Resetting Samba on Unraid OS
If SMB authentication errors keep appearing in Unraid, resetting the Samba configuration often fixes it, and your actual files remain untouched.
One of the most effective solutions is to completely reset Unraid's SMB configuration. This doesn't affect your actual files.
A known fix for persistent SMB authentication errors in Unraid is to delete a few key configuration files, which forces the system to recreate them cleanly
Here's the process:
- Backup (Crucial): Before doing anything, it is wise to backup your Unraid USB flash drive. You can download a zipped backup from the
Main > Flashpage in the Unraid web UI.
- Stop the SMB Service: Open the Unraid terminal (from the web UI or via SSH) and run:
/etc/rc.d/rc.samba stop
- Navigate to the Config Directory: The config folder is located on the flash drive.
cd /boot/config
- Rename (or Delete) the SMB User Files: The key files are
passwd,smbpasswd,shadow, andsecrets.tdb. Renaming them is safer than deleting.
mv passwd passwd.bak
mv smbpasswd smbpasswd.bak
mv shadow shadow.bak
mv secrets.tdb secrets.tdb.bak
- Start Samba Again:
/etc/rc.d/rc.samba start
- Restart Unraid
Recreate Your Users: After this reset, your Unraid users (except root) will be gone. Go to the Users tab in the web UI and recreate each user with the same name and password as before.
Test: Try accessing your share again from Windows or Linux.
This procedure completely resets Unraid's user authentication system and has resolved similar issues for many users where SMB suddenly stopped working