Unable To Add Network Places

[Dave-H]

My "Add Network Place" wizard seems to have stopped working (Windows 2000 SP4).

The wizard runs OK, and I can enter all the information, but when I click to add the network place, I always just get an error message which says "unable to connect, the parameter is incorrect".

I already have several network places installed, all of which still work correctly.

I dare not delete any of them in case I can't now put them back!

They all point to FTP sites, as does the one I'm trying to add.

I can browse this FTP site OK in Internet Explorer, so I know that the parameters I'm putting into the wizard are correct!

Also, I have read that going to an FTP site in IE should auomatically add it to the "My Network Places" folder, but this isn't happening.

Anyone any ideas on this?

Thanks.

[Dave-H]

Sorry to just bump this, bad I know, but has no-one any ideas on this?

I have managed to find one other reference to the same problem, on another forum, but again no answer offered.

I just don't understand why my "Add Network Places" wizard, which has always worked for me in the past, should suddenly be refusing to let me add any new entries.........

[gosh]

To me that sounds like a service issue, the question is Does the wizard use a service? I dont know for win2k. What i would do is search the registry for the sites you are using. The wizard should store these sites in the registry, if i remember correctly. Check the registry permissions for this key. Check event viewer and the log files in windows.

-gosh

[adamt]

Few questions:

Does MSIE use a proxy server to access the ftp site?

- If so, I'm not sure if the network places wizard will be aware of the proxy. To work out if a proxy is needed, try to run ftp.exe ftp.example.com from the command line and see if you get a response.

Are you specifying the protocol with ftp://ftp.example.org/ - or are you just adding it as ftp.example.org ?

Does the FTP site need a username/password to access it when you open it in MSIE?

- if so, does it work using a URL like ftp://username:password@ftp.example.org/ ?

[Dave-H]

Thanks for the replies guys!

All my ftp sites are listed in the registry under -

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Ftp\Accounts

This includes an entry for the site I'm trying to add, which seems to have all the correct information!

It just doesn't have an icon in "My Network Places", which is what I'm trying to add.

Permissions seem to be OK for this key, with full access for all except restricted users (I'm an Administrator).

The ftp site I'm trying to add works fine if I use a shortcut in my Internet Explorer Favorites.

It isn't a problem with that specific site, I get the same error message if I try to add any site to "My Network Places" using the "Add Network Place" wizard.

It just won't complete the operation, saying "the parameter is incorrect".

A typically unhelpful M$ error message.

How much more useful would it be if it actually told you which parameter was incorrect?!

[adamt]

Found this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EVBio3-Ju...zBF6c#PPA320,M1

While googling around. It refers to Windows ME, but seems to describe exactly the same issue you're having. Let us know if the workaround works for you.

[Dave-H]

Thanks adamt.

Sorry for the huge delay in responding, but I wasn't getting e-mail notification of replies as I should have been.

Yes, the reference on page 319 of that book does look very familiar, even though it refers to Windows ME.

Possibly this "bug", whatever it is, was perpetuated in Windows 2000.

Unfortunately, the page which contains most of "solution 2" isn't available in that preview of the book!

Anyway, I had already solved the problem by running Windows setup again, which has made the problem go away, at least for the moment..........

Thanks again,

Dave.