I have a client that has a Macbook that I have installed Windows XP on a second partition.
My problem is that it uses wireless networking & doesn't completely connect to a mapped drive when it starts up. I have tried using Windows drive mapping with reconnect on startup, & put a batch file in the startup folder that deletes & remaps the drive when Windows starts. But, with either, when I start their main application, it is unable to find the database in the folder on their main computer (also Windows XP). If I connect the laptop to a wired connection, the program finds the database on their main PC, & runs fine. So it is definitely something to do with the wireless.
When using the wireless after starting up, I can find the mapped drive & open it. THEN the programs runs fine. But when using the wireless connection, I can't get the program to run unless I access the mapped drive (which is mapped to the folder that contains the database. This program doesn't use SQL server either.
It appears that the wireless connection doesn't have enough time on bootup to fully access the networked drive. So the program isn't able to see the folder on the other PC that contains the database. With the wired connection, it evidently has enough time to fully access the networked drive.
Is there anyway to give the wireless connection more time to find & fully access the networked drive? It looks like the wireless connection maps the drive but doesn't open or look inside at the contents so that the program knows where the database files are.
Any suggestions??
Here's the batch file I'm using:
TYPE NUL | CHOICE.COM /N /CY /TY,15 >NUL
Net use g: /delete
Net use g: \\192.168.1.102\c\softdent
I'm using the "Type NUL..." to let Windows bootup a little farther before mapping the drive.
Thanks!!
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Thanks guys!! Good information. I will definitely try these next week when I get back to their office.
SysExpert, This is a good idea but one of the problems was that it didn't fully connect until I actually opened the drive to show all of the files. But I will certainly give this a try. Maybe looking for the file will act the same as opening the drive. I think that was what you were thinking when suggesting this. It could work.
Johnjces, thanks for the link. Alot of good info there. I'm using the "choice" function now. I tried 5 seconds & then 15 seconds without any solutions. But the link you suggested looks like it has many more ways to delay the mapping. Also pinging their main PC may help in getting access to the folder with the database.
Thanks again!
Yea, Johnjces, that's right. But it does eventually connect. I just have to delay accessing it until it does connect, whenever that is. But what else is clear is that the mapped drive needs to be accessed, AND, I think, opened before their program can run.
I've been thinking about creating a batch file that will open the mapped drive & start their app. But I'm sure how to open a folder in a batch file. Also I would like to close it after opening it.
I did a search on EE about drive mappings thru batch files. I found a few hundred. There were many that ask the same question about how to access the mapped drive after mapping to complete it. I seem to be able to map the drive OK, but the program can't access the files on it until I double click on the drive & it opens. That was exactly what many of these questions were referencing also, but no one ever answered that part of the question. Most of them answered the question with the "net use" in the batch file, but after that no one hit on how to complete the connection.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to force a completed drive mapping in a batch file???
Thanks!
(duplicated from answer given in MSDOS area)
Yes you can join together commands on one line with & (many other ways too but this is good plan for this one..) Various info on batch file commands in help texts you can see with for /? set /? etc.
The quotes on START are because the first parameter in quotes on a start command is the title of the window.... that is easy to get caught by, for instance:
START "c:\long path\my file.txt"
starts a new explorer window with the above as the title, not the text file in Notepad.
START someshortname.exe
does work though but out of making myself not forget the gotcha I always add a title!
I only used G: to show starting an explorer window to that drive as it seemed you needed this to have it pickup the drive, just remove the line if you don't need it or add your c:\softdent\sdwin.exe instead.
Steve
Business Accounts
Answer for Membership
by: JohnjcesPosted on 2008-11-25 at 18:26:55ID: 23039112
You are correct in that the wireless hasn't fully connected as most don't start connecting until after the user has logged on.
The only way I know is to add a delay in your batch file or find an executable program that will delay a command, other exe or batch file.
However there may be some hope by delaying your batch file. The following is taken off of http://www.robvanderwoude.
It may do the trick as long as your delay is long enough. There are several ways to do this. The easiest is to use a ping to a non-existent ip address.
Anyway I hope this may help you.
John
* Use CHOICE (MS-DOS 6 and later, Windows NT/2000 with Resource Kit):
REM | CHOICE /C:YN /N /T:Y,10 >NUL
will delay execution for 10 seconds in MS-DOS.
TYPE NUL | CHOICE /C:YN /N /T:Y,10 >NUL
will do the same in Windows NT/2000 with CHOICE.EXE from the Resource Kit.
* Use PING (MS-DOS with TCP/IP client, Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP):
PING 1.1.1.1 -n 10 -w 1000 >NUL
will delay execution for 10 seconds (10 times 1000 milliseconds), if and only if 1.1.1.1 is a non-existing IP address.
* Use SLEEP or TIMEOUT (Windows NT/2000 with Resource Kit):
SLEEP 10
will delay execution for 10 seconds.
TIMEOUT 10
will wait for 10 seconds or continue when a key is pressed, whatever comes first.
* Use KiXtart's SLEEP command (KiXtart must be installed):
>%TEMP%.\SLEEP.KIX ECHO SLEEP 10
KIX32 %TEMP%.\SLEEP.KIX
DEL %TEMP%.\SLEEP.KIX
will delay execution for 10 seconds.