samba - Dec 2007 - Can not open secrets.tdb. Win XP can't access Mac OSX 10.5.1.

I am a Mac user and am only using Samba to the extent that it is  
installed with Mac OS X.  I am simply trying to share files between a  
Windows PC and my Mac laptop.  I'm hoping that the error message below  
concerning the secrets.tdb file may be meaningful to someone on this  
list.  I haven't had any luck yet with a similar post on Apple's forum.

Before I upgraded to Leopard, I was able to share files in both  
directions between my Powerbook and a Win XP PC. I was still using  
Panther (10.3.x). Since the upgrade (now on 10.5.1), I am able to see  
shared folders on the Windows machine from my Mac. But I can't see  
shared folders on the Mac from the Windows PC. I have the file sharing  
options set, with SMB turned on and user accounts specified.

I am getting the following lines every 10 seconds on the Console:

11/29/07 3:40:26 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.samba.smbd2538) Exited  
with exit code: 1
11/29/07 3:40:26 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.samba.smbd) Throttling  
respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
11/29/07 3:40:26 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (org.samba.smbd) Throttling  
respawn: Will start in 10 seconds


And this is what log.smbd is showing every 10 seconds, with different  
pid's:

2007/11/30 16:52:04, 0, pid=5835 /SourceCache/samba/samba-187/samba/ 
source/passdb/secrets.c:secrets_init(67)
Failed to open /private/var/db/samba/secrets.tdb
2007/11/30 16:52:04, 0, pid=5835 /SourceCache/samba/samba-187/samba/ 
source/smbd/server.c:main(986)
ERROR: smbd can not open secrets.tdb


Any help is appreciated!