Vista drive mapping to 2008 Server

R

rogerdunn56

Hi - Strange issues with 2 PCs running Vista Business SP1 and a 2008 Standard
Server in a 2003 Domain. XP Pro users have no issues. On one PC I am able to
map a drive which then is available for several minutes. Then randomly it
will display the red cross and if accessed says "local device name in use".
It then may or may not allow access on second attempt or display "network
path not found". When drive is disconnected it will still appear in My
Computer and I have to reboot to clear it.
The other PC when mapping a drive using \\servername\share will display
"network path does not exist", second attempt to map drive will say "Windows
cannot access server\sharename" quoting error 0x80070035. When I close and
re-open My Computer and map drive it is successful. However drive is only
available for several minutes and will then disconnect.
 
K

Kerry Brown

rogerdunn56 said:
Hi - Strange issues with 2 PCs running Vista Business SP1 and a 2008
Standard
Server in a 2003 Domain. XP Pro users have no issues. On one PC I am able
to
map a drive which then is available for several minutes. Then randomly it
will display the red cross and if accessed says "local device name in
use".
It then may or may not allow access on second attempt or display "network
path not found". When drive is disconnected it will still appear in My
Computer and I have to reboot to clear it.
The other PC when mapping a drive using \\servername\share will display
"network path does not exist", second attempt to map drive will say
"Windows
cannot access server\sharename" quoting error 0x80070035. When I close and
re-open My Computer and map drive it is successful. However drive is only
available for several minutes and will then disconnect.
Click to expand...

It sounds like a name resolution problem. Are the clients using an active
directory DNS server and no other DNS servers? Please post the results of
ipconfig /all from one of the clients that doesn't work and from a domain
controller that is also a DNS server.
 
R

rogerdunn56

Hi Kerry
They are using an AD DNS server - my XP users have no problem getting the
drive mappings but sometimes do get disconnected (random) but they can
reconnect. I know that there is an "Autodisconnect" mechanism but they are
getting disconnected whilst using the drives!
Here is the ipconfig /all extract from one of the PCs:
Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MML0001999
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : mml.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : mml.local

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : mml.local
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-19-BB-E1-01-16
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8cbe:fbdc:623d:dc52%9(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.17(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 13 October 2008 08:45:27
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 21 October 2008 08:45:30
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.248
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.122
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.122
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.122
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

and from one of the servers:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MMLDC-OBH
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : mml.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : mml.local

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : HP NC320i PCIe Gigabit Server Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1B-78-9E-A9-21
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.122
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.248
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.10.122
 
B

+Bob+

Hi - Strange issues with 2 PCs running Vista Business SP1 and a 2008 Standard
Server in a 2003 Domain. XP Pro users have no issues. On one PC I am able to
map a drive which then is available for several minutes. Then randomly it
will display the red cross and if accessed says "local device name in use".
It then may or may not allow access on second attempt or display "network
path not found". When drive is disconnected it will still appear in My
Computer and I have to reboot to clear it.
Click to expand...

I've seen this pop-up / red-x issue reported in both win2K and XP as a
fluke - but the drive usually continues to work even with the warnings
and red X IMHE. It sounds like you are actually disconnected.
The other PC when mapping a drive using \\servername\share will display
"network path does not exist", second attempt to map drive will say "Windows
cannot access server\sharename" quoting error 0x80070035. When I close and
re-open My Computer and map drive it is successful. However drive is only
available for several minutes and will then disconnect.
Click to expand...

You didn't mention if you are hard-wired or wireless. If it's
wireless, it could be power management issues. If so, let me know and
I will post a couple tips.

Since both the XP and Vista systems have problems, I would be more
inclined to think you have a problem related to the server or network
hardware. If the server connection is coming and going, you are going
to see just what you are seeing in XP and Vista. Vista tends to be
less forgiving for such problems.
 
B

+Bob+

It sounds like a name resolution problem. Are the clients using an active
directory DNS server and no other DNS servers? Please post the results of
ipconfig /all from one of the clients that doesn't work and from a domain
controller that is also a DNS server.
Click to expand...

If it's a DNS related problem, mapping to the IP address directly is a
good way to test.
 
K

Kerry Brown

That looks fine. I think I tend to agree with +Bob+ that it might be an
underlying hardware problem somewhere. I'll wait until you answer his last
questions about wireless, mapping by IP, etc. I've seen the red X with
wireless but it usually goes away when you actually try to access the mapped
drive.

I'll add a question to Bob's. Are there any errors in the event logs of the
clients or the server?

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/
 
R

rogerdunn56

Both machines are connected by wires - and both are brand new one is a
Samsung laptop the other a HP server both built and configured with the
latest patches etc - the server was built using SmartStart so will have all
correct drivers.
Have tried mapping by IP (using a Domain Admin account) and by mapping to
the Admin share on the C Drive of the server still no joy just says "the
specified network name is no longer available"
 
R

rogerdunn56

The XP users have no problem mapping to the server and the Vista machines can
map to any other 2003 server on the network - just not the 2008 server!
If this keeps up I'll be reverting back to 2003 at the weekend as I cannot
afford to spend much more time trying to resolve this.
Could it be an issue with the fact that its a 2003 (not R2) Domain??
 
K

Kerry Brown

R

rogerdunn56

No errors on the client or DC but a few 2012 network errors on the 2008
server although they appear to be random. If I restart the Routing and Remote
access service on the Vista PC then it maps a drive straight away. However
within 5 minutes if I try to access that drive it comes up with the error
"Local device name is in use". I then disconnect the drive but My computer
will not release it - it continues to display but I cannot connect or delete
it from the displayed list of drives until I reboot.
 
R

rogerdunn56

Think I may have resolved the problem - IPv6. Turned it off and it now
appears to be working although it still doesn't connect on the first instance
but will when accessed for the second time.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Are any drives mapped via a logon script? Do the mapped drive letters
conflict with a local drive? Many new computers have multiple drive letters
assigned to USB card readers. If a logon script tries to map network drives
to these drive letters you will have weird problems like this. At an
elevated command prompt type: NET USE * /DELETE then try remapping the
drives. Do you loose the connection after doing this?

Can you please supply the details of the 2012 errors?

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/
 
R

rogerdunn56

No logon script used in this instance and it maps drives not used by any
other device. If I map a drive at the command prompt using NET USE the drive
is mapped and it appears in My Computer and I can access files however after
a few minutes it reports that the drive is already in use and it displays the
red cross. Running the NET USE command then reports error 53. I can ping the
server by name and NET VIEW shows all network resources.
The 2012 errors on the 2008 server appear at random times - 4 yesterday at
17:15 hours and 2 again this morning at 08:20 - no entries when I attempt to
connect or map drives.
 
K

Kerry Brown

I'll ask this once more then I'm done.

Can you please post the details of the errors. This means the source, the
text, etc.

Did you try this specific command?

NET USE * /DELETE

Do this immediately after booting up the computer, before mapping any
drives. After doing this map a drive by any method then see if it loses the
connection.

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/
 
R

rogerdunn56

Log Name: System
Source: srv
Date: 17/10/2008 14:33:23
Event ID: 2012
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: MMLfiles.mml.local
Description:
While transmitting or receiving data, the server encountered a network
error. Occassional errors are expected, but large amounts of these indicate a
possible error in your network configuration. The error status code is
contained within the returned data (formatted as Words) and may point you
towards the problem.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="srv" />
<EventID Qualifiers="32768">2012</EventID>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2008-10-17T13:33:23.645Z" />
<EventRecordID>14295</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>MMLfiles.mml.local</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>\Device\LanmanServer</Data>

<Binary>0000040001002C0000000000DC07008000000000840100C00000000000000000000000000000000086050000</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>

Did that with the NET USE * /DELETE command.
Mapping via NET USE I get System error 53 has occurred
Mapping via My Computer (specifying path name) i get Windows cannot access
\\Server_Name Error code 0x80070035 The network path was not found
Mapping via My Computer and the browse facility returns all servers and
computers on the network and all shares except the 2008 server (returns error
code 0x80070035)
XP workstations have no issues, DNS is working correctly, No Wins server on
network all other network objects functioning correctly (print queues etc)
No entries in event logs on workstation or server when attempting to connect
 
K

Kerry Brown

Try some of the procedures here on the server

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951037

and similar on the Vista clients.

http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/001035.html

It sounds like something in the network infrastructure may not be working
with some of these features. I would try disabling chimney offload first.
Try each setting both on the server alone, a client alone, then both. This
may help pin down where the problem lies. If it's the chimney offload
setting that's often a driver that doesn't fully support it. The Broadcom
NICs listed in the ipconfig you posted are known to have this problem.

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/
 
R

rogerdunn56

The chimney offload was disabled on both client and server and I have reset
autotuning level to normal.
Now I can map a drive using the command Prompt and access it via that method
but it does not show up in My Computer or Explorer! I'm not going to waste
any more of mine or your time on this - 2008 is not stable - our XP
workstations still get random disconnects which is causing our scanning
department major issues. I will be reverting to 2003 server at the weekend
and replacing all client with XP as opposed to Vista.
 
K

Kerry Brown

Vista and Server 2008 networking is different but I haven't found it to be
unstable. It is not very tolerant of some older hardware. This could be a
switch, router, NIC, NAS, etc. I think this is the cause of the problem. The
fact that changing the settings affects the problem indicates this. These
problems can indeed be very difficult to troubleshoot but when you take the
time to do so you usually see an improvement from the older OS's as well as
the newer.

I agree that sometimes you have to regress to a known good state just to
keep the network functioning. At the same time I'd keep troubleshooting when
you have the time. You could always take an image of the affected server and
move it to a vm. When the opportunity arises start it up and try again.
 

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