Mapping N5200 as network drive - not in my network places

[jbl]

Hi,

I'm trying to map my N5200 as a network drive but my computer cannot seem to see the N5200. I'm using WinXP Pro through a Linksys WRT54G router with factory firmware. The folder I would like to map is \\N5200\main which is Public (ACL button greyed out). My computer cannot seem to "see" the N5200 on the network.

I go Explorer > Map Network Drive > enter "\\N5200\main" or "\\192.168.3.1\main" (the correct IP) > Click Finish. This brings up a username/password prompt titled "Connect to N5200", but nothing I enter at the prompt seems to work, it keeps popping up. I don't think it is actually passing the username and password to the N5200. If I enter the username and password through the "Enter a different user name" link before clicking Finish I still get the same password prompt which keeps popping up until you click Cancel.

If I click the "Browse" button in the Map Network Drive dialog instead of typing in "\\N5200\main" I get:
+My Network Places
++Entire Network
+++Microsoft Terminal Services (clicking the plus to expand shows it is empty)
+++Web Client Network (clicking the plus to expand shows it is empty)

Under Windows Explorer or My Computer, the "My Network Places" is completely empty.

There is some evidence my computer can see the N5200. If I enable "Show Icons for Networked UPnP devices" while in My Network Places there is an icon for the N5200. I can access the web interface for the N5200 without problems, and it shows up on the list of DHCP clients in the router.

I have had these problems in the past, but usually was able to map public folders by rebooting the router/N5200/computer a few times until the Map Network Drive worked without bringing up any password prompts. I've tried following the guide for mapping a network drive here and the one from the FAQ exactly several times with no success. The main problem seems to be that my computer cannot find the N5200 under my network places.

Thanks,
jbl

[pit234a]

new to N5200 and absolutely unknown in M$:
couldn't it be a firewall issue?

[arthurleung]

Just a wild guess. Try setting up a normal user in the N5200 then use that username and password to connect to the network drive. The N5200 was probably hardcoded not to accept root access from network for security reason.

[jbl]

Originally Posted by pit234a

new to N5200 and absolutely unknown in M$:
couldn't it be a firewall issue?

The firewall could be a problem but the windows firewall is disabled and I have no other firewalls that I know of (no anti-virus etc.)

Originally Posted by arthurleung

Just a wild guess. Try setting up a normal user in the N5200 then use that username and password to connect to the network drive. The N5200 was probably hardcoded not to accept root access from network for security reason.

I have tried to map the drive by creating a private folder, setting a normal user to have writable access in the ACL, and connecting under that username/password but have never gotten that to work (the password prompt keeps popping up indefinitely). I have owned the N5200 for almost two years and have always connected by setting the folder as Public, bypassing the need for a username/password. The difference is that before I could see the N5200 under My Network Places or by clicking Browse in the Map Network Drive dialog, and now I cannot.

Every two to three months the N5200 stops responding and disappears from My Network Places like this, but usually a few reboots fixes the problem and I can remap the drive. It stopped responding last week. I have rebooted the computer/router/N5200 maybe twenty times each without it reappearing in My Network Places. I am using the latest firmware.

More background:
-I can ping the N5200 successfully (by typing "ping N5200" at a command prompt)
-Trying to map the drive from command line (via "net use") gives "system error 5"
-Both the computer and the N5200 are on workgroup "WORKGROUP"
-The Computer Browser service is running on my computer. My computer and the N5200 are the only machines on the LAN.

[jbl]

Update:
I tried mapping the drive from my housemates notebook, which has Windows Vista Home. I tried connecting both to a Public folder and a Private folder with the correct ACL settings and username/password. In both cases, after clicking "Finish" in the Map Network Drive dialog I get an error message saying:

Windows cannot access \\N5200\folder
Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might bre a problem with your network. To try to identify and resolve network problems, click Diagnose

Clicking diagnose gives me another message:
Windows confirmed that this computer cannot connect to "N5200"
The server may not be available

[wydchr]

I have the exact same problem... no-one has managed to sort out the problem for me yet but I am still working on it. If you manage to find a solution before me then please post it on here and I will do likewise.

[QF006]

I'm about to possibly buy an N5200B PRO soon, so don't have the experience with it yet, but do you have the "Use simple file sharing" option (under Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options.../View/Advanced Settings) set to OFF (un-ticked) ?

Cheers,
Siggy

[jbl]

Originally Posted by QF006

I'm about to possibly buy an N5200B PRO soon, so don't have the experience with it yet, but do you have the "Use simple file sharing" option (under Windows Explorer/Tools/Folder Options.../View/Advanced Settings) set to OFF (un-ticked) ?

Cheers,
Siggy

I'll check when I get home tonight.

[QF006]

It seems to be more related to sharing folders on your machine rather than accessing folder on other machines, e.g. NAS boxes. Give it a try but after checking a bit more what it actually means I am less optimistic that it may help, sorry.

[peterfu]

Runs fine here with Windows XP Professional.
You might find the N5200 FAQ useful - in this document a detailled explanation how to map network drives:
N5200 FAQ

Have You set Your workgroup name on the N5200 and on Your PC?

On the N5200 it's under Accounts->Authentication. I've also set "ADS/NT Support" to disabled.

br
Peter

[jbl]

Originally Posted by peterfu

Runs fine here with Windows XP Professional.
You might find the N5200 FAQ useful - in this document a detailled explanation how to map network drives:
N5200 FAQ

Have You set Your workgroup name on the N5200 and on Your PC?

On the N5200 it's under Accounts->Authentication. I've also set "ADS/NT Support" to disabled.

br
Peter

Both my computer and N5200 are on workgroup "WORKGROUP", and ADS/NT is disabled.

Disabling simple file sharing made a slight difference: Now when I click the Browse button on the Map Network Drive dialog I can see (after expanding):
+My Network Places
++Entire Network
+++Microsoft Terminal Services
+++Microsoft Windows Network
++++Workgroup (which was not visible before)
+++++Mycomputername
++++++Printers and Faxes
++++++Scheduled Tasks
+++Web Client Network

When I click on "Workgroup" I sometimes get the error message "This network resource is not accessible" and other times it expands to show an icon for my computer.

wydchr, what router are you using and what IP address does it have? Is your N5200 set to get the address from the router throught DHCP or to use a fixed address? Are you connected to more than one LAN at once by any chance? In my case, the answers are Linksys WRT54G, 192.168.3.1, DHCP and yes (but disabling all the other network connections does not change anything).

Thecus, are you there?

[wydchr]

Hi jbl, I am using a Netgear modem/router and I have set a fixed ip address to only 1 LAN (using the WAN port). I am using Vista BTW which seems notoriously difficult when it comes to networking (and other things for that matter!) I am actually at work in the North sea presently so can't be much help just now but I will be home on Tuesday and I really want to get to the bottom of this problem so will be spending much time on it then and will keep you posted as to my progress.

[wydchr]

Finally managed to get my N5200 mapped to the network, the problem appears to have been caused by the firewall!! disable your firewall until the N5200 is mapped then re-enable the firewall... worked for me anyway

[jbl]

Originally Posted by wydchr

Finally managed to get my N5200 mapped to the network, the problem appears to have been caused by the firewall!! disable your firewall until the N5200 is mapped then re-enable the firewall... worked for me anyway

My firewall is disabled already. Thanks for posting anyways.

This is my third major (lasting several weeks) problem with my N5200 and I am extremely disappointed with Thecus.

[wydchr]

Hmmm, my problem is now that when I restore my firewall the N5200 is no longer readable and I have to turn it off again to be able to access it again. I guess I need to find out how to let my firewall let me access this drive... I'm using Trend Micro PC-cillin if anyone out there knows how to do this??

BTW jbl, before I did try disabling the firewall which eventually let me map the drive, I disabled SMB/CIFS sharing and file access on the N5200 and then re-enabled it again... not sure if this did anything but it's worth a try for you.

cheers, David.

[jbl]

I'm not sure about PC-Cillin but maybe there is an option to "unblock" certain computers by IP address.

I tried disabling/re-enabling SMB/CIFS File Sharing with no luck.

Yesterday I did a clean (reformat) install of Windows XP and tried a new router to try to see if anything about my machine or router was preventing me from seeing the N5200. It did not fix the problem. Whatever is wrong, I suspect it has to be with the N5200 itself. I cannot access some of the screens in the Net GUI either (posted in another thread) and suspect something is wrong in the firmware but have not heard back from Thecus on that support ticket. I've also tried about two dozen fixes for similar problems found through Google so I'm running out of ideas.