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Network drive unavailable

By Eclipse860 ·
I need to maintain a mapped network drive between two machines on a local network. These 2 machines are part of an AD domain but I do not want to use domain account for the mapped network drive. I can explain but I MUST user local user accounts. Here is the command I issue from computer 2 (comp2):

NET USE H: \\COMP1\c$ /user:comp1\administrator /persistent:yes

It prompts for the admin password for computer 1. I enter the password and all is well. This drive mapping will work forever UNTIL I reboot. Once the reboot happens, the network drive is UNAVAILABLE. I cannot access the drive. Issueing a NET USE command shows the drive as unavailable. The only thing I can do is re-map the drive. Interestingly I do not have to delete the drive mapping before remapping it. It is very important I get this fixed since this is a scenario I need to meet for over 1300 computers in 650 remote locations.

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by Eclipse860 In reply to

Thanks but they are talking standard stuff there. Not much to help.

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by ReWrite In reply to Network drive unavailable

I'm not sure that that would always work. To get to comp1 from comp2 you must be logged in to the network (or workgroup) for the mapping to be completed. If the mapping is attempting to take place prior to the network connection then it will fail but if it takes place after the connection is completed then it will succeed (as you have demonstrated).

By default, xp does not wait for the network logon process to complete during startup but instead uses cached credentials and applies network policies etc after the network becomes available. This allows for faster logon processing.

There is a local policy you can set to force the machine to always wait for the network at startup. Go to

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Logon: Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon

and set to true. Try this on a couple of machines to see if it resolves the mapping issue. If so, set it on all of the machines.

Cheers.

RW

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by Eclipse860 In reply to

Tried this setting and it does not appear to make a difference. Note that the drive mapping is showing as UNAVAILABLE, not Disconnected. I think your fix would help if it was Disconnected. In either case, the LAN the 2 computers share is always available. The Comp1 is also always available.

Note: I need it to map locally using local account becuase there are times the Domain will be unavailable (No WAN connectivity). I was previously using a domain account to map these drives and it works great until the WAN is down. As soon as they reboot, it cannot verify security for the H: drive even though it IS logging on using cached credentials.

Keep em coming, I need this fixed!

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by ReWrite In reply to Network drive unavailable

I don't know why the persistent maps do not work but there seem to be others who have the same issue as you are having.

The drives do not have to be persistent to make them available each time the user logs in. You can create a batch file with the mapping command(s) you need and place it in the all users startup group to reun each time any user reboots the system.

One other thing to consider. You didn't say if the issue involved the same user each time. Drive mappings are user specific and so if the machine was rebooted and a differnt user logged on the mappings from the previous user would not apply.

Cheers.

RW

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by Eclipse860 In reply to

Thanks. Yes, same user after the reboot. I am considering using BAT files to remap the drive. I hate to do that though. I am on the phone with Microsoft Professional Support. I will let everyone know what they say.

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by ReWrite In reply to Network drive unavailable

OK, now you're starting to hurt my brain. How about this: add the /savecred to your net use command. It seems to me that I heard/read somewhere along the line that if you map a drive from the command prompt windows will not save the credentials info unless you add the /savecred switch. If you map the drive through the gui and use alternate credentials windows automatically creates a key and saves the credentials.

I looked around for this info and could find anything definite on it yet but I'll keep looking and post it back here if I find it.

Cheers.

RW

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by Eclipse860 In reply to

Ok, got my answer from MS. When you map a drive on computers that are part of a domain, the password for that mapped drive gets stored in your profile on the Domain Controller. If you lose connectivity to the DC and start using Cached Credentials, it cannot verify this password (as it does not get stored in your cached credentials) and therefor causes the problem I have presented. This stands true even if I am mapping to the other computer using the local administrator account. So, my work around which I wanted to avoid is to have the drive remapped when the computer starts up. Other alternatives would be,,, dont lose network connectivity, run these computers as part of a workgroup and not domain (of corse cant use GPO's then!).

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by Eclipse860 In reply to Network drive unavailable

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