Once you are connected as the wrong user (for example, as nobody, which often occurs if you have map to guest = bad user), Windows Explorer will not accept an attempt to connect again as a different user. There will not be any bytes transferred on the wire to Samba, but still you'll see a stupid error message that makes you think Samba has denied access. Use smbstatus to check for active connections. Kill the PIDs. You still can't re-connect, and you get the dreaded You can't connect with a second account from the same machine message as soon as you try. And you do not see a single byte arriving at Samba (see logs; use “ethereal”) indicating a renewed connection attempt. Shut all Explorer Windows. This makes Windows forget what it has cached in its memory as established connections. Then reconnect as the right user. The best method is to use a DOS terminal window and first do net use z: \\GANDALF\print$ /user:root . Check with smbstatus that you are connected under a different account. Now open the Printers folder (on the Samba server in the Network Neighborhood), right-click on the printer in question, and select Connect.....