specified network name no longer available

Can you path to it by typing \\ipaddress ?

At the command line

net    use    h:   \\ipaddress\share


where ipaddress is the IP Address of the computer concerned and share is the name of the share on the computer and  h: is the drive you want to call it when it is connected.

If you have used a wireless card in the PC in the past, even though you might be connecting up through a lan cable, try making sure the wireless card is installed and working before you synchronize.

Also, you could:
Power off and on your modem, wait for it to fully initialize, then if you have any other devices between the modem and the PC's like a hub or router, cycle power on those as well, wait for them to initialize, then cycle power on the computers and then try resynchronizing.  Do all of the previous steps in the order I have given them.

If that didn't work you can try:
Replacing the lan cables between the laptop and the hub, and the server and the hub.

Check to make sure server hard drive has enough space to accomodate the files.

Check the server for a virus or trojan.  If the server has been compromised and is being used in a DOS attach it could be periodically sending out a ton of network packets causing the laptop to lose connection to it.  Or in reverse your server may be being attacked.  See if there is an abnormal amount of disk or network activity on the server before you start synchronizing.

>> I get "System error 85 has occurred - the local device name is already in use" when I use the drive letter I generally use at reconnect.

net   use   h:  /delete

where h: is the drive letter you generally use at reconnect.  Report back what that does.  If it disconnects then try your normal reconnect.

>> There are open files and/or incomplete directory searches pending on the connection to R:.


I suspect that the laptop is having problems connecting with the storage device.  It is looking like it has attempted a connection but hasn't finished it.  That would explain


>>I get "System error 85 has occurred - the local device name is already in use" when I use the drive letter I generally use at reconnect.


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>> The connection in question is wireless, and it reports to be connected, have excellent signal strength, and sending/receiving packets.

Is there an Internet connection you can test the laptop on?

Just reread this

net use R:\\192.168.0.4\DISK 1

If DISK 1 is the share name then try

net     use      "R:\\192.168.0.4\DISK 1"

Use the quotation marks when there is a space in the file name.

More corrections.  Use this

net      use       R:       " \\192.168.0.4\DISK 1"

R: is the drive we want to call this share not

R:\\192.168.0.4\DISK 1

>> This is where it will get even messier :)

Yeah.  I didn't think it was going to work.

I'm suspecting either a hardware failure or something's gone and reconfigured itself.  You could check your firewall and make sure that the ip address for the storage drive is still permitted but it probably is.

Try shutting your storage drive down and then restarting in case it is being temperamental.

There's a Microsoft hotfix but I'm not holding out hope.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810401

>The laptop in question, is not visible to the other computers and cannot use the network shared printers.  Before I disconnected it 10 days ago, everything was working.  I was away, used the laptop alone, did not change its IP address or connect to other networks...

Not sure if you are using your computer in a domain type situation, but you might want to go to control panel/system/computer and see if you are still logging in to the same workgroup or domain.

>> The laptop in question, is not visible to the other computers and cannot use the network shared printers.  Before I disconnected it 10 days ago, everything was working.  I was away, used the laptop alone, did not change its IP address or connect to other networks, came home, plugged it in as usual, and no network connection, but fully functional internet.

Not visible?

Try this and use to check that NetBios is enabled but I suspect that it is.

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Networking/Misc/Q_21260466.html

>> to dbrunton: what kind of hardware failure?

NIC failure or in this case wireless failure.  I've seen desktop NICs exhibit similar behaviour; Internet OK, but can't connect to other computers.  Replace the NIC and all is well.

It's a possibility but not a guarantee.

It's not visible in the local network which means that the local master browser hasn't picked it up.

Try pointing the other computers in your network - one of these should be the master browser - at the laptop with

net view \\laptopname

or

net view \\ipaddress

where \\laptopname is the name you get when type

net view

at the command prompt

and \\ipadress is the IP Address of your laptop.

Prior to XP, you could just uninstall and reinstall the TCP\IP stack to possible correct this type of behavior. In XP, it is considered a core item, but there is a way to reset it. Here is a link to the instructions: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357

We did have one on the domain recently that had a similar problem. They could get email and Internet, but could not path to any shares. We reloaded the laptop and everything was fine.

Sorry if this comes across as a dumb question...   Without rereading this entire thread again, are the network resources still shared with proper permissions and accessable from the functioning machines?