Comment 2 for bug 1694000

Thank you for filing this bug in Ubuntu.

You have a syntax error in your /etc/samba/smb.conf file, looks like a copy & paste from some tutorial (the "arrows" there are not mine):
"""
[tom] -> The name of the shared directory
path = /media/tom/ -> The path of the shared directory
read only = No -> Ensures that it's not read only
browsable = yes -> Ensures that the subfolder of the directory are browsable
writeable = yes -> Ensures that user can write to it from networked device
valid users = swapnil -> The system user
"""

This is preventing the samba service from starting and caused your error report. Once you fix that file, the problem will be resolved.