Windows Server 2019 showing all network drives as disconnected

[eddyc]

Hi all,

 

We map our network drives using Group Policy Preferences (using the action "Update").

 

It works fine on Server 2012 R2 and Server 2016 boxes (plus all of our Windows 10 1903 clients) however on Server 2019, all of the drives show as disconnected like below:

 

 

If you double click the drive it is really there however when you go back to Computer, the drive still shows as disconnected.

 

Any suggestions? I am almost ready to launch a new 2019 RDS server to our staff but would rather resolve this bug first if I can, as I think this will cause undue panic!

 

Thanks

 

eddyc

[win]

Have you tried changing it from Update to Replace? This is usually the case when changing the file paths, then you can change it back to update later

[eddyc]

Have you tried changing it from Update to Replace? This is usually the case when changing the file paths, then you can change it back to update later

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve changed the GPP to Replace for all drives but they’re still showing as disconnected I’m afraid to report

[eddyc]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve changed the GPP to Replace for all drives but they’re still showing as disconnected I’m afraid to report

 

I don't know if anyone else has seen this and had any joy?

 

A GPresult lists the maps as Replace and there are no errors in the event log. I am a bit stumped as to what to try next.

 

This is now causing us other issues in as much as our RDS farm is Server 2019 and our Finance package doesn't open if it cannot see the N drive. I have found if you open the N drive first to confirm it is there, the software then works but it is a bit of a pain so would ideally like to get to the bottom of the issue.

 

Cheers eddyc

[eddyc]

After lots of testing today I have found the cause.

 

One little tick box!

 

If reconnect is ticked. The drive mapping show as disconnected.

 

As soon as that is unticked. Everything is as it should be!

 

Hopefully this may help someone else in the future.

 

[duglas25]

I am having this exact issue, can you tell me where you found the box to uncheck reconnect? When I go to properties of the disconnected drives it does not have this option... thanks it has been driving me crazy for a week.

[ThomL]

I am having this exact issue, can you tell me where you found the box to uncheck reconnect? When I go to properties of the disconnected drives it does not have this option... thanks it has been driving me crazy for a week.

This is the properties of the GPO setting, not the drive itself - does that help? You'll need to navigate through the GPO that applies the drive mapping, find the mapping with the issue and then hit properties and you should get the same view.

[Koldov]

I've often wondered about the CRUD setting and never really got round to working out which is best, however I would just say that all my drives are mapped with 'CREATE' (and I have 'RECONNECT' ticked)... I don't really know the reasons or mechanics behind the process, it's just what I've always done. I just figured if it lost the connection somehow it would help...?

 

When I did research it I mainly came up with the following:

 

GPO C.R.U.D (Create, Replace, Update, Delete)

Create – If N doesn't exist, then create it. ...

Replace – Remove N if already exists, and create a new N with these settings. ...

Update – If N exists it will be updated with the new settings. ...

Delete – If that drive mapping exists, it will be removed.

 

I referred to this website when I wanted to remind myself with a fairly detailed and yet easy to understand explanation:

 

https://www.itpromentor.com/gp-crud/

 

So therefore I presumed 'CREATE' to be the best option unless doing something like migrating.

 

I figured once the drive is mapped with 'CREATE' it will never touch it again, seeing that it exists and then does nothing else. If however for some reason it gets deleted/disconnected it will create it again.

 

All the other options seem like they will constantly do something to the connection, so only to be used when the drive mapping needs amending/adjusting/replacing. 'REPLACE' being the worst of these options, constantly deleting and replacing the connection at Group Policy processing times.

 

UPDATE being the choice for changing the settings of an existing connection.

 

As for OP I could possibly see 'REPLACE' (constantly deleting and creating) configured with a 'reconnect' command being able to produce some sort of error (way above my pay grade to know anything deeper about the code/process though) although you might think if it did, the 'RECONNECT' tick box should be greyed out when choosing the 'REPLACE' option.

Edited February 27, 2024 by Koldov