Using Virt Manager and Samba to retrieve old songs

Using Virt Manager and Samba to retrieve my old songs

FL Studio does not work on Linux
I have found a backup of my songs, they are neither .wav or .flac files but FL Studio project files.
The solution is to open an instance of FL Studio in a Windows 7 Virtual Machine, and export those project files in .wav from there. In this guide I will use Samba to transfer files between the host and the VM.
For the VirtIO ISO: grab virtio-win-0.1.173.iso for example, Windows 7 support has ended in newer versions.

After having configured the Windows 7 Virtual Machine, access the virtio-win ISO that has been attached as a CD-ROM via Virt Manager. Use the installer located inside the guest-agent folder.

If the installation has been successful, you can turn off the virtual machine for now.

Step 1: Virtual Network Interface

Here is how you can display your available Network Interfaces:

ip link show

You could also use nmcli:

nmcli device status

OR:

nmcli connection show

If virbr0 isn't showing up here, try this:

sudo virsh net-start default

With this command, virbr0 should appear when using the nmcli device status command.

Inside Virt-Manager, change the network settings of the VM to:
- Network source: Bridged device...
- Device name: virbr0
- Device model: e1000e
- MAC address: yes

Step 2: Install Samba on the host

On the host machine:

sudo pacman -S samba

Step 3: Backup the default smb.conf file, then edit it

sudo mv /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Here is a configuration example (smb.conf):

[global]
server string = Arch Server
workgroup = RINCORP  
security = user
map to guest = Bad User
name resolve order = bcast host
include = /etc/samba/shares.conf

Then, create the shares.conf file:

sudo nano /etc/samba/shares.conf

This is an example for Public files:

[vmshare]
path = /share/vmshare
force user = smbuser
force group = smbgroup
create mask = 0664
force create mode = 0664
directory mask = 0775
force directory mode = 0775
public = yes
writable = yes

This is an example for Protected files:

[Protected Files]
path = /share/private_share
force user = smbuser
force group = smbgroup
create mask = 0664
force create mode = 0664
directory mask = 0775
force directory mode = 0775
public = yes
writable = no

Run this command to check for syntax errors in the config file:

testparm -s

Step 4: Create those folders

sudo mkdir -p /share/vmshare
sudo mkdir /share/private_share

Confirm their existence:

ls -l share/

Step 5: Create users and groups

sudo groupadd --system smbgroup
cat /etc/group

sudo useradd --system --no-create-home --group smbgroup -s /bin/false smbuser
cat /etc/passwd

sudo chown -R smbuser:smbgroup /share
sudo chmod -R g+w /share

Step 6: Restart Samba

sudo systemctl restart smb
sudo systemctl status smb

Here is where you can see the Samba logs:

cat /var/log/samba/log.smbd

Step 7: Windows BS

On the client Windows 7 machine:

Open the Run command and type "secpol.msc"
Click on "Local Policies": "Security Options"
Change Network security: LAN Manager Authentication Level to “Send NTLMv2 response only”
Change Network security: Minimum Session Security for NTLM SSP to disable “Require 128-bit encryption” into “No Minimum Security”.

Press Win + R, type:

\\<your-host-IP>\vmshare

If this works, you can map it as a network drive:

Right click Computer: Map network drive
Pick a drive letter
Put the path \\<your-host-IP>\vmshare
Check "Reconnect at logon"

Step 8: Snapshot and Profit

It is a good idea to create a snapshot at this point.

Go to the virtual machine viewer, and click "Manage VM snapshots"
Click on the "plus" button located in the bottom left corner, provide a name and description for the snapshot, and click on the "Finish" button. In my case, I have gone for an external snapshot.

I will now load the suspicious FL studio installer into this vmshare folder, and export my old songs.

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