When connecting to some (older) Windows servers you may get this message.

The Finder cannot complete the operation because some of the data in smb://…….. could not be read or written. (Error code -36).

The most likely reason for this error is that the authentication handshake failed because the server only accepts clear text passwords. If you run 'Console' (Applications/Utilties) you should see :-

mount_smbfs: session setup phase failed

If you see that then you almost certainly have a problem with a server not accepting encrypted passwords. This is the fix.

1. Make sure that you are not currently connected to any Samba or Windows (SMB/CIFS) servers and that you do not have any Samba or Windows-related error messages open.
2. Open the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/).
3. At the prompt, type: sudo pico /etc/nsmb.conf
4. Press Return.
5. Enter your password when prompted, then press Return again.
6. You should see an empty file and a “New File” notice at the bottom of the pico window. If you do not see the “New File” notice, this file already exists.
7. Enter the following into the file so that it appears as follows:

[default] minauth=none

1. Save the file (press Control+O), press Return, then exit pico (Control+X).
2. Type: sudo chmod a+r /etc/nsmb.conf
3. Press Return.
4. Restart your computer.

After having done this find the administrator of the server and get them to fix the set up so that it accepts encrypted passwords. This is a security hole. You don't need to reverse the above fix when the server is fixed as the Mac will try encrypted first.

(Yes, I know I could fix this in the image but I'd prefer to find broken servers and file sharing in the faculties leaving the Macs more secure. <g>)