Ultra fast access to shared folders on your network.

[Skyzoomer]

Hi folks,

I've received good help from this forum so I want to share a technique that I just discovered for ultra fast access to shared folders that reside on other computers on the network.

1. After setting up my network (a WinXP desktop and a Vista laptop via a router), I found that accessing the shared folder on the laptop from the desktop was quite slow. Using "My Network Places", when I clicked on the laptop, I would have to wait about 19 seconds for the shared folder to appear. This was too slow!

2. If I accessed the shared folder on the desktop from the laptop using Vista's "Network", access was fast though navigation required several clicks. But this was acceptable.

A fix for item-1 that I found is to use "Map Network Drive". Using this, all I have to do is open My Computer and click on the icon for the shared folder on the laptop. This opens the shared folder INSTANTLY! This technique can also replace item-2 above.

"Map Network Drive" is setup on computer-A to map the drive/folder on computer-B.
For example, I run "Map Network Drive" on my WinXP desktop.
..... Open My Computer > Tools > Map Network Drive
..... In the DRIVE: selection text box, it shows the next available drive letter starting backward from Z:. This will be a pseudo drive letter so I just left Z: as the drive letter.
..... I then click the BROWSE button and see the laptop listed. I navigate to the shared folder on the laptop and select it.
..... There's a check box for "Reconnect at logon". Leave this box checked to have this setting be persistent. If the box is unchecked, this setting will only last for your current session.

Here's a link to the Microsoft explanation:

http://www.microsoft.com/windo...maintain/mapdrive.mspx

Scroll down to "Map a drive to a shared folder" and follow those steps. After you finish mapping the drive/folder on the other computer, open "My Computer" and in WinXP you will see the shared drive under "Network Drives". Click that icon and you will instantly be inside the shared folder. In Vista, open "Computer" and the shared folder on the other computer will be listed along with your local drives/partitions.

Hope this works as well for you as it's working for me,
Skyzoomer

 

[spidey07]

Good tip. That is basically forcing windows to do name resolution for the specified share at startup. You could accomplish the same thing by using a lmhosts file or by accessing the share by IP address which in your exmple for mapping would be a better idea - map to //<ipaddy>/share.

 

[Nothinman]

That is basically forcing windows to do name resolution for the specified share at startup.

Sometimes. I have no idea why but sometimes Windows will skip the actual mapping portion when you login and you'll see the mapped drives with red Xs on them, clicking on them does cause Windows to map them but you're waiting for the resolution, authentication, etc at that point instead of it happening at login time.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

That is basically forcing windows to do name resolution for the specified share at startup.

Sometimes. I have no idea why but sometimes Windows will skip the actual mapping portion when you login and you'll see the mapped drives with red Xs on them, clicking on them does cause Windows to map them but you're waiting for the resolution, authentication, etc at that point instead of it happening at login time.

There's a timer involved and it assumes the share is unavailable and doesn't try until you actually access it.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

That is basically forcing windows to do name resolution for the specified share at startup.

Sometimes. I have no idea why but sometimes Windows will skip the actual mapping portion when you login and you'll see the mapped drives with red Xs on them, clicking on them does cause Windows to map them but you're waiting for the resolution, authentication, etc at that point instead of it happening at login time.

That's one of the reason I stopped using mapped drives and started using folder redirection for desktop clients.

 

[Skyzoomer]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. But "Ouch!", a red X problem on boot up? I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the water... Too bad Microsoft did not get drive mapping right for boot ups.

Will look for plan-B if plan-A fails,
Skyzoomer

 

[Skyzoomer]

Originally posted by: Skyzoomer
Thanks for all the feedback folks. But "Ouch!", a red X problem on boot up? I'll have to keep an eye out for that. Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the water... Too bad Microsoft did not get drive mapping right for boot ups.

Here's my symptoms using drive mapping so far:

1. If I boot my Vista laptop after my WinXP desktop is fully booted, then the Red X does not occur on the laptop. This is with a wireless connection on the laptop.

2. If I boot both up at the same time, the laptop completes booting before the desktop and then the Red X appears in Vista's "Computer". After the desktop completes boot up, opening "Computer" on the laptop still shows the Red X. Viewing Vista's Network and Sharing on the laptop shows the connections as all good (no Red X). --- If I click the Red X in Vista's "Computer", the connection is made instantly and I'm able to acess the shared folder on the desktop. IOW, the Red X "display" is just not being updated in "Computer" but the connection is actually completed and good.

There is a microsoft article on this at:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938062

That article recommends not implementing the hot-fix unless absolutely necessary as it could cause other problems. So I'm just going to leave the Red X display alone since everything works fine anyway.

Once the mapped drive on the desktop is opened, subsequently opening Vista's "Computer" shows the mapped drive without the Red X.

3. FYI, even if the WinXP desktop is booted before the Vista laptop, after the laptop completes boot up, opening "My Computer" in WinXP shows the shared folder on the laptop fine and clicking that icon opens the folder fine. Apparently WinXP just displays the mapped drive without concern for Red Xs so there's no problem. Maybe Vista should do the same?

Microsoft if you're listening, an easy way to fix this is to put a note by the mapped drive in "Computer" like this: "Press F5 to refresh the display". Then add a subroutine to the F5 refresh function to check the mapped drive connection and if it is good, remove the Red X overlay.

4. I'm running Vista with SP2 on the laptop.

Skyzoomer