How to setup SAMBA file sharing on Alpine player so it is accessible from a network

[pageauc]

This procedure will walk you through setting up a SAMBA server on your Patriot Alpine media player running original firmware. Same procedure should apply to new matrix alpha firmware but I have not tested this. The SAMBA server will make the Alpine visible on a network so that you can transfer files to/from the Alpine shares, eg SD Card or attached USB drive. The alpine must be connected to the network via network cable (RJ45) or via wireless adapter. Note N300 wifi adapter will not work on Matrix alpha firmware. Make sure the network connection is working OK. eg Alpine media player can see other computers on your network. You will need a usb attached mouse or a wireless keyboard/mousepad attached to the Alpine and correctly working for parts of this procedure.

1. From a PC Web browser, Download the following Android apk software from the web to a download location on your computer. Insert SD card into your computer. These two files will then need to be copied to the root of the SD card. It will then need to be inserted into the front SD slot on the Alpine per procedure below.

Download z4root for Android (http://www.freewarelovers.com/android/app/z4root)

Download Samba File Sharing Server (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15169815/Android%20app/SambaFilesharing-dev-111105.apk)

2. Once the files are downloaded insert an SD card into your computer and when ready copy the two downloaded files above to the root of the SD card.

3. After copy is complete remove the SD card. It is recommended that you use the windows "Safely Remove Hardware" applet if possible.

4. Make sure the Alpine is off then Insert SD card into front slot of Alpine Media Player.

5. Boot Alpine Media Player if not already running and verify the SD card is mounted. A message should appear on the screen during boot.

6. On the Alpine main screen navigate to Settings, Applications and toggle "Unknown Sources" menu item to allow Non Market Applications to be installed. (This may already be turned on). You should see a green check mark on the right side of this menu item. Set Debug mode to On under the Settings, Applications menu.

7. Use the back or home button on the remote to return to Alpine main screen. Using remote Navigate to Applications, OI File Manager and scroll to the z4root apk file on the SD card and start install. Select permanently root. You should have a usb mouse or usb keyboard with mouse to do this. I could not find a way to do this with the Alpine remote. Let me know if you find a way. Once the installation is complete the Alpine will reboot as part of the installation.

8. Once the reboot is complete select, Applications, OI File Manager and select the Sambafilesharing apk file and select install. It should ask you to allow root access. Select allow and the installation will complete. A screen will be displayed showing acquiring. It may take a while. If it does not complete after several minutes then exit using home or back button.

9. Reboot Alpine (may not always be required but recommended)

10. After reboot is complete, from main screen select Applications, Samba Filesharing icon. A message should flash showing root access acquired. If it is not acquired you will need to run the Application, superuser app and set Samba File sharing to allow. The Samba Filesharing app will show a long message on the screen. Accept the message and you should see a black Samba screen with a message saying "Password not Set". Important - On the Alpine remote Press the menu button (bottom left) and a menu bar should be displayed at the bottom of the Samba screen. Access the Samba Settings menu and provide a password and verify the workgroup and other network settings are correct for your network. Default is WORKGROUP. Press back button on remote to exit back to Samba screen and press Menu button again. Select enable menu item and the connection information should be displayed on the Samba screen. eg Host name, IP address, etc.

11. Your Alpine should now be visible on the network under the default name ANDROID or the host name you input.

12. From a PC on your network, browse the network and you should see the host name for the Alpine media player. If not check to make sure the workgroup names are the same. If the network names are the same you may want to ping the IP address that samba shows on the Alpine Samba screen. It may take a few minutes for the network master browser to display the Alpine host name on the network.

13. From a networked PC access network explorer and then Select the Host name for the Alpine and login with the user name and password that was supplied on the Samba Filesharing settings. Test a file transfer to/from the SD card share to ensure everything works OK. If you still have problems then you can try uninstalling the Samba Filesharing app and reinstall again, repeating procedure above from step 10

14. Note If you have an external USB memory stick or usb external drive plugged into the Alpine USB port on the back, then it can be shared using SAMBA. Use a small USB hub if you have more than one device (If there are two attached drives then only one can be shared at any one time). From the Patriot main menu select Applications, SAMBA Filesharing icon and run. At the SAMBA screen showing the connection information, press the remote control button named "menu" (bottom left) to bring up the SAMBA bottom menu bar. Select "Settings" and then "Other File Sharing Options" menu item. Select "Second Shared Folder" option and select the mounted drive to share by pressing enter. IMPORTANT - The menu item dot should turn green to indicate it is selected, then press OK and return to SAMBA main menu by pressing back button several times or the home button. Test to make sure the drive is shared out as share2.

This procedure assumes you have a properly operating shared network and are familiar with basic network trouble shooting.

Hope this provides enough information to get you started.

Thanks to Snappy for his excellent help in walking me through setup problems like the menu button usage. I decided to write this procedure to help others who may need a little more detail. It is always the little things that get you or lack of familiarity with android.

Regards

[snappy46]

Excellent write up pageauc; the only thing I would add is the fact that a USB Stick or Alpine Web browser can ve used to get those files but SD Card is still needed and need to stay in the PBO Alpine if you wish for the Samba server to start every time you turn on the PBO Alpine.

Also you may want to mention about the second folder option under the Samba settings which can be use to share a USB drive/Stick connected to the PBO Alpine using the samba server. That way you can copy media (video/picture/music) directly to that drive/stick connected to the PBO Alpine from your PC. Pretty handy !!!

@Patriot: I think you should consider making this application a system app available on the firmware without the need for the user to download or root their devices for proper operation.

Cheers !!!!

[pageauc]

Hi Snappy

Thanks for your comments. I have added the steps to add a second shared drive. I had a problem originally getting the second drive to share since I did not hit enter on the drive menu item. This turns the round menu button green to show that it is active. After that I could access the share OK. These little items are what add frustration to users so a detailed procedure that walks them through can be very helpful. That is why I took the time to write the steps out.

I agree with you that this feature needs to be included in the Alpine firmware and setup to allow easy or automatic setup. The easier for users the better. I know there are trade offs with performance and resources so making it optional is one way to deal with the problem. At any rate SAMBA filesharing really needs to be native just like the PBO box office core player.

Thanks

[tim711]

Thanks for the guide :)


Problem: When installing z4root from my SD card i get the following error:

Parse Error
There is a problem parsing the package


Solution: I downloaded z4root from this link http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showthread.php?8534-Finding-apk-application-for-your-PBO-Alpine-%28stock-firmware%29 and it installed fine.

[snappy46]

Solution: I downloaded z4root from this link http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showthread.php?8534-Finding-apk-application-for-your-PBO-Alpine-%28stock-firmware%29 and it installed fine.

Thanks for the guide :)

When installing z4root from my SD card i get the following error:

Parse Error
There is a problem parsing the package

Can you clarify things a little bit; in one instance you say that the installation when fine and then on another instance you say that you received a parse error ????? I am easily confused .... :).

Thanks.

[tim711]

Sorry it was confusing how I posted it..

I originally had the error (this is on matrix fw). I then found the reason and posted the solution above. The problem seemed to be the link for z4root. I downloaded it from the link I provided and it installed just fine.

[snappy46]

Sorry it was confusing how I posted it..

I originally had the error (this is on matrix fw). I then found the reason and posted the solution above. The problem seemed to be the link for z4root. I downloaded it from the link I provided and it installed just fine.

Ok thanks for clarifying this for me. :).

I must admit however that this seems a little odd; the version of z4root indicated in the first post is the same one as the one in my dropbox account. Maybe you just had a bad download; the z4root link in the first post of this thread should also work ?????

Anyhow thanks for the info.

Cheers !!!

[Btcoma]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have been reading this thread and tried to follow the detailed instructions provided by pageauc. I got SAMBA to work and the sd card can be seen on my network. The trouble I run into is getting the USB drive to be recognized in SAMBA. I got the error stating that no FAT drive is detected. Does that mean I need to format the drive to FAT32?

Note: I am able to stream the contents of the USB drive from VIDEOS.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Derek

[snappy46]

Hi, new to the forum.

I have been reading this thread and tried to follow the detailed instructions provided by pageauc. I got SAMBA to work and the sd card can be seen on my network. The trouble I run into is getting the USB drive to be recognized in SAMBA. I got the error stating that no FAT drive is detected. Does that mean I need to format the drive to FAT32?

Note: I am able to stream the contents of the USB drive from VIDEOS.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Derek

That's interesting; I've try to share my Ext3 filesystem External USB Drive with the samba server and it does not even come up as a selection on the "share other folder" options. Maybe the samba server is limited to Fat32 filesystem ??? I tried to manually change the smb.conf to add my Ext3 filesystem drive (/mnt/USB817 in my case) but the file keeps changing back to my original configuration ( SD card + USB stick (share2)) being shared. Obviously I am editing the wrong file; I'll experiment some more and let you know if I find anything worthwhile.

Cheers !!!

[snappy46]

I had some time to investigate the drive sharing issues and I was able to modify the smb.conf file to include my Ext3 connected drive as a network share without any issues. My original problem was that the smb.conf was being rewritten when samba was enabled. There is an option in the samba settings to stop that from happening "Dont rewrite smb.conf" ... this is the last options in the setting menu. Anyhow once you enable that option you can manually edit smb.conf to your liking. The smb.conf file reside in the "/data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/" directory; you will need to be root to edit it. Just as an example this is what my smb.conf currently looks like:


# Auto-generated by com.funkyfresh.samba
#
#
# smb.conf last written on 2012-05-15_22-37-10 app build 111105d
#
#
# Manual edits of smb.conf are not supported.
#
#
# Sharing of non FAT based filesystems is unsupported. Do so at your own peril.
#
#
[global]
interfaces = wlan0 eth0
bind interfaces only = yes
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Samba on Android
netbios name = ANDROID
remote announce = 255.255.255.255
encrypt passwords = yes
security = USER
restrict anonymous = 1
load printers = no
printcap name = /dev/null
disable spoolss = yes
deadtime = 5
delete readonly = yes
nt acl support = no
inherit permissions = yes
socket options = SO_SNDBUF=16384 SO_RCVBUF=16384
local master = no
unix extensions = yes


[sdcard]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/sdcard
path = /mnt/sdcard
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share2]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb81
path = /mnt/usb81
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share3]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb817
path = /mnt/usb817
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no


sdcard = sdcard inserted in the PBO Alpine
share2 = FAT32 16 GB USB Stick
share3 = EXT3 formated External USB Drive

I was able to play a 720P movie that reside on my USB Drive that is connected to the PBO Alpine [share3] to my laptop (wireless connection) without any problems which tells me that the share speed thru the samba server is not too bad at all. I will try to copy some files when I have a chance. I do not have a NTFS drive to try but I am guessing that this would probably work fine as well.

Cheers !!!

[lordmayo]

I had some time to investigate the drive sharing issues and I was able to modify the smb.conf file to include my Ext3 connected drive as a network share without any issues. My original problem was that the smb.conf was being rewritten when samba was enabled. There is an option in the samba settings to stop that from happening "Dont rewrite smb.conf" ... this is the last options in the setting menu. Anyhow once you enable that option you can manually edit smb.conf to your liking. The smb.conf file reside in the "/data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/" directory; you will need to be root to edit it. Just as an example this is what my smb.conf currently looks like:


# Auto-generated by com.funkyfresh.samba
#
#
# smb.conf last written on 2012-05-15_22-37-10 app build 111105d
#
#
# Manual edits of smb.conf are not supported.
#
#
# Sharing of non FAT based filesystems is unsupported. Do so at your own peril.
#
#
[global]
interfaces = wlan0 eth0
bind interfaces only = yes
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Samba on Android
netbios name = ANDROID
remote announce = 255.255.255.255
encrypt passwords = yes
security = USER
restrict anonymous = 1
load printers = no
printcap name = /dev/null
disable spoolss = yes
deadtime = 5
delete readonly = yes
nt acl support = no
inherit permissions = yes
socket options = SO_SNDBUF=16384 SO_RCVBUF=16384
local master = no
unix extensions = yes


[sdcard]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/sdcard
path = /mnt/sdcard
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share2]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb81
path = /mnt/usb81
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share3]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb817
path = /mnt/usb817
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no


sdcard = sdcard inserted in the PBO Alpine
share2 = FAT32 16 GB USB Stick
share3 = EXT3 formated External USB Drive

I was able to play a 720P movie that reside on my USB Drive that is connected to the PBO Alpine [share3] to my laptop (wireless connection) without any problems which tells me that the share speed thru the samba server is not too bad at all. I will try to copy some files when I have a chance. I do not have a NTFS drive to try but I am guessing that this would probably work fine as well.

Cheers !!!

Hey snappy46 thanks a million for the headsup - I got everything working. Took a lot back alleying to get it all in place but it's all done and working.

THANKS PAGEAUC for slow dancing us to the goal line!!!

[Btcoma]

Hey thanks for the followup!

Update: I updated the Alpine to the new matrix alpha firmware rev2. z4root & Samba installed and rooted permanently without problems. But I still cannot see my "share2" USB drive on my PC. Under the "Other File Sharing Options" menu item, I selected "Second Shared Folder" option and selected the mounted drive (usb81) to share by pressing enter. The menu item dot turned green to indicate it is selected, then I pressed OK. But when I select "Second Shared Folder" again to confirm it is selected, the green dot is no longer there. Is this a known problem?

By the way, how come my sd card does not have a smb.conf file??


I had some time to investigate the drive sharing issues and I was able to modify the smb.conf file to include my Ext3 connected drive as a network share without any issues. My original problem was that the smb.conf was being rewritten when samba was enabled. There is an option in the samba settings to stop that from happening "Dont rewrite smb.conf" ... this is the last options in the setting menu. Anyhow once you enable that option you can manually edit smb.conf to your liking. The smb.conf file reside in the "/data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/" directory; you will need to be root to edit it. Just as an example this is what my smb.conf currently looks like:


# Auto-generated by com.funkyfresh.samba
#
#
# smb.conf last written on 2012-05-15_22-37-10 app build 111105d
#
#
# Manual edits of smb.conf are not supported.
#
#
# Sharing of non FAT based filesystems is unsupported. Do so at your own peril.
#
#
[global]
interfaces = wlan0 eth0
bind interfaces only = yes
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Samba on Android
netbios name = ANDROID
remote announce = 255.255.255.255
encrypt passwords = yes
security = USER
restrict anonymous = 1
load printers = no
printcap name = /dev/null
disable spoolss = yes
deadtime = 5
delete readonly = yes
nt acl support = no
inherit permissions = yes
socket options = SO_SNDBUF=16384 SO_RCVBUF=16384
local master = no
unix extensions = yes


[sdcard]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/sdcard
path = /mnt/sdcard
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share2]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb81
path = /mnt/usb81
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share3]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb817
path = /mnt/usb817
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no


sdcard = sdcard inserted in the PBO Alpine
share2 = FAT32 16 GB USB Stick
share3 = EXT3 formated External USB Drive

I was able to play a 720P movie that reside on my USB Drive that is connected to the PBO Alpine [share3] to my laptop (wireless connection) without any problems which tells me that the share speed thru the samba server is not too bad at all. I will try to copy some files when I have a chance. I do not have a NTFS drive to try but I am guessing that this would probably work fine as well.

Cheers !!!

[Insane Lunatic]

I had some time to investigate the drive sharing issues and I was able to modify the smb.conf file to include my Ext3 connected drive as a network share without any issues. My original problem was that the smb.conf was being rewritten when samba was enabled. There is an option in the samba settings to stop that from happening "Dont rewrite smb.conf" ... this is the last options in the setting menu. Anyhow once you enable that option you can manually edit smb.conf to your liking. The smb.conf file reside in the "/data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/" directory; you will need to be root to edit it. Just as an example this is what my smb.conf currently looks like:


# Auto-generated by com.funkyfresh.samba
#
#
# smb.conf last written on 2012-05-15_22-37-10 app build 111105d
#
#
# Manual edits of smb.conf are not supported.
#
#
# Sharing of non FAT based filesystems is unsupported. Do so at your own peril.
#
#
[global]
interfaces = wlan0 eth0
bind interfaces only = yes
workgroup = WORKGROUP
server string = Samba on Android
netbios name = ANDROID
remote announce = 255.255.255.255
encrypt passwords = yes
security = USER
restrict anonymous = 1
load printers = no
printcap name = /dev/null
disable spoolss = yes
deadtime = 5
delete readonly = yes
nt acl support = no
inherit permissions = yes
socket options = SO_SNDBUF=16384 SO_RCVBUF=16384
local master = no
unix extensions = yes


[sdcard]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/sdcard
path = /mnt/sdcard
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share2]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb81
path = /mnt/usb81
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no
[share3]
vfs objects = fake_perms
comment = Android /mnt/usb817
path = /mnt/usb817
force user = root
read only = no
writable = yes
guest ok = no


sdcard = sdcard inserted in the PBO Alpine
share2 = FAT32 16 GB USB Stick
share3 = EXT3 formated External USB Drive

I was able to play a 720P movie that reside on my USB Drive that is connected to the PBO Alpine [share3] to my laptop (wireless connection) without any problems which tells me that the share speed thru the samba server is not too bad at all. I will try to copy some files when I have a chance. I do not have a NTFS drive to try but I am guessing that this would probably work fine as well.

Cheers !!!

here's a new question: How do I get to that file to make the changes? I have rooted the device, but now what?

[snappy46]

here's a new question: How do I get to that file to make the changes? I have rooted the device, but now what?

First off you need to get to the Android Linux shell; there are a couple of ways to do that.

First option: You could install an Android terminal application; there are many out there but I can not confirm which one works since I do not access it that way. Maybe someone else can provide a link to a terminal app that works fine on the PBO Alpine. My guess would be that most of the terminal apps will work and this option is slightly easier than the second option since you will be at the Android Linux shell as soon as you start the application.

Second option: This is the one I used since I do development on the Android; is to use the Android Debug Bridge "adb". You can have access to this command after you install the Android software development kit (SDK) on your computer. Google is your friend for that one and installation of the SDK is pretty straight forward. To be honest I am not even sure if you need to install the whole SDK; it is possible that just having the adb file is enough??? I don't know. Once you have adb available (/Android-sdk...../platforms-tools/) you can access the PBO Alpine Linux shell by issuing the following command (Dos/Linux prompt):



./adb connect [PBO_Alpine_IP_Addresss] ex: ./adb connect 192.168.1.2
./adb shell


You should now be on the Android linux shell

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything that follows assume that you were successful in accessing the Android Linux shell. All the following commands are issued at the Android linux shell. Now there are also a couple of ways to edit the "/data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/smb.conf" but first off you need to be root so you need to issue the following command:



# su


Beware that the first time you issue that command you should look at your TV screen because the Root app will ask whether it is ok to allow root access to that shell. Just use the remote control and enter that it is ok always if you do not want to do this everytime you log in as root in a shell.

Ok you are now a super user (this is like god mode in a game :)) and have access to everything and can really screw things up so make sure you type in the command correctly.

As I mentioned before there are really two ways to edit the file. If you use Z4root to root your PBO Alpine this app also installed busybox for you so you have some extra commands available to you other than the one available in the standard android toolbox. Ok first way is quite easy if you are familiar with the linux "vi" editor and can edit the file right on the PBO Alpine using this command:



busybox vi /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/smb.conf


You should now be in the vi editor with file open and able to edit that file to suit your needs; save it and you are done.

The second way if you just hate "vi" is to copy the smb.conf file to a USB Stick connected to your PBO Alpine and then take that stick to your computer for editing and then copy it back to the PBO Alpine. Beware that on a window machine many editor add stuff; you must use a plain text editor to make the changes; even notepad can cause problem; I recommend notepad++ for any editing on a window machine. Ok here we go with the command required:

To copy to the USB Stick:



# busybox cp /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/smb.conf /mnt/usb81/ ----> Substitute usb81 for the proper USB stick mount point


If you do not have busybox installed you can do the following also:



# cat /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/smb.conf > /mnt/usb81/smb.conf


After the editing is done you can copy it back to the PBO by issuing the following commands:



# busybox cp /mnt/usb81/smb.conf /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/ ----> Substitute usb81 for the proper USB stick mount point


Without busybox:



# cat /mnt/usb81/smb.conf > /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files/smb.conf ----> Substitute usb81 for the proper USB stick mount point


Ok hopefully there aren't any typos in there; I do not have access to my PBO right now so hopefully I have all the paths and filename correct. By the way just as a side note with adb you can also use the command ./adb pull [path/filename] (take file from the PBO to your computer) and ./adb push [path/filename] (take file from your computer and copy them to the PBO).

Anyhow I hope this helps.

Cheers!!!

[Popcorn 64]

Hi Snappy

Thanks for your comments. I have added the steps to add a second shared drive. I had a problem originally getting the second drive to share since I did not hit enter on the drive menu item. This turns the round menu button green to show that it is active. After that I could access the share OK. These little items are what add frustration to users so a detailed procedure that walks them through can be very helpful. That is why I took the time to write the steps out.

I agree with you that this feature needs to be included in the Alpine firmware and setup to allow easy or automatic setup. The easier for users the better. I know there are trade offs with performance and resources so making it optional is one way to deal with the problem. At any rate SAMBA filesharing really needs to be native just like the PBO box office core player.

Thanks

When I try to add a second shared drive ,it tell me it can not locate a FAT drive.I am trying to get to my usb external drive so that I can add or delete files. thanks in advance.

[The_Original_Modifier]

Mine just all of a sudden quit! I can navigate to the browsing network shares through my router, but once I try to browse into the drive, I just keeps "browsing". But by seeing how non of these threads are being replied to, I guess I chall just unplug this door stop and purchase a far more reliable one.:p

[The Dude]

Mine just all of a sudden quit! I can navigate to the browsing network shares through my router, but once I try to browse into the drive, I just keeps "browsing". But by seeing how non of these threads are being replied to, I guess I chall just unplug this door stop and purchase a far more reliable one.:p

When this, or a host of other problems occur, check the date/time on your PBO. It has likely changed the date to something at the early part of the 20th century, or something in the near future when Patriot will have officially abandoned this product.

This problem occurs spontaneously and frequently. Prepare to change the date a lot if you want the product you paid for to work. Of course, assuming that Patriot Ben or anyone at Patriot even reads this forum, they well know about it. Whether they care enough to ever send a bug fix is another matter.

[The_Original_Modifier]

Many thanks that worked. Just wished that they actually hard SUPPORT for these devices other than leaving it to the users to figure it out for themselves. they should at the very LEAST reply to the threads. Way to go Patriot, you can be SURE that you are loosing customers by the reviews left on other sites like resellers and hopefully steering them away from a faulty product with NO support and undelivered as promised software.

I am leery of even purchasing ANY of your product now.
Severely DISPLEASED Customer!