ToaDz wrote:
Hi All,
We are currently experiencing some issues with Mapped network drives.
We have two servers:
- SERVER1
- SERVER2
The following shares have been configured
- \\SERVER1\general$ as G:
- \\SERVER1\projects$ as K:
- \\SERVER2\admin$ as S:
Every now and then, users are stating that whenever they try and access the G: drive via Windows Explorer, the 'flash light' icon moves around (as if it was searching) and eventually the screen finishes loading, however, it is completely blank - Ie. No folders or files are displayed.
All other network drives such as K: (same Server as G:) and S: are
accessible without any problems. It seems as if they have 'dropped off' the network somehow? The strange thing is, PING times to SERVER1 are fine and
all other network services, such as Internet connectivity and e-mail are OK.
The following troubleshooting has been done without much success:
1. Disconnecting and reconnecting the \\SERVER1\general$ drive as G: (On the spot, without rebooting or logging off) - This sometimes rectifies the
issue, in most cases this does not
2. Logging off and logging back on the PC (Re-running the login script to
map the drive) - This sometimes rectifies the issue, in most cases it does not
3. Rebooting the PC (Re-running the login script to map the drive) - In most cases this rectifies the issue
4. Refreshing the view (F5) in Windows Explorer - Does not resolve the issue
5. Closing Windows Explorer and accessing G: drive again - Does not resolve the issue
6. IPCONFIG /release and /renew - Does not resolve the issue
7. Network cable and data port tested OK
8. Share and access permissions are OK
All clients are running Windows XP Professional SP1 or SP2 in a Domain environment. All the file servers mentioned above are running Windows 2000 Server SP4
Does anyone there have any suggestions? It is driving us mad! Some days G: drive is accessible without any problems, but then all of a sudden this re-occurs... Strange indeed!!
Any help would be much appreciated.
Cheers!
Ah, the mysterious case of the disappearing G: drive - a classic Windows XP/2000 headache that many of us remember all too well! Looking back from 2025, this issue was a perfect example of the quirks in early SMB networking. Here's what was likely
happening and how we'd handle it differently today.
Back in 2005, this behavior usually stemmed from a few key issues. First, Windows XP and Server 2000 relied heavily on SMB1 (later known as CIFS), which had some unreliable session management. The client might think it was still connected to the share,
but the server could silently drop the session, leaving Explorer stuck in that "searching" state. The fact that rebooting often fixed it suggests kernel-level handle leaks - a common bug in early XP SP1/SP2 that Microsoft eventually patched.
Another quirk was how Windows handled credentials and offline files. If the G: drive had offline caching enabled (even accidentally), it could get stuck trying to reconcile local and server copies, resulting in that blank view. Meanwhile, the K: and S:
drives worked fine because they might have had different share configurations or weren't subject to the same caching glitches.
The temporary fixes you tried - reconnecting the drive, logging off/on, or rebooting - were the standard bandaids of the era. A more reliable (but still imperfect) workaround was using the command line:
net use G: /delete followed by net use G: \\SERVER1\general$ /persistent:yes
Fast-forward to 2025, and we've thankfully moved past most of these issues. Modern Windows versions deprecated SMB1 entirely (for security and reliability), and SMB3 includes much stronger session recovery. Group Policy can now enforce consistent
timeouts, and monitoring tools instantly flag stalled connections instead of leaving admins guessing.
It's funny to think how much time we spent troubleshooting these glitches - only for the real fix to eventually come from completely overhauling the protocol stack. If you're still maintaining any of those old XP systems today, I salute your dedication.
This is a response to the post seen at:
http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=159215#159215
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