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mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 20.11.2017, 19:44
by coyote
My mapped Network drive now only appears if I first open File Explorer.

This is a new issue after months when all was well.

FreeCommander XE 2017 Build 740 32-bit
Windows 8.1 Pro32bit

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 11.12.2017, 22:18
by coyote
Oh!
I see that FC can see the mapped Network drive immediately IF the mapped Network drive is connectible when I first start Windows 8.1

My Win 7 machine doesn't have this issue (nor did this PC until last month).

Image

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 20.02.2018, 17:35
by coyote
Bump please?

p.s. same behavior with FreeCommander XE 2018 Build 771 32-bit donor

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 20.02.2018, 19:54
by m-a-r-k
Are you running FreeCommander with Administrative privileges? Is it Elevated?
If so I have a probable fix.
Run RegEdit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/System and create a new DWORD entry with the name EnableLinkedConnections and value 1:
After you’ve added the EnableLinkedConnections value to the Registry, restart the computer, and after that the network drives you create should become available to the elevated applications, as well.
Worked for me in Windows 10.

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 10.06.2019, 09:36
by CrocNZ
"Are you running FreeCommander with Administrative privileges? Is it Elevated?
If so I have a probable fix.
Run RegEdit and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/System and create a new DWORD entry with the name EnableLinkedConnections and value 1:
After you’ve added the EnableLinkedConnections value to the Registry, restart the computer, and after that the network drives you create should become available to the elevated applications, as well.
Worked for me in Windows 10."

I'm sure I could do that if I had any idea what any of it meant. I got on very well with DOS, but less and less with each version of Windows until Windows 10 has become by a country mile the least reliable and slowest operating system I have ever had the misfortune to use. Sometimes it is even slower than the punchcards I used to laboriously type out on the old University IBM machine, which was installed in a room the size of a house...

In particular could you please explain Elevated and DWORD. I know how to get into RegEdit, I think. I'd like a very much more detailed version of the rest, please. I learned 45 years ago just how easy it was to bring a whole operating system to a halt with just one misplaced keystroke!
And why would the passage of time have anything to do with FreeCommander being unable to see the other computer on the network? It always used to work fine. Now even the horrible File Explorer can't see it most of the time.

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 15.06.2019, 10:59
by CrocNZ
I've tried to post an update to this several times now, over several days, and failed totally. Even failed to save the update as a draft - so here goes again…

I’ve found a workaround. By chance a couple of days ago, Windows Explorer could find the network computer, although FreeCommander could not. I was able to copy the address, the path, from Windows Explorer and paste it into the FreeCommander path line. (In this case it is \\OEM-7F16980A779, which must have been the name of that refurbished ex-lease computer when I bought it some years ago.) Then I could synchronise files and folders between the two computers. I have recorded this address path and I’m hoping that I can use this technique to find that computer again...

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 15.01.2020, 12:51
by stephen147
Yes, conformed on the donor build also.

Image

Once I open File Explorer all is good again.

The drive bar though doesn't refresh even after opening File Explorer.

Image

I may have a solution to use task scheduler.

This will open the folder upon entering desktop, therefore, waking the mapped drive.
It will automatically close it also after 3 seconds.

Change the drive letter below to suit

Paste this to a file and name it Wakes Network Drive.vbs

Code: Select all

Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
If oShell.AppActivate("Z:\") Then
  oShell.SendKeys "%{F4}"
Else
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "Z:\"
WshShell.AppActivate("Z:\")
WScript.Sleep 3000
oShell.SendKeys "%{F4}"
End If
Change the Path below to the Wakes Network Drive.vbs you saved in the 1st step.
The line looks like

Code: Select all

<Arguments>/c start cscript //nologo "W:\Apps (Portable)\Task Scheduler + Startup Apps\Wakes Network Drive.vbs"</Arguments>
Next, paste this to a file Wakes Network Drive.xml and change the location in the code below where you stored the bat file in the previous step.

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.4" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
  <RegistrationInfo>
    <Date>2020-01-22T12:50:00.5758625</Date>
    <Author>PC\username</Author>
    <Description>Wakes the Network Drive by Opening the Folder in File Explorer.</Description>
    <URI>\My Tasks\Wake Network Drive</URI>
  </RegistrationInfo>
  <Triggers>
    <SessionStateChangeTrigger>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
      <StateChange>SessionUnlock</StateChange>
      <Delay>PT5S</Delay>
    </SessionStateChangeTrigger>
    <BootTrigger>
      <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    </BootTrigger>
  </Triggers>
  <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
      <UserId>S-1-5-21-4445587782-4443848406-7777157735-1001</UserId>
      <LogonType>InteractiveToken</LogonType>
      <RunLevel>LeastPrivilege</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
  </Principals>
  <Settings>
    <MultipleInstancesPolicy>StopExisting</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>false</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>true</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
    <AllowHardTerminate>true</AllowHardTerminate>
    <StartWhenAvailable>true</StartWhenAvailable>
    <RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>false</RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>
    <IdleSettings>
      <StopOnIdleEnd>true</StopOnIdleEnd>
      <RestartOnIdle>false</RestartOnIdle>
    </IdleSettings>
    <AllowStartOnDemand>true</AllowStartOnDemand>
    <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    <Hidden>false</Hidden>
    <RunOnlyIfIdle>false</RunOnlyIfIdle>
    <DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>false</DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>
    <UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>true</UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>
    <WakeToRun>false</WakeToRun>
    <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT0S</ExecutionTimeLimit>
    <Priority>7</Priority>
    <RestartOnFailure>
      <Interval>PT1M</Interval>
      <Count>20</Count>
    </RestartOnFailure>
  </Settings>
  <Actions Context="Author">
    <Exec>
      <Command>cmd</Command>
      <Arguments>/c start cscript //nologo "W:\Apps (Portable)\Task Scheduler + Startup Apps\Wakes Network Drive.vbs"</Arguments>
    </Exec>
  </Actions>
</Task>
Import the above .xml file to Task Scheduler.

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 28.01.2020, 14:02
by stephen147
I changed the method I posted above to a far more robust method.

Re: mapped Network drive only appears if open File Explorer

Posted: 21.02.2020, 17:01
by stephen147
Just found a better solution to this problem found here. https://superuser.com/questions/557472/ ... -automatic

Here's the code for my .bat or .cmd file. Just place this is your startup folder or task scheduler. This will wake the mapped network drive upon startup of your PC.

Code: Select all

rem The thread here to wake a mapped network drive
rem https://superuser.com/questions/557472/on-login-how-do-i-get-windows-to-mount-connect-a-mapped-network-drive-automatic
rem dir command into the drive
dir Z:
rem Copy a non-existent file over to the C: drive.
copy thisfiledoesnawtexist.txt c:\