How to Fix ‘Failed to Retrieve Share List from Server’ in Ubuntu 12.04 / 11.10 when File Sharing with Windows

To get started, press Ctrl – Alt – T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the commands below to open samba configuration file.

Finally, scroll down a bit in the file and find :  WORKGROUP = Workgroup_Name.   Right below that, type the line shown below and save the file.

Restart your computer and try again. I hope it works for you.