Norm Dickinson
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Cannot connect to shared folder but can ping server
I have a Windows server 2008 with several Windows 7 desktops. All connect fine to the shared file on the server except one. It is connected physically and can ping the server, the router, etc. and can see all other computers / router / switches / printers except the server. It also does not have Internet access but all of the other workstations do. It has received a DHCP IP address as the others do and shows up in the router client list. All machines are on "Workgroup" and use the same first three sets of IP as 192.168.0.xxx. There is a user account on the server with the same name and password that the client PC is using and the shared folder lists that user account. We have tried restarting, IPConfig /renew and /release and /flushdns and registerdns. We are seeking some answers to this issue...thanks!
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Not Net use, use the nbtstat commands and the net VIEW command and let me know the results of those.
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Again we can ping the server so the physical connection seems fine. It is a protocol issue.
ASKER
Norm, I do not know if our issues are the same, try this to see:
nbtstat -A serverIP - if it fails, check ports 135/139/445 (TCP) and 137/139 (UDP) open in your firewall
nbtstat -a servername - if fail, check DNS/WINS is ok
net view \\servername
On mine (same issue) the first two work (note they are case sensitive) and the last does not. Changing the IP makes the drive mapping work afterwards, but in my case it fails again after 2 to 3 days.
Let me know your results.
Results - not found. And the same results after we opened the ports.
nbtstat -A serverIP - if it fails, check ports 135/139/445 (TCP) and 137/139 (UDP) open in your firewall
nbtstat -a servername - if fail, check DNS/WINS is ok
net view \\servername
On mine (same issue) the first two work (note they are case sensitive) and the last does not. Changing the IP makes the drive mapping work afterwards, but in my case it fails again after 2 to 3 days.
Let me know your results.
Results - not found. And the same results after we opened the ports.
Norm, each of these commands outputted something that I would need to see if I am going to assist, not just not found. Please run them again and paste the results back here.
ASKER
Sorry, I was working from two locations and the one in question did not have any Internet connection, thus it was not a simple matter to paste the results of the screen output. We will give it another look in a day or two and I'll post additional information and/or close the ticket out at that time. I have at this point tried everything suggested above without resolving the issue. Thanks for your help everyone!
No problem, Actually though, the items in question we to diagnose the issue, not to resolve it. Once we know the error codes thrown by those commands, we have a direction to start troubleshooting.
ASKER
Understood - but with the end user at the machine, talking to me on a cell phone, it was not the best scenario for that. We will be trying again soon.
ASKER
Hi folks, sorry for the delay on this question, it has been two weeks and I have made progress - unfortunately, none of the results on this page were helpful in resolving the issue. Rather than close the ticket, I will expand the scope a bit to give you another chance to earn the points you have already worked for.
We now have a mapped drive connection, but only by using Hamachi VPN. If I shut off Hamachi, the connection evaporates. If I try to connect to the server from the workstation using \\servername\sharename, I can do so with Hamachi on but not without it on. Both the server and the workstation are on the same physical network. They have the same IP range for the first three sets. (i.e. 192.168.0.xxx). They can ping each other fine. But they won't connect without Hamachi connected. Now, I'm ok leaving Hamachi connected if need be, but only if I can get past the next stage.
To add to the fun, even with Hamachi connected and everything running just fine, about every 20 minutes the database-based software package that is running across the network simply kicks us out. I usually still have a network connection, Internet connection and a connected status for Hamachi, but for a moment the shared folder is inaccessible. Once we wait a minute or so, the connection is again visible and the software will launch fine and run for about another 20 minutes. I've even streamed a 45 minute Youtube video that kept running thru two episodes of being kicked off. The worst part is I even disconnected the network cable once for a moment, and that did not crash the software. Any thoughts?
We now have a mapped drive connection, but only by using Hamachi VPN. If I shut off Hamachi, the connection evaporates. If I try to connect to the server from the workstation using \\servername\sharename, I can do so with Hamachi on but not without it on. Both the server and the workstation are on the same physical network. They have the same IP range for the first three sets. (i.e. 192.168.0.xxx). They can ping each other fine. But they won't connect without Hamachi connected. Now, I'm ok leaving Hamachi connected if need be, but only if I can get past the next stage.
To add to the fun, even with Hamachi connected and everything running just fine, about every 20 minutes the database-based software package that is running across the network simply kicks us out. I usually still have a network connection, Internet connection and a connected status for Hamachi, but for a moment the shared folder is inaccessible. Once we wait a minute or so, the connection is again visible and the software will launch fine and run for about another 20 minutes. I've even streamed a 45 minute Youtube video that kept running thru two episodes of being kicked off. The worst part is I even disconnected the network cable once for a moment, and that did not crash the software. Any thoughts?
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Thanks to all of the experts who chimed in on this one. The issue has now morphed into a different scenario, so i'll post another question to address it as it stands, and to put closure to this thread. None of the answers were fully able to solve the problem, but all of them, combined with multiple other resources and my own bag of tricks, were able to get me past the stage I was at in what appears to be a rather complicated situation.
ASKER