# Maped network drive keeps asking for username and password??



## curtains

I've maped a network drive but every time i startup it doesn't connect up and it askes for the username and password, I tick the remember password part but it does it every time, its getting real fustraightin that i have to do it every time

its between a windows vista(client) and xp(server) but i have another vista machine that works fine doing the same thing .. it remembers the password etc ..

any help plz


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## tlarkin

vista uses SMB2 where as XP uses SMB1, and SMB requires authentication so it will always require that password information.  Google search SMB and vista to xp issues and you will find you are not alone.


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## curtains

I had a look but I still couldn't find any fixes .. its just weird that 1 vista machine connects stright away and the other one keeps asking for a password or username.


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## tlarkin

I had the same problem with my vista machine, couldn't resolve it, reserached it for about a day, decided to scrap it.  It was a virtual machine.


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## Quiltface

did you use the option "connect using a different user name" when you set up the map?


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## curtains

yup i've tryed that i've even tryed changing the password and the username, but still didn't work i'm quite convinced it something 2 do with some registery setting .... but the main thing thats annoying is that my other vista machine works perfectly fine.


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## tlarkin

You need to hack vista's registry to lower the security rating of SMB 2.  You need to modify the NTLM to a less secure mode, ie NTLM v1, because SMB 2 in vista breaks backwards compatibility (with itself hahaha if that just isn't hilarity I don't know what is) and third party compatibility.

Google is your friend and you can find an article of what I am talking about.


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## curtains

I've tryed that already and i jst tryed it again and it still doesn't work i followed these instructions

http://thesystemadministrator.com/t...p_network_drive_problem_in_vista:_force_ntlm/


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## SirKenin

Yeah, first you set LM to 1.  What that does is send passwords in clear text.  Vista doesn't do that by default for security reasons.  Unfortunately it makes life difficult mapping to shares on older OS'.

Second, you need to have the computers on the same workgroup, and the computer hosting the share has to have the same user account and password created on it as your Vista computer.  You also have to set the network type to private as opposed to public.


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## INTELCRAZY

Another good but bad Vista attribute... Microsoft could have put an on/off option somewhere in User Accounts or Sharing properties...


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## patrickv

Let me sum this up, as tlarkin said, you will always get authentication, it's normal.
as we speak your problem is your server XP, not Vista.
I was getting the same thing here in my office cause i was using xp as a server, so i upgraded to win2003 server standard, and BAM, problem solved, cause it keeps the drive synchronized.
No more authentication.


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## SirKenin

Actually that's not true.  I just serviced a network for a dentist a couple of days ago.  He added a Vista client on a Win 2k network.  The server was Win 2k and by the time I was done, using the suggestions I gave in this thread, the Vista client never asked for authentication.


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## patrickv

SirKenin said:


> Actually that's not true.  I just serviced a network for a dentist a couple of days ago.  He added a Vista client on a Win 2k network.  The server was Win 2k and by the time I was done, using the suggestions I gave in this thread, the Vista client never asked for authentication.



well you said win2k , his is XP,i think 2k is better than xp on sharing, and truth be told, i never get authentication.
i have a folder called "Norton_update" which is mapped to my pc.
i can shut my pc down and reboot and enter the folder without username and password. the server running it is win2003.
i have never used vista to connect to a mapped drive, so that's why i said the problem is XP, cause i had the same problems before (xp to connect to xp -as server), so am voicing out my opinion


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## SirKenin

Ummm. 2K and XP both use the same authentication (SMB1).

I also have a manufacturing client that was set up as an XP workgroup (not my fault the previous tech was hopeless). One XP client hosted all the shares that the other XP clients logged into. They never asked for authentication.

Now, as for never using it.. Try not to be a PCeye and comment on stuff you've never used and know nothing about.

I would be very curious why you're using Win 2K3 though.. I'll bet my last bottom dollar that you didn't buy that (as I know EXACTLY what it costs as I've only sold half a dozen of them in the last month, including several dozen CALs and I own Windows NT 4 Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2003 Server (both 32 and 64 bit), Windows 2003 Enterprise Server (32 and 64 bit), Windows Exchange Server, Windows 2003 Small Business Server, Windows Home Server, Windows 2005 SQL Server (64 bit) and Windows 2008 Enterprise Server (32 and 64 bit))

It kinda sounds like you're a hobbyist that downloaded it off of bittorrent and fiddle with it in your spare time.. You're not even using a fraction of a percent of what that OS is capable of from the sounds of it.


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## tlarkin

SirKenin said:


> Actually that's not true.  I just serviced a network for a dentist a couple of days ago.  He added a Vista client on a Win 2k network.  The server was Win 2k and by the time I was done, using the suggestions I gave in this thread, the Vista client never asked for authentication.



Well it is suppose to considering SMB requires authentication to map a drive.  Unless you turn all security off and leave passwords blank.

I suspect you were most likely using a home version of the OS somewhere since MS likes to limit features on their releases.


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## SirKenin

No actually. It was Vista Premium and once you set the LM key to 1 it authenticates in plain text.  Once it saves the password once, that's it.  It will never ask for it again.

The reason Vista can't authenticate on XP and 2k at it's default settings is because SMB2 uses an encryption neither XP nor 2k can understand for authentication.  It will come back with an error about the password.

Here I use Vista Ultimate on my machines with Windows 2000 and 2K3 Servers.  None of them ask for authentication, save for the first time you map a share.


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## tlarkin

I know this, but you answered my question, you did have to authenticate at least once, and that makes sense.

Actually SMB 2 has about a 1300% packet increase it does all kinds of funky stuff under the hood, and its not just encryption.  There was an awesome article on slashdot about a year ago when Vista first came out about SMB 2 and what had changed and what it broke (pretty much all compatibility with Samba and other third party, and even XP)

However, you are correct old SMB used to send IIRC, 2 packets in 1 packet out and that was it.


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## patrickv

SirKenin said:


> It kinda sounds like you're a hobbyist that downloaded it off of bittorrent and fiddle with it in your spare time.. You're not even using a fraction of a percent of what that OS is capable of from the sounds of it.



you should not judge someone by his/her replies thats so un-professional to a person of your caliber. that same server,before being a file server was a router/dhcp/Instant messaging and a webserver.And i configured it myself to make it run.
my replies may not show the kind of knowledge i have thats for sure
but i could care less.


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## curtains

strange.... cause my other vista machine works perfectly fine .. it doesn't have the same username either, 

and it already has the same username and i've also tryed with different username, and its also on the same workgroup already(this is the computer that can't automaticly connect)

anyways could someone post some instructions plz .. cause its still not working and i'd really like to fix this .. am i doing something wrong?


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## SirKenin

The next thing to try would be to reset IE to default (under the advanced tab).


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