opening mapped network drive in explorer

[Bryan]

OS is Windows XP SP2. There are drive letters mapped to a network share on a
Windows XP peer server. In this particular case drive F: is mapped to
\\servername\data. When I double click on drive F:, a dialog box opens with
the following message:

The title bar states "Open with"
The body of the dialog states "Choose the program you want to use to open
this file: "
followed on the next line by "File: F:\"
The program list contains the common windows programs, IE, notepad, paint,
media player, etc. I can browse and select explorer.exe; however, I the
"Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is not
available.

Note that I can still open files from drive F: using the file open dialog in
any program such as MS Word, and a network application that uses drive F:
functions without any problem. I can also use drive f: from the command
prompt. Mapping a different drive letter doesn't help. However, I can map
the same drive letter to a different share on the same (peer) server and it
opens without a problem. In this case the share is a subfolder of the "data"
share I mentioned earlier.

I have run into this problem twice, most recently on a brand new Dell
system, with all critical MS updates installed. I have verified that there
are no conflicts with a phsical drive letter assignment, and have throughly
checked for viruses and other mal-ware. I have also verifed permission on
the peer server. I have not found any articles on this topic in the MS KB.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bryan

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was 1/2/2008 9:58 AM, and on a whim, Bryan pounded out

OS is Windows XP SP2. There are drive letters mapped to a network share on a
Windows XP peer server. In this particular case drive F: is mapped to
\\servername\data. When I double click on drive F:, a dialog box opens with
the following message:

The title bar states "Open with"
The body of the dialog states "Choose the program you want to use to open
this file: "
followed on the next line by "File: F:\"
The program list contains the common windows programs, IE, notepad, paint,
media player, etc. I can browse and select explorer.exe; however, I the
"Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is not
available.

Note that I can still open files from drive F: using the file open dialog in
any program such as MS Word, and a network application that uses drive F:
functions without any problem. I can also use drive f: from the command
prompt. Mapping a different drive letter doesn't help. However, I can map
the same drive letter to a different share on the same (peer) server and it
opens without a problem. In this case the share is a subfolder of the "data"
share I mentioned earlier.

I have run into this problem twice, most recently on a brand new Dell
system, with all critical MS updates installed. I have verified that there
are no conflicts with a phsical drive letter assignment, and have throughly
checked for viruses and other mal-ware. I have also verifed permission on
the peer server. I have not found any articles on this topic in the MS KB.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Bryan

Hi Bryan,

Is there by chance a file in the folder with an INF extension? If so,
rename the files extension to .old and then try again. You may need to
check that you can view hidden files in Explorer.

If there isn't an INF file in the folder, try creating a blank one. To
make a blank autorun.inf, open notepad and Save As “autorun.inf” (using
the quotes) into the folder that you're having trouble with. This may
resolve the issue for you also.

You could also try searching the registry for "MountPoints2", exporting
the key first to your Desktop (as a backup, click on the key and click
File, Export), and then removing it. It should be located here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current
Version/Explorer/MountPoints2

Report back,

--
Terry R.

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[Bryan]

Terry:

That was the source of the problem. At some point either one of my
associates or the user had copied the HP CLJ 2550 driver CD to the parent
level of the share. I moved the files, re-mapped the drive letter and it
corrected the problem. I didn't need to create a new autorun.inf though.

Thanks for you help,
Bryan