[Solved] Connection Failed when connecting to SMB or AFP from a real Mac

I am trying to connect from my MacBook to my Dell T3600 Hackintosh with the Intel 82579LM gigabit ethernet chipset. Everything works fine if I use the IP address to connect, but if I click on the computer in the finder I get a "connection failed" error. I am using the IntelMausiEthernet kext to connect, but I have the same problem with the AppleIntelE1000 kext, also included in Multibeast.

Is this a problem with my SMBIOS or is this a kext problem? Forgive my ignorance.

It's important that this work for some backup software that I am using, any help is appreciated.

Here is what shows up in Console on my Macbook (connecting to Hackintosh)

default 12:24:42.768694 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 501, EUID: 501, GID: 20, EGID: 20
default 12:24:42.778897 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 501, EUID: 501, GID: 20, EGID: 20
default 12:24:42.825203 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 501, EUID: 501, GID: 20, EGID: 20
default 12:24:42.836086 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 501, EUID: 0, GID: 20, EGID: 20
default 12:24:48.421043 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 0, EUID: 0, GID: 0, EGID: 0
default 12:24:48.421263 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 0, EUID: 0, GID: 0, EGID: 0
default 12:24:48.631670 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 222, EUID: 222, GID: 0, EGID: 0
default 12:24:48.631854 -0500 opendirectoryd Client: <private>, UID: 222, EUID: 222, GID: 0, EGID: 0

and over, and over again.

Since it connects with no problem with the IP address, it is likely not a hardware or driver problem.

The console log snippet you posted suggests that this is a permissions problem; i.e. the UID and GID of the user you're using to connect are different on the two machines. Even if they both have the same name (such as "user1"), they could have different UID and GID values, especially if created at different times.

If you can change the UID and GID of the user on one of the two machines to match the other, you should be fine. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily an easy thing to do. Here's a step-by-step guide: https://www.inteller.net/notes/change-user-id-on-snow-leopard.

If you don't understand or are intimidated by the guide, you can always just keep connecting by IP address as a workaround.

nobodynose said:

If you can change the UID and GID of the user on one of the two machines to match the other, you should be fine. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily an easy thing to do. Here's a step-by-step guide: https://www.inteller.net/notes/change-user-id-on-snow-leopard.

Click to expand...

Thanks nobodynose, that's intriguing, I'll definitely check it out. Would it fix the problem if I changed the default user for my hackintosh? Right now the two users match exactly.

noah

What do you mean by "change the default user"?

nobodynose said:

What do you mean by "change the default user"?

Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. From your reply I understood that even though my username is "noah" on both machines, and my passwords match, there are still the UID and GID values which are mismatched. So when I click on the computer network icon in the finder, and it fails, it is because the names and password match but the UID and GID don't. Maybe I'm misunderstanding?

So my solution would be to delete the "noah" account on the second machine and create "bob" instead so that it doesn't have that conflict and I can enter a proper username and password and have it remembered in Keychain access to auto-connect when I click on the computer icon in the future? I will try it when I get a chance.

Another thing to try will be to see if I can connect using my wife's Macbook. I was successful connecting from my old PowerBook G4 running Leopard, but that doesn't really prove anything since I need modern hardware to work.

moosefuel said:

Thanks for your reply. From your reply I understood that even though my username is "noah" on both machines, and my passwords match, there are still the UID and GID values which are mismatched. So when I click on the computer network icon in the finder, and it fails, it is because the names and password match but the UID and GID don't. Maybe I'm misunderstanding?

Click to expand...

No, you have it right, that's exactly what I'm saying.

So my solution would be to delete the "noah" account on the second machine and create "bob" instead so that it doesn't have that conflict and I can enter a proper username and password and have it remembered in Keychain access to auto-connect when I click on the computer icon in the future? I will try it when I get a chance.

Click to expand...

I believe that should work. Keep in mind that when you create a new user account, even if it has the same name (e.g. "noah") it probably won't have the same UID/GID. That's the situation you're in now.

Though the messages in your opendirectory.log file seem to indicate a permissions/UID/GID problem, there's another possible explanation for the behavior you're seeing. If one machine is completing unqualified domain names differently than another it might cause the type of failure you're getting. In other words, if one machine is appending, say, ".local" to the hostname and the other is appending "._tcp_.local" (these are hypothetical domains) then it might have trouble connecting. In my opinion this is less likely than the UID/GID mismatch, but it's worth checking into. That would be in either the Network or the Sharing control panel (or both).

nobodynose said:

No, you have it right, that's exactly what I'm saying.
I believe that should work... if one machine is appending, say, ".local" to the hostname and the other is appending "._tcp_.local"

Click to expand...

OK great. I'm waiting for some new cables to connect a new graphics card, but when that's running I'll try again and try to remember to post back what worked.

Thanks for the info.

nobodynose said:

No, you have it right, that's exactly what I'm
I believe that should work.

Click to expand...

You were right! I thought it was a hardware or driver issue but apparently this is how macOS works now. By adding a new user to my Macbook and then connecting, I only had to enter my password once and everything connected in the usual Mac way, I tried copying some large files to make sure. Perfect.

Just in case, I went back to the user account with the same name and password on both computers and tried to connect, and not only did it fail, but the remote computer disappeared from the network. I popped back into my other user account with a different name, and it was still there, and I could connect. Strange behavior but I'm glad there is a workaround.

***UPDATE*** I found an easier method. I just changed the password on the second computer, and that was all it took. That seems to make it different enough that I can connect without issue right from the Finder sidebar, no entering IP addresses.

Thanks nobodynose.

You're welcome - glad I could help!

Final update, I promise. This problem still happens, usually if I reboot my real Macbook, I can connect to the file sharing on my CustoMac, but if I put my Macbook to sleep or anything, it somehow breaks the magic link and I have to restart the Macbook to be able to connect. Sometimes it just works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's working well enough for me to stop messing around with it for now, I just wanted to let anyone else looking at the thread know that this is a partial solution but there are still bugs.