What is going on when I can't access an SMB server share (not accessible error) until I run cmdkey to delete the credential?

Posted by Warren P on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Warren P
Published on 2012-03-28T16:27:06Z Indexed on 2012/04/09 5:36 UTC
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I have a network connection share issue. The first connection works, and seems to stay connected for at least a few hours. However, after each time my windows 7 PC reboots, it can no longer form a network connection to the shared folder, nor browse to it, until I not only unmap and remap the mapped drive, but also, I have to use cmdkey to delete the stored credentials like this:

cmdkey /delete:Domain:target=HOSTNAME

My work PC is on a domain, and I am not the IT administrator, but I'm curious if there is anything I can do to investigate this issue. Any settings in registry or group policy that I could examine to see why the first connection works, but each subsequent attempt (once a stored credential exists) to browse or use the connection, fails with a connection error saying it is "not accessible", like this:

enter image description here

I do not even get any error until at least several minutes go by. THe first thing I see is a window frozen and empty, and then I get this error:

This has happened when connecting to a share on a DROBO device, and on a share which is not on the domain, but which was a Microsoft Home Server. I wonder if there's something broken in WIndows 7 professional with regards to connecting to non-domain shares when an active directory domain controller exists, and a particular workstation is joined to a domain?

The problem only occurs if I click "remember credentials". It is not fixed by any amount of working with net use. Usingcmdkey to delete all stored credentials for the host is the only way to get back in, and it affects all non-domain shared folders.

Update I'm hoping there are some registry locations I could check that could be misconfigured in some way that might explain why SMB/CIFS stored credentials for non-domain systems seem to be auto-invalidated in this weird way. Knowing how whacko Microsoft Windows domain and security handling is sometimes, this could be some kind of stupid "feature".

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