.: Windows Client Administration

Disconnected Network Drive - Requires local admin rights

Sometimes a previously connected network drive can become disconnected, there can be many reasons for this. A change of password can prevent successful authentication with the domain/computer where the share exists, a network connection problem can also prevent a successful mapping and also a problem with the share itself will also prevent access. Checking share and NTFS permissions, pinging the remote computer and verifying user credentials can all help to solve these issues, however the type of "Disconnected Network Drive" that i have found is the one that appears in "My Computer" but cannot be removed. When an attempt to remove the drive mapping windows returns the message "No network drive exists" or when the Disconnect Network Drive window appears, the drive your looking for is not there, yet every time you restart the pc it appears again in "My Computer".

After much searching on the net i have found this to be the only method that works consistently:

Open Regedit from the Run Prompt, you will need local admin rights to make the necessary changes, so use the "RunAs As" function if the current user does not have these permissions.

First, right click on the "MountedDevices" folder and export it to your desktop. This means that if a problem occurs you have a copy of the original, i have never experienced a problem doing this but its better to have a copy.

Now, delete all entries that start \??\Volume-

Once they have been removed, restart the pc. If the Disconnected Network Drive is still there then repeat the process until it disappears. The most i have had to repeat the process is 3 times but it has always worked.

Add RunAs Feature to MSI and Other Executables - Requires local admin rights

In Windows XP you can run exe files under different user credentials by right clicking on the file and selecting "RunAs", this feature however is not available for other executable files such as MSI, VBS, VBE and BAT files. This functionality can be added by copying the following into a text file and renaming it to a .reg file. You will require local admin rights to make the change.

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\batfile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VBEFile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VBSFile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Msi.Package\shell\runas\command]
@="msiexec /i \"%1\" "

Run the registry file and you can now use the "RunAs" feature for all VBS, VBE, BAT and MSI files.

Automatic User Logon - Requires local admin rights

Add the following to a .reg file. Change the value for DefaultUserName, DefaultPassword and DefaultDomainName to suit your network. %ComputerName% is a variable that points to the local computer. The variable that points to an organisations domain is %UserDomain%

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
"DefaultUserName"="UserName"
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"
"DisableCAD"=dword:00000001
"DefaultPassword"="Password"
"DefaultDomainName"="%ComputerName%"

Remove the password from an Outlook PST file

in case you ever need to remove the password from an Outlook PSt file, download pst19upg.zip. this program upgrades the PSt file to version 19 but it also removes the password. ALWAYS make a backup of the original PSt before you start.

Open a command prompt and drag the pst19upg.exe icon onto the command window, type space -x and then drag the PST file icononto the command window:

Press Enter and a temporary PSX files is created.

Repeat the process except this time, type -i not -x and use the PSX file not the PST file:

Press Enter and the new PST will be created.

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