Invisible Software

Workaround for a Problem with Windows 95 Persistent Drive Mappings

 

Two customers have reported the following problem with persistent drive mappings under Windows 95.

Problem Description

In both cases, the machine exhibiting the problem has a persistent drive mapping. (Persistent drive mappings are mappings that are reconnected automatically when you start Windows 95. You create them by clicking the "Reconnect at logon" checkbox in the Map Network Drive dialog box.)

Windows 95 starts normally, and no error messages are displayed. But the usual "Reconnecting Network Drives" dialog box does not appear.

After Windows 95 is started, opening My Computer shows the network drive with large red X, indicating that the drive is not connected. Also, most programs cannot access the network drive. But if you go into Windows Explorer, you can view the contents of the network drive. After viewing the contents of the network drive in Explorer, the red X goes away, and the drive is accessible -- until the next time Windows 95 is started, when the red X reappears.

Analysis

We have not been able to reproduce this problem, and we do not know what causes it. The problem seems to be rare. Only two customers have reported it, and in both cases the customer has seen the problem on only one machine -- all the other machines in the network with persistent drive mappings work properly.

Our suspicion is that there is some entry in the Windows 95 registry that is preventing Windows 95 from reconnecting the network drives. (In Windows 95, reconnection of persistent mappings is a function performed by the Windows 95 Shell; it is not done by the network software.)

Workaround

We recommend the following workaround for anyone experiencing this problem. The idea is to use the MAP command to establish drive mappings, instead of relying on the Windows 95 persistent drive mapping mechanism. You write a batch file containing one or more MAP commands, and then you place the batch file into your StartUp group so it executes automatically when you start Windows 95.

  1. Disconnect all the persistent drive mappings. (To disconnect a drive mapping, right-click Network Neighborhood, then select Disconnect Network Drive.)
     
  2. Make a batch file containing one or more MAP commands, each establishing one of the desired drive mappings.

    For example, suppose you want to map drive letter F: to \\SERVER1\C:, and you want to map drive letter H: to \\SERVER2\D:. Then you would create a batch file as follows:

        MAP F: \\SERVER1\C:
        MAP H: \\SERVER2\D:

    Note that a batch file must be a plain text file, and its filename must end in the extension ".BAT".
     
  3. Right-click the Start button, then double-click Programs, then double-click StartUp.
     
  4. From the File menu, choose New, then choose Shortcut.
     
  5. The Create Shortcut wizard appears. On the first page, enter the name of your batch file, including the complete path (for example, C:\STUFF\DOMAP.BAT). Then click Next.
     
  6. On the next two pages of the Create Shortcut wizard, you can select a name and icon for your batch file. It doesn't matter what you select.
     
  7. After exiting from the Create Shortcut wizard, right-click on the new shortcut you just created, and choose Properties.
     
  8. Click the Program tab at the top of the properties page. Then, make sure that the "Close on exit" box is checked. Finally, click OK to exit from the properties page.

When you start Windows 95, the batch file containing the MAP commands is executed automatically. This should establish the drive mappings you want, without using the persistent drive mapping feature of Windows 95.

If you ever want to change the persistent drive mappings, simply edit the batch file.

 

Notices: Copyright 1997 by Invisible Software, Inc. Invisible Software and InvisibleLAN are trademarks of Invisible Software, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

This document was prepared on 11/15/97, and was believed to be accurate as of that date. Procedures, specifications, and compatibility may change without notice, and therefore this document may be out-of-date and/or inapplicable to current product versions. Invisible Software provides this document "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind. Under no circumstances shall this document be construed as creating or expanding any warranty of product performance.

 

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