Accessing Windows 7 shares - numerous issues

I am unable to access the shared folder of a Windows 7 machine on the same network.

I click on the network icon in places, then I can see the Windows Network option, but when I click on it, I get the message:

Failed to retrieve share list from server

I've tried to install Samba (sudo apt-get install samba) and I've also installed SBMFS. I've set the workgroup in /etc/samba/smb.conf to WORKGROUP - the same as the other Windows computers on the network. As far as I'm aware, I should now be able to get access to the shared folders on the Windows 7 computers, but no luck; I can't even get past the 'Windows Network' icon.

When I check the list of processes in the system monitor, there's no sign of anything called Samba or SMB. When I go to start S via /etc/init.d/samba start, I get the message

command not found

As regards the network architecture, it's a simple home network running through a router, I don't know if it will make a difference, but the router is a D-Link DIR-615. Windows machines can share files without any problems.

Open the file browser and type this in the loation bar smb://ip-of-win7-machine/shared_dir. Make relevant changes to the above command and it should work if you've configured the shares properly.