Cannot check file sharing box in Catalina

The 'launchctl list' utility does not indicate that 'smbd' is running; 'sharingd' is; the Prefs->Sharing->File Sharing will just not behave. I've tried launching smbd manually, but no joy. My file system is ExFAT so perms from Terminal should not matter and will not change if a chmod or chgrp is attempted. From GetInfo it reports that I have special permissions only. WTHeck?

Hi there Tydyjav,

If you can't turn File Sharing on for your Mac, it may be a permissions issue. Follow these steps to check your permissions settings:

Assign permissions to users and groups

1. On your Mac, select a disk, folder, or file, then choose File > Get Info.

2. If the information in Sharing & Permissions isn’t visible, click the arrow .

3. Select a user or group in the Name column, then choose a privilege setting from the pop-up menu.

* Read & Write: Allows a user to open the item and change it.

* Read only: Allows a user to open the item, but not change its contents.

* Write only (Drop Box): Makes a folder into a drop box. Users can copy items to the drop box, but can’t open it. Only the owner of the drop box can open it.

* No Access: Blocks all access to the item.

You'll find this information here: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac - Apple Support

If that doesn't seem to help, you can reach out to Apple Support directly for further assistance. They're best-equipped to take a closer look at the issue and provide some additional guidance. This link will help you get started: Contact - Official Apple Support

Take care.

lormanian wrote:

I recently bought a used Mac running Catalina. Home server was to be part of its use.

Did you perform a clean install of macOS Catalina before you started to use this Mac? A clean install is when you first erase the whole physical drive (Intel Macs only) before installing macOS. Even if the previous owner did this, I highly recommend the new owner doing it again just to be 100% certain the system is clean.

If you did not perform a clean install, then you may be dealing with something the previous owner did to the OS. It is not worth trying to figure what the previous owner may have done to the OS, so I would recommend performing the clean install now if you did not do so previously. Just make sure to backup any of your personal files which are currently on this Mac so you don't lose them.

My file system is ExFAT

Is this your macOS boot drive or an external drive?

If your boot drive is exFAT, then that is your problem since macOS 10.15 Catalina needs an APFS volume to run properly. Backup your personal files which are on this system and perform a clean install of Catalina by erasing the whole physical drive (Intel Macs only) as GUID partition and APFS (top option). Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility.

If the exFAT volume is an external drive, then knowing you are trying to share an external drive is a very important detail for people to know about.