Windows 7 unable to connect to network resources

gsittler · 29 Mar 2011

I recently moved from an XP machine to Windows 7 Home premium and I am now unable to connect to network shares, printers, etc at work. This is a laptop that I use both at home and at work and it's not in the domain (neither was the XP machine). On the XP machine I just mapped network drives and printers using the server name and then used my network credentials (\domain\username and password). The Windows 7 machine is in the network (it's wired through ethernet) and I can access the internet through our proxy server. When I look under "Network", I see all of the servers and clients on the network, but when I try to connect to one of them, I am prompted for login/password- once I enter these, it says "Logon failure: unknown username or bad password".

Why does this work under XP and not Windows 7?

Thanks,
Geoff

gsittler · 30 Mar 2011

Looks like nobody has any ideas on this one. I guess I'll just dual-boot XP - this is the kind of thing that makes it tough for me to defend Microsoft.

TCG · 30 Mar 2011

gsittler said:

...used my network credentials (\domain\username and password)

Are you logging in as domain\username as the username when prompted for credentials?

gsittler · 30 Mar 2011

Yes, I am using the format DOMAIN\login.

TCG · 30 Mar 2011

Consulted the Google.....

According to this post, it may have to do w/ Home not being built to handle the domain login properly as it's not designed for a domain environment.

The solution: Registry editing for LAN manager authentication level (in Home edition this can be configured through registry)

How to do it:
1 . Open registry editor ( Start search - regedit)
2 . Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
3. Create a new DWORD value with the following properties: NAME: LmCompatibilityLevel VALUE: 1
4. Restart your PC and try the connection again...

** Disclaimer: I have not tested this and cannot personally say it will/won't work, proceed at your own risk. **

gsittler · 14 Apr 2011

TCG - thanks so much for your help on this. The solution fixed the fileshare access right away. Getting connected to printers was a bit tougher (had to manually install drivers, which makes sense since these servers are 2003), but I'm fully up and running now and avoids dual-booting XP. Thanks again!

TCG · 15 Apr 2011

You're very welcome. Glad things worked out for you and I could help :)