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Cannot rename mapped network drive in WinXP nLite installation


mandsholm

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I cannot imagine which tweak, that has ruined my ability to rename a mapped network drive from f. ex. "foldername on 192.168.1.1 (networkshare)" to simply "Share".

But in my WinXP Pro nLite'd installation I can only rename a mapped network drive in Windows Explorer for a few minutes, before the old, long and confusing name appears again.

When renaming a mapped drive WinXP makes a string called _LabelFromReg in a registry key. This key appears correctly after renaming a mapped drive. But after a few minutes it is gone again.

Which tweak has ruined the ability to make this renaming of mapped drives? Why does my WinXP nLite'd installation delete strings in the registry? And how do I correct it?

Thank you.

/Anders

Aarhus, Denmark

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It is quite annoying as I have several mapped network drives that are hard to distinquish from eachother.

It is actually so annoying that I'm considering formattering the PC and do a regular WinXP installation without using nLite.

So I would REALLY appreciate any hints on how to correct this?

Could it have anything to do with the tweak removing "My Recent Documents" on log off?

/Anders

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I was able to solve(work around?) this problem. I actually fixed it and test it on 2 different machines. Both Winxp SP2 Pro Corp. One on a real machine and the other in virtual machine 2007 when researching on how to resolve this problem:

Internet Explorer

This page has an unspecified potential security risk.

Would you like to continue?

http://mygreenpaste.blogspot.com/2007/01/u...urity-risk.html (follow instructions in the comment dated 01/19/2007)

I know it has nothing to do with nLite becasue the virtual machine session had no tweaks at all. I only intergraded hotfixes and a few .cab files (WMP v11 & Directx). Hope this helps!

**EDIT** 03/26/07

This worked for 2 days only :( It's back to resetting the name of the mapped drive to the full path.

Edited by EviLEd
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Oh my God!!! Someone else has posted a question regarding this matter! And here I thought I was going crazy and about to rip my hair out... :P

I am experiencing the same issue as you. I have been scouring the Internet for months now (no lie!) and explained my problem to anyone who'd listen, but to no avail.

I hate to say this but I don't think that your problem with related to nLite because I have no idea what that is. Personally, I think it has to do with a Windows patch/update. The reason being is that I never experienced this problem before and all of a sudden it started happening in late January, early February.

I got so frustrated in February that I restored my hard disk with three different Norton Ghost images that I created over the past couple of years. All of them experienced the same problem. The reason why I think it might be a Windows patch/update issue is that the last image that I restored was basically the OEM installation on my IBM Thinkpad. I restored all my files first and then tested the mapping. Everything seemed to work okay, and then I did the massive Windows Update (about 72 patches?) and then it all started happening again. This happened without installing any of my other software.

The strange thing is that I basically have the same configuration on another computer but it works fine. So, this leads me to believe that it might be something else, like a faulty network adapter? But after seeing your posting, I was wondering what were the chances of two faulty adapters causing the exact same problem?

The only other thing that I started experiencing was that any of my DNS suffixes were lost as well and I would have to add them back in. However, this isn't as often as the renamed mapped drives.

FYI, I can recreate this scenario on a regular basis. If I rename my mapped drive manually or apply a .reg file that contains all the MountPoints2 keys, all I have to do is fire up my FTP software, connect to a site, exit and voila! I open up Windows Explorer and all my renamed mapped drives are gone.

I've posted this question on Experts Exchange and also submitted it to another tech forum, all to no avail.

Sorry for the long winded story but I figured that the more we share our experiences, the quicker a resolution might appear!

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NP about the long story. As far as i am concerned the more info everyone provides the better. I also believe that this is NOT caused by nLite but rather by a hotfix from Jan or Feb. The only problem is that an earlier build(unattended) of mine is running on another PC at my home. That machine is up to date on all hotfixes but does not have this problem. The only difference is that it has updates run through windows up since about Sept 2006 and my newer builds have everything integrated.

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For some reason, things got a whole lot worse. Every time I opened Windows Explorer, all my mapped drive names disappeared. Before, it only happened when I used my FTP software or my computer had been left alone for a while.

So, I went back to a temporary fix that at least allowed the renamed mapped drives to hang around a little longer. The temporary fix is as follows:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Goto Tool -> Folder Options

3. General Tab - Click on "Restore Defaults"

4. View Tab - Click on "Restore Defaults"

5. View Tab - Click on "Reset All Folders"

After this, you can configured the view that you want and it should work... for a while. :(

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EviLEd:

My apologies if my last posting was confusing. You are correct to say that the mapped drive names revert to the original full path name.

Here are some suggestions that one of my techie friends suggested but none of them proved fruitful:

1. WinsockXPFix.exe - no effect

2. Microsoft Network Diagnostic Tool (KB914440) - pointless utility

Still scouring for a solution... :(

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Try this taken from the above "another forum"

First, rename the network drive. Then navigate to...
My Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2

Your network drive will have its own key something like "##server-name#share-name", right-click the key and get its permissions.

Basically, you want to have it read-only. So, click the "Advanced" button at the bottom of the dialog, and uncheck the "inherit from parent the permissions.." checkbox. In the dialog that follows, choose "Copy", and <ok> that.

Back in main permissions dialog, security (the only) tab, unckeck "full control" for all users (there may be a "RESERVED" user, which has read-only access anyway, leave it as it is.) and <ok> back to the registry editor.

Your mapped drives will now keep their cute names for ever, or at least until you reinstall Windows.

EDIT: beaker takes all credit, thought i would just add it here to make it easier to find

Edited by Avien
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I can't explain why but after i integrated all of April 2007's hotfixes the problem does not return in windows explorer in M$ Virtual Console 2007 Beta. I guess i will just have to reinstall. Thanks for all you help though.

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When I saw the above solution, I thought my prayers were answered. But alas, it was a short lived dream. All I had to do to make these MountPoints2 entries disappear again was to fire up my FTP program and voila.

I checked my another computer that does not experience this problem and its permissions are set the same my computer before applying the above solution.

I'm not sure why, but I think a complete wipe of the drive is due after my project is complete. :puke:

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