We have a Windows Server 2003 running active directory – the users login with their AD accounts from their PCs. We have setup a file server where each AD user has a shared network folder hosted on the server. Each folder is mapped as a network drive in Windows XP.
While the users can initially access the mapped drive alright, after a while we get the error "The local device name is already in use – this connection has not been restored". Public shared folders can still be accessed perfectly well (as well as ping, remote desktop to the server etc). Logging off and then logging back on restores the connection with the mapped drives alright.
My guess is that the mapped drive loses the authentication with the server after a certain amount of time. Any idea if this might be the case, and how we could resolve it?
Best Answer
How do you deploy those shared folders? If you do it via GPO, keep in mind that GPO has a refresh interval for User Configuration GP. So if you deploy the Drive via GPO but deploy the credentials via Logon Script, the GPO will overwrite the credentials after a certain amount of time, which can be edited in the Domain Controller Registry. More Information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/203607
EDIT: I just saw this post is from 2011. Why would you even edit that?