Solved Why does Win 8.1 keep dropping mapped network drives?

daviator

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I have a laptop running Windows 8.1 with Update 1. I have drives mapped to my Windows Home Server 2011 and to my Windows 7 desktop PC. But each time I reboot the laptop it drops the mapped drives and I have to try and map them all over again. I say "try" because most times I have to go back to my other PCs and unshare and then reshare the drives for them to be seen again in Windows 8. Then I can map them again but only until the next reboot.

Same goes for the Windows Home Server 2011 Connector software. Windows 8.1 drops the connection after a reboot and the Connector software must be reinstalled EACH TIME to connect with my server.

I have the SAME user name and password on ALL machines. I have tried mapping the drives with just the username and password as well as with the remote PC name\username combo but that doesn't work either. Finally I have set my shared drives/folders to have read/write access to ALL users. Again, no luck unless I unshare and reshare.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 update 1
No one knows why 8.x.x does it. There is nothing out of Redmond what is going on. As to why network mapped drives do not reconnect. Doubtful that MS will ever fix it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
I have a laptop running Windows 8.1 with Update 1. I have drives mapped to my Windows Home Server 2011 and to my Windows 7 desktop PC. But each time I reboot the laptop it drops the mapped drives and I have to try and map them all over again. I say "try" because most times I have to go back to my other PCs and unshare and then reshare the drives for them to be seen again in Windows 8. Then I can map them again but only until the next reboot.

Same goes for the Windows Home Server 2011 Connector software. Windows 8.1 drops the connection after a reboot and the Connector software must be reinstalled EACH TIME to connect with my server.

I have the SAME user name and password on ALL machines. I have tried mapping the drives with just the username and password as well as with the remote PC name\username combo but that doesn't work either. Finally I have set my shared drives/folders to have read/write access to ALL users. Again, no luck unless I unshare and reshare.

There is a group policy setting that may help.

Start > Run > type "gpedit.msc" (without quotes) click ok.

Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon > Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon

set this to Enable then reboot.


Or you could try adding the credentials from the server.

1. Go to Control Panel -> All control Panel Items -> Credentials Manager

2. Next to the heading "Windows Credentials" click on the link "Add a Windows credential".

3. Enter the name of your server and the appropriate credentials, reboot and check for mapping.

You might also want to set up a DHCP reservation for the local IP's or use static IP's so they don't change.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
There is a group policy setting that may help.

Start > Run > type "gpedit.msc" (without quotes) click ok.

Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon > Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon

set this to Enable then reboot.


Or you could try adding the credentials from the server.

1. Go to Control Panel -> All control Panel Items -> Credentials Manager

2. Next to the heading "Windows Credentials" click on the link "Add a Windows credential".

3. Enter the name of your server and the appropriate credentials, reboot and check for mapping.

You might also want to set up a DHCP reservation for the local IP's or use static IP's so they don't change.

Thanks but the gpedit.msc is only available on the Pro edition of Windows 8.x. It's not on my machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 update 1
I had no way of knowing this beforehand but you might try adding the credentials.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
Thanks chev65, the Credential Manager did the trick.

Glad to hear it daviator. Thanks for reporting back in. These types of threads go on to help many other people with similar problems.

This network drive problem has been around a long time but the fixes seem to be different depending on the OP system or other variables.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
Does this only work when the mapped drive is on an actual server, ie a computer running a server operating system?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Does this only work when the mapped drive is on an actual server, ie a computer running a server operating system?

No server required here. This should work for any Workgroup or Homegroup network.

These are the two best possible solutions I can find for this problem.

The part in bold is important as well because if the IP's for a particular user change it may create another credential issue. This because the users name or the IP can be used to create the credential.

I believe Msoft should add a credentials option as part of the process for mapping network drives because this problem has been around for a long time and it really makes people furious.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
When setting up the credential for accessing another computer in a workgroup, when it asks for "Internet or Network Address" would it be looking for the computer name, or the UNC path, IP address, or something else?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
When setting up the credential for accessing another computer in a workgroup, when it asks for "Internet or Network Address" would it be looking for the computer name, or the UNC path, IP address, or something else?

Thanks

In the context of this thread which relates to drive mappings not connecting on start up, It should be looking for the username/password, which relates to the machine or server that has the drive attached. In some cases the IP of the target machine may work but the IP's can change unless they are reserved.

Workgroup folder access is typically set up using the NTFS permission settings but there are instances where adding the credentials of the target machine may help with certain access problems. Lately I've found quite a few different problems can be fixed by adding credentials.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
How can I tell if the credential is working? After adding the one I wanted, I tried creating a bogus credential and it seemed to accept that too. So now I am looking for a way to test to see if I created the first one correctly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
Along the same lines, same problem. In our office, people who got windows 8.1 can map to our Cloud Drive with no problem and it always works. The same people, on the same laptop before the Windows 8.1 update were able to map to shared folders on the Server 2008R2 system if they had permissions listed on the server to those shares. Now, they sometimes connect, other times not and often drop what connections they can make. But as mentioned, the Cloud connection mapped to a drive letter works without fail. Is there a specific reason for this and more important is there a way to fix it? Especially if the user is connecting via Internet. But the same problems occur even when they are local on the same network IP's as the server.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    toshiba
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