to our Windows server (both AFP and FTP) at work. I used to be able to connect to it just fine using the Finder and "Connect to Server..." But now whenever I try to connect to the server, I get the following error:
Could not connect to the server because the name or password is not correct.
The problem is that I don't ever get a dialog asking me enter a username or password. It goes straight from the Connect to Server dialog to the error dialog with no option to enter a username or password.

I've googled for that phrase, and found a lot of people that were having the same problem, but no solutions. I finally found a solution to the problem, and it is to use Microsoft's User Authentication Module (UAM). This doesn't seem to be the best solution to me, since I couldn't find the real problem and it requires you to install additional software. But at least now I can connect to the server. I hope this saves someone some time and headaches!
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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM | 15 comments | Create New Account
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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: corvus on Sep 15, '04 11:37:07AM

Were you using kerberos? Just curious.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: gourls on Sep 15, '04 06:25:45PM
That would be a major pain to not have the option to enter your username and stuff and the server just slamming the door on you. (Is that a good way to put it?) yeah, if that happened to me, I'd be emailing the world crying out for help. Good thing you found what you needed.

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Why must you try me?

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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: kuwan on Sep 17, '04 01:35:16PM

No, just connecting to a Windows server using both AFP and FTP through the Finder.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: rocketchick on Sep 15, '04 11:37:52AM

We had this occur when we updated our Windows file server from NT to 2000. Seems the authentication module internal to the server component changed, and the version in the Finder (OS 9 and X) was insufficient.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: MostlyHarmless on Sep 15, '04 11:43:12AM

AFAIK, you've either got to enable plain text passwords on the server or use the Microsoft UAM.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;834498



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: slykking on Sep 15, '04 04:09:27PM
Maybe its the other way around that you have to make your Mac use encrypted password. I have had this problem with a couple of 2000 servers at work. After a while it bugged me enough that i spent most of an evening sorting it out. Tried moving my ~/Library/Preferences out and the problem disappeared. After fiddling around with various parts of the contents of the Prefences folder I almost gave up. Then it dawned on me - it could be the infamous hidden preference named ".GlobalPrefences.plist". Once this was removed the problem disappeared for good. I am not sure but after comparing my new .GlobalPreferences.plist with the old one it could look like the following (afp_cleartext_allow=true) could be the culprit:

       <key>com.apple.AppleShareClientCore</key>
        <dict>
                <key>afp_authtype_show</key>
                <false/>
                <key>afp_cleartext_allow</key>
                <true/>

Anyways problem solved here without UAM or changes to the server.

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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: kuwan on Sep 17, '04 02:05:01PM

This is interesting. So you're saying that your old .GlobalPreferences.plist file contained afp_cleartext_allow=true in it? Because mine currently contains afp_cleartext_allow=false. Though I don't know if this value was changed by the Microsoft UAM.

I did try removing the Microsoft UAM and playing with these values but they don't seem to work any way that I try them. I can only get it to work with the Microsoft UAM installed.

As a side note (and a plug), I am developing an application called Defaults Manager that helps you manager your application preferences. The .GlobalPreferences.plist is actually represented by the NSGlobalDomain and appears at the top of the list in Defaults Manager. DM is the best way to search, archive and edit your preference files.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: kuwan on Sep 17, '04 01:47:52PM

I wonder if this might be it. It could be that our Windows server was updated and no longer allows plain text passwords. That really doesn't explain why I would only get an error dialog and no way to re-enter the username and password. I think this is a bug on Apple's part.

If this is the problem then we should at least get a dialog that says that plain text passwords are not allowed or that the authentication method (plain text password) is not allowed.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: JohnDCCIU on Sep 15, '04 12:19:20PM
There's an interesting item on the MacWindows site that might pertain to this:

Win server security update affected ability use Macs with AD.
September 15, 2004 -- Ben Parker reported that the MS04-011 Security Update for Microsoft Windows installed on a Windows server interfered with Mac access to Active directory:
We are currently doing our directory registration using the Windows 2000 Active Directory function of Directory Access. When the update at KB article 835732 was installed on our domain controllers, it created some kind of problem with LDAP so we continually received Invalid User Name or Password error. After removing this patch, the problem was fixed.


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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: Han Solo on Sep 15, '04 03:40:52PM

What timing — I had recently experienced exactly this problem on both my desktop and laptop in my office. The desktop problem was eventually solved by a reboot (nothing else I tried worked), but that was insufficient for the laptop. Eventually I had to trash my ~/Library/Preferences and start over with the re-created Apple preferences. (Even booting into "safe mode" had no positive effect.)

I don't know if it mattered, but around the time this problem arose, two possibly related events occurred: (1) the Windows server died a horrible death, and they had to replace the drive and restore from backup, and (2) the afp daemon on a Solaris server died unexpectedly. I was connected to both when each happened, so possibly some hard-core corruption of preferences or caches occurred.

If anyone has any further insight insight into the problem listed in this hint, I'd love to hear it.



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: gds on Sep 15, '04 03:54:55PM

I have had the same error message long time ago and couldn't find a solution for a few months but finally found it. I had some entries in KeyChain Access.app that were related to the Windows serves I used to connect to. I just deleted the two/three entries in Keychain Access.app and was able again to connect to all servers without any trouble.

Hoe this helps



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: kidventus on Sep 16, '04 06:48:22AM

People People People...

This happened all the time on my Samba shares on my Linux box and Windows 2000 / XP boxes. Basically, you're looking for a complicated solution to a simple problem. Mac OSX almost always with very little change to the server (sometimes just a reboot) refuses to authenticate because the challege is wrong and it won't let you pass right through with the old creditials. The non-root-canal way of handling this is going in to your keychain and deleting the offending entries... then simply retry to connect and you'll be prompted for a username / password again.

The only reason it doesn't prompt you now is because you have the login in your keychain.

Woozers.. deleting the whole preference directory?



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: johram on Sep 16, '04 08:03:30AM

I can never connect to smb shares by browsing.

i have no idea what UAM is...
but the only way i can connect to my windows shares is by typing out the full path in the "connect to" pane.

as in

smb://MSHOME@WEBSERVER/LANUPLOAD

i clear out the username and password field and tick the "save to keychain" option. i never get prompted for passwords again (when using connect to pane). note that mounting via browsing smb shares remains fruitless.

would this help anyone?
maybe.
probably off topic anyways.
later,
johnny

---
-
Send your windows friends over to http://osswin.sourceforge.net/
Read http://www.groklaw.net/



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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: kuwan on Sep 17, '04 01:33:24PM
The non-root-canal way of handling this is going in to your keychain and deleting the offending entries... then simply retry to connect and you'll be prompted for a username / password again. The only reason it doesn't prompt you now is because you have the login in your keychain.
I, and others with this specific problem, had tried this already and it didn't work. If you actually google for the phrase "Could not connect to the server because the name or password is not correct" then you'll find a lot of frustrated users that have tried everything (including deleting keychain entries) but found no solution.

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Resolve Windows server connection issues via UAM
Authored by: Lanir on Sep 16, '04 10:25:14AM

I apologize if this seems basic but no one has mentioned it yet and it's one of the first steps I'd take in this situation. Have you tried the Command+K thing and then authenticating like so:

smb://username:password@server/share

This allows you to spell it all out on the commandline. Finder will keep track of username and password for the last server you connect to. On my system it doesn't record these if you save it as a favorite though and Keychain only seems to grok what's going on and supply the password if you put the username in as well as the server. So if you're connecting to multiple servers you'll have to type a username if you need to do it this way on a regular basis.



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