Windows XP Disconnected Network Drive problem - Drives lose mapping

[Bret]

Hello,

Probably anyone who read the title already knows what the problem is.
But for those who dont, here is the rundown.

On our network, we run a logon script every time a user logs in to the
domain. This script should map all the network drives that an employee
will use for their shift. So every 8 hours, a user logs out and a new
user should log back on, which in theory should rerun the script and
remap all the drives.

The problem though is that after 3 or 4 days any user on that computer
will lose all of their mappings, and a logout/login will not fix it.
ONLY restarting the computer will bring back those lost maps. The
drives will appear in My Computer as "Disconnected Network Drive", and
cannot be deleted through right click>disconnect or net use * /del
command (both give a message that the drive is not in use). We have
several drives that this error appears on. One of them I can click on
and still view all contents, regardless of the status indicated. On a
couple others, I click on them and those will also take me to that
other network drive that says disconnected.

To clear things up, these are very high priority machines that run
24/7 and shouldnt be shut down for any reason (they do 911
dispatching). One user logs out and another should log right back in
to continue the job, so I want to avoid having to restart every few
days. You cant really trust users to do it on their own anyway.

I have tried this solution from microsoft with no luck:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932463
I am aware that one potential cause is Symantec AV, which is what we
are running. I MAY try uninstalling and seeing if it fixes it. These
users shouldnt have internet access anyway.
I have also tried some manual logon scripts that delete mappings with
net use and then redo them every time a user logs in. No luck there
either, and the domain logon script should do that for me anyway.

The BIG REASON that I need this resolved because the mission critical
software that we use does not recognize UNC paths, and therefore
needs a particular drive letter to send output to.

After the long-winded description I feel like I'm beating a dead
horse. I hope I hit all the details, and I know I'm not the only one
who has seen this. Any suggestions?

Thank you,
Bret

[spam...@tiscali.co.uk]

Have you tried using drives created with SUBST rather than mapped
drives?

[Angie]

Hi Bret,

Did you ever find a fix for this problem? We have recently had this issue
occur on only some of our workstations.

Any sort of workaround would be much appreciated.

Angie

[Muehe]

Angie, this same topic is also being duscussed in the following thread -- no
one has found a solution.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroups/reader.mspx?&lang=en&cr=US&guid=&sloc=en-us&dg=microsoft.public.windowsxp.general&p=1&tid=4b4f88ec-093e-4366-8c42-520b2cd2608a&mid=4b4f88ec-093e-4366-8c42-520b2cd2608a

[RothJSR]

Hello Bret,

I know your question is very old, 9/2007, but I thought I would answer
it for anyone else that is having this problem.
I have searched all over the Web for an answer to this question but was
unable to find any method to activate the "disconnected" share using
scripts or commands. I did however find a utility that does solve the
problem. Network Drive Manager costs $15 dollars which seems reasonable
compared to the amount of time I have spent trying to solve this
problem.

If you found another solution I would like to here about it.

Thanks
Jeff

--
RothJSR

[John John - MVP]

You might try setting the autodisconnect value to 0xffffffff .
Theorectically this should keep the drives connected for approximately
8,171 years...

The value can be found at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters

It's best to edit the registry value for this, (instead of using the Net
Config command).

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297684
Mapped Drive Connection to Network Share May Be Lost

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/138365
How Autodisconnect Works in Windows NT and Windows 2000

John

[tedgrant2]

Hi,
This worked for me...
First, you need have a "Shared Folder" on your hard drive. If you
haven't got one already, create a new folder on your hard drive called
"Shared", then right-click it and select properties. Click the Sharing
tab and tick the "Share this folder" box. Next, click "My Computer" and
in the Tools Menu, click "Map Network Drive". Notice the little
down-arrow next to the drive letter shown. Click the arrow to get a list
of letters. Select the one you want to delete, then browse for your
Shared folder and select it. By this means, you will assign the drive
letter to a real folder. Make sure the "reconnect at login" box is
un-ticked. Click the Finish button to get a warning. Answer YES and the
Shared folder will open. Close it. Next, right-click the drive in My
Computer and select disconnect. Ah, I hear you say, but it is still
there! Re-boot and have another look - enjoy!
Ted

--
tedgrant2