SBS 2003 "You are no longer connected..."

[SleepParalysis]

Hey all.

I'm having problems with a Small Business Server 2003 server which has about 7 workstation (6 xp, 1 vista) on the domain. The machines go into "Offline Mode" every so often (once every hour at least) and have to be re-synched.

The full error is:

"You are no longer connected to <server>. You can continue working normally."

Could this be a license issue? If the server does not have enough CALs will it disconnect clients to let another machine access the servers resources?

Also, I've checked event logs on the workstations and servers while this happened and there is nothing significant or common in any of them that would point to the disconnect issue.

I've used the forum search feature and haven't come up with anything.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

Thought I should mention that everything is up to date, service packs and all. This has been going on for quite some time as well.

 

[RebateMonger]

I seriously doubt it's a licensing issue. Although SBS 2003 DOES enforce licensing, it exhibits quite a bit of leeway. I've seen companies with double the number of PCs you have running with only the initial five licenses installed. I'm not saying to try this....just saying that it's not likely your problem.

 

[JDMnAR1]

When this happens, do all machines go offline at the same time, or does it vary by client? That may be a good indication of if it is truly a server issue or a workstation issue.

 

[KGB]

Originally posted by: JDMnAR1
When this happens, do all machines go offline at the same time, or does it vary by client? That may be a good indication of if it is truly a server issue or a workstation issue.

Or... even a switch or cabling issue.

 

[SleepParalysis]

I believe I've solved the issue. It didn't turn out to be a hardware issue or issue with the server (to the best of my knowledge). To answer your question JDM, the disconnect seemed sporadic.

Solution:

I came across a forum post on some other forum (I forget now) where someone posted a link to a MS KB article on "How to re-initialize the offline files cache and database"

Using the CTRL+SHIFT method to delete and re-initialize the cache and database has so far worked for over a day on all machines.

This has to be done locally on each machine or at least automated locally on each machine, as far as I know. Don't quote me on that though. There's probably someway to automate the process with some sort of script but I just manually did this at each machine.

The exact process I went through is:

1. Open Explorer
2. Choose Tools -> Folder Options
3. Choose Offline Files tab
4. Hold CTRL+SHIFT and click "Delete Files"
5. Choose Ok until prompted to restart -> Restart Machine

Maybe the problem started elsewhere (on the server) since all machines were affected. I'm not sure... but this worked.

Thank you for your input guys.

 

[RebateMonger]

I'm thinking I've seen this before...but the cause eludes me at the moment.

Edit: I see your solution. And, yeah, that's in line with my recollection of the solution.

 

[SleepParalysis]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
I'm thinking I've seen this before...but the cause eludes me at the moment.

In the meantime, since you say it's repeatable and frequent, it wouldn't hurt to set up DOS windows on the Server and on a client PC, running continuous Ping commands and sending the results to a text file.

Set up a window on the Server that continuously pings Client1.
Set up a window on the Server that continuously pings Client2.
Set up a window on Client1 that continuously pings the Server.
Set up a window on Client1 that continuously pings Client2.

This should give you a quick handle on any general networking issues.

I actually did do this just once before trying the re-initialization of the cache and database but just from the client to the server. There seemed to be one dropped packet right as the popup "you're working offline" window came up.

I don't know if this was a coincidence or not. Also, as that window is popping up explorer will freeze for a few seconds. So maybe that could have caused a packet to drop as well. Not entirely sure.