Can't use "net use"

Ok,, I setup Windows Home Server in a Windows VirtualPC and also installed a Win7 x86 Win VirtualPC
They are talking to each other and I had no problems mapping drives.

What I can say is that Windows Home Server is actually pretty damn sweet.
Very easy to configure and setup (sort of). There are some things you need to know.

1.) Once the Server is setup and completely updated with all Power Packs ( the latest is Power Pack 3)
2.) Login to a Win7 (or other) system and open IE, type in http://whs:55000 and hit enter
3.) Install the Windows Home Server Connector Software and follow all instructions and let it do it's thing
4.) On the WHS system go into Windows Home Server Console
5.) Go into User Accounts and create a New User, this should be the same as the user you are using to login to your Win7 (or other) system. Same UserID and Password
6.) Go back to the Win7 (or other) system and you should be able to map drives as needed.

Form the Win7 (or other) system.....
However,,, you Can Not Map A Drive Direct to the root server ( ie. net use x: \\yourservername ) it must be a shared folder such as "net use x: \\yourservername\music"

On a First Time Use,, From Win7 (or Other) system....
When you type in the address field of either Explorer or IE \\yourservername it should take you direct to IE and open http://whs:55000 automatically, where you can install the Connector Software.
This will also happen if you go into Explorer / Network Other Devices \\yourservername for the first time.
It will give a page where at the bottom is a link to http://whs:55000.

Once you have configured things properly. Everything should work without issue, well,, should is a big word I know.

So, what is exactly going on with OP?

2 things I think at least....

1.) You Do Not want to share the Root of your server.
Create Shared Drives as needed under the Data Drive ( D: ) that is automatically created on install.
This is the proper method of setting up shared folders.
And actually all shared folders should be created under D:\shares
You will need to then Right Click that new folder and click on Sharing
Click Share this folder
Click Permissions
Remove Everyone group and add Administrators Group and any users you want to have access
Then assign as you would like

But, it is actually easier just to add folder shares through the Windows Home Server Console

This will populate the Shared Folders when you do access \\yourservername (ie. \\wsh_server) from Explorer or IE automatically. The only thing you can do is Create a Shortcut on your Desktop to \\yourservername. This is by design I do believe.

2.) Rights may not be setup properly if you are not able to map or access any shares that are already created.. (ie. \\yourservername\music)

Beyond this, I am not sure what the issue is.

Now that I have played around with it, WHS is a stripped down version of Windows Server 2003 that auto configures itself. The other features such as Backup and Remote Access that allows you to access all your systems on your network via IIS setup and a Domain name created and (appears to be) assigned to a LiveID account. Kinda nice if it works well and is secure. This can be achieved with a regular Windows Server setup, but can be more difficult in configuring manually, and way more expensive.

All in All..... Windows Home Server is (as long as it is secure and does work well) a very nice addition to any home network.

More study and testing on my part needs to be done before I would endorse it completely.

Edit:

I have mapped drives from command line and through the GUI and they are staying active regardless of how many times I reboot. So, I have no idea what is going on with your system. other than maybe network issues of systems dropping? just guessing.

CaptainLunatic said:

I'm trying to mount a remote folder (on a WHS machine) as a drive in a windows 7 machine. Both computers are in the same homegroup and I can access the remote folders via the file browser.

So, I open up a DOS prompt and enter net use as normal:

Code:

C:\>net use x: \\WHS_Server
System error 53 has occurred.
 
 
The network path was not found.

Doesn't work. (It gives the same error if I use the IP)

I ping it to make sure the two computers and 'see' each other.
C:\>ping -a WHS_Server

Code:

 
Pinging WHS_Server [192.168.1.104] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.104: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.104: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.104: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.104: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
 
 
Ping statistics for 192.168.1.104:
     Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

Seems all good.

Now I have exhausted my windows networking skills.

Any suggestions?

TIA

Looks like you forgot the share name: (replace ShareName with your share name)

That should be:

Code:

net use x: \\WS_Server\ShareName

Try this:

Code:

net use x: \\192.168.1.104\ShareName

Does it work with the IP?

Does this work:

Code:

explorer \\WS_Server\Sharename