VPN and Network Drive Problem

[cotjocky]

Ok, I'll try to be as informational on the hardware, software and problem as possible. I will first off admit that I don't know much about networking but unfortunately, neither does our so called "Computer Guy".

I work for an ambulance service and we have computers at our outer stations with a computers also being at the main station where all the billing is done.

We medics put our charts into a program called "ART". Once done, we connect over a VPN and transmitt these charts to the main station where the billing is done.

We have been having problems with our VPN for months. We have been running old XP machines with SP2 up until recently. The guy that use to take care of our pc's got fired several months ago and our new "Computer Guy" is our mechanic. God Bless him, but he'll admit he is no computer guy. He just does what he is told.

I know that our old system use to be relatively simple, at least to us trying to transmitt our charts. Once you had it put in, you connected to the VPN and then clicked a .bat file called "Mapdrive". Pretty simple, it mapped the drive. It worked without question. The only problem was that if you were connected and forgot to disconnect, no one else could connect until you disconnected.

All of a sudden after the orginal guy that set this up got fired, they decided to tinker with it for whatever reason. Well, more than one user could be connected at one time after they tinkered with it, but we would get alot of "The Transmitt Path Does Not Exist". They deleted that Mapdrive.bat file and only me and few others knew how to map the drive so we could transmitt.

Well, due to all the issues, the decided to buy new Dell machines with Vista on them and to deny access to anything but the ART system so the computers won't be tampered with.

As with both machines, when you would look under "My Computer" you would see what was the "Z" drive. Something to the effect of Z:\\art6.

Keep in mind, the internet connection is Cable, from the Motorola cable modem to a Motorola wireless routher and then to the PC. The connection and internet components are the same as before.

Well, when the "Computer Guy" came and hooked up the new pc, the "Z" drive showed up, I ultimately had to map the drive to get the thing to connect and transmitt, but I got it done. My shift was over, I left and now I am back at work again.

Now when you look under "My Computer" their is no "Z" drive. It has disappeared. I've tried to map the drive, but the drive doesn't exist to be mapped. I can however connect the VPN, but "The Transmitt Path Does Not Exist"

Ive tried \\server\c in the run line, I've tried for Z: under cmd, but nothing is found. It's like it does not exist. I'v tried to map the drive with the correct path of \\etc\art6 but nothing is ever found, doesn't exist.

Where did the "Z" drive go? I don't think anyone would have deleted the "Z" drive and I have no clue if the pc was restarted since I was last here but it may have been.

Is this an issue on this pc or is this an issue at the main station where the charts are transmitted to.

No one that works here really knows anything and isn't able to help much.

My is guess something is screwed up on the main stations side, but hey, I don't know much about VPN's or network drives myself.

All input and help appreciated!

[cotjocky]

Anyone?

[adam416]

1. Fire the guys that touched the computers.
2. Find the old IT guy and do some major butt kissing.

I would think the bat file was doing some stuff in the background so you might have to have that file for your setup.

Is the hard drive in the remote location that has ART on it being shared? Just a thought.

[Liquidparadox]

I know that I ran into a problem of sharing a hard drive that was running Windows Vista, and I could not map the hard drive no matter how much I tried until I password protected the remote computer. Sounds odd, but I was trying to map an external drive on a Windows vista machine from my XP pro computer, and it would not allow it until the vista computer was password protected. This shouldnt be the issue as if you are working at a hospital, all of the computers I am sure has some form of password protection.

I would have to find out from the main station if the drive that you are mapping is shared for one, and set up to allow remote users to change the contents of the drive. If it is shared, the mapping of it should be pretty straight forward in Vista. You can also try when you map the drive to look for \\server\c$ as the $ allows for you to gain access to the root directory on the shared drive. I dont know if that will help or not. As far as looking for Z, you shouldnt really need to look for Z as it is an arbritarty character that has been asigned to the drive that has been mapped. Z will never exist on the main computer unless the drive is labeled as Z. It is only Z on the remote computers end that is accessing the shared drive.

My suggestion is to right click on My computer, and select Map Network Drive. Once the box pops up, you should be able to set the identification of the drive as Z, and then type on the folder line \\servername\c$. This will give you access to the root drive if it is shared. It might ask you for a password, and hopefully you have that. Once that is done, the drive should be shared and stay there until it is "disconnected".

I hope this helps some.

[cotjocky]

Originally Posted by adam416 1. Fire the guys that touched the computers. 2. Find the old IT guy and do some major butt kissing. I would think the bat file was doing some stuff in the background so you might have to have that file for your setup. Is the hard drive in the remote location that has ART on it being shared? Just a thought.

The guys that touched the computers are the management. They aren't going anywhere.

The old IT guy was fired for Serious offense not related to computers. He isn't comming back.

The bat file did do something. It was just a simple file that mapped the drive for the people that are not computer inclined. That way employees could do what they were required to do without having to understand what or why they were doing it. The bat file simply mapped the drive while only requiring a double left click from the user. For whatever reason, management decided that the employees didn't need to be doing that every time the transmitted. Seems to me literally fixing something that wasn't really broken, but I don't get paid to make decisions or run the place.

ART isn't being shared. Each computer has the ART program on it. The only thing is once done, your chart is saved on your pc in the ART program. You then connect to the VPN to send that chart to the main station. There is no other access to the "Z" drive that I have noticed. You can explore it once the VPN is connected, but having good sense I don't screw with it as I know I am not supposed to. I'd rather keep my realtively cushy job, health insurance and state retirement benefits.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox I know that I ran into a problem of sharing a hard drive that was running Windows Vista, and I could not map the hard drive no matter how much I tried until I password protected the remote computer. Sounds odd, but I was trying to map an external drive on a Windows vista machine from my XP pro computer, and it would not allow it until the vista computer was password protected. This shouldnt be the issue as if you are working at a hospital, all of the computers I am sure has some form of password protection.

The new pc at the station is a Vista machine but I don't know if they put in a new Vista machine at the main station or not. I haven't asked or checked. I don't believe they have. I was told they were just for the stations as an attempt at resolving all the VPN issues we have been having as of late. I personally think the "Computer Guy" (our mechanic) chose Vista simply due to the ease of the parental controls on Vista, not due to it being any more easy or stable for a VPN. Either way, we had VPN issues before Vista ever entered the picture and when he first installed the new computer, "Z" drive did show up and I was able to transmitt my chart. It was not until I returned for my next shift that "Z" drive was gone and I could no longer transmitt my chart.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox I would have to find out from the main station if the drive that you are mapping is shared for one, and set up to allow remote users to change the contents of the drive. If it is shared, the mapping of it should be pretty straight forward in Vista. You can also try when you map the drive to look for \\server\c$ as the $ allows for you to gain access to the root directory on the shared drive. I dont know if that will help or not. As far as looking for Z, you shouldnt really need to look for Z as it is an arbritarty character that has been asigned to the drive that has been mapped. Z will never exist on the main computer unless the drive is labeled as Z. It is only Z on the remote computers end that is accessing the shared drive.

I would assume it was shared as it would have to be for me to be able to connect to it correct? But this isn't a regular in house "Sharing", this is over the internet for a 20 miles distance share. Same as it would be for someone to "Share" from California to New York.

Mapping of the drive, to me, is straight forward. The problem is the drive isn't their on the new pc to be mapped. It disappeared.

I'll give the \\server\c$ a try but I think it's gonna come back to first the drive has to show up on the new pc under "My Computer" as with the old computer and with the new computer, even when the VPN was not connected, "Z" drive showed up 24/7.

I honestly have no idea what the drive is lettered at the main station. I just know that at every single station we have, that drive shows up as "Z".

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox My suggestion is to right click on My computer, and select Map Network Drive. Once the box pops up, you should be able to set the identification of the drive as Z, and then type on the folder line \\servername\c$. This will give you access to the root drive if it is shared. It might ask you for a password, and hopefully you have that. Once that is done, the drive should be shared and stay there until it is "disconnected". I hope this helps some.

I've right clicked and attempted to map the drive. When I open it up, it is automatically set to "Z" and when you drop down the box it gives the correct \\blah\art6 setting, but when you click "Finish" for it to map, it more or less tells you that it does not exist. Leading me back to my orginal question/statement. Is something screwed up at the main station or is it something on the new PC?

I'm not currently at work.

[Floppyman]

Could be the firewall blocking the connection attempt to the network share. If you temporarily disable the Vista firewall, do you still receive the error? HTH

[Liquidparadox]

This is why the business community has not adopted windows vista. It has only been in the last 2 years that the business community has adopted windows xp. There are just too many idiosynchrasies that happen between versions, and it takes quite a bit of testing in a lab environment to get everything to work 100% of the time.

When you map a drive, depending on the protection, it may not broadcast itself, and by knowing the server name, and drive you are looking for, you can basically force the connection. Sounds odd, but not every drive will broadcast that its there, and businesses do this to keep some things private but shared with only those people that need to know.

Are the VPN setting correctly set up for vista? That would be something check.

I am reaching here, but look this up as well and see if this might be interfering with the VPN. RIght click on computer and select manage. From there go down to services and select that to show you what services are running on your computer. Go all the way down to the bottom and ensure that the service Workstation is enabled and started. Try restarting that service as well and see if that helps the situation. I ran into an issue once where I could connect to the VPN, but I could not map any of the drives on our network, and the reason was that the workstation in my services was turned off. I am not that well versed with vista, and I hope that it is in there.

Is the version of vista that is on the computer able to map drives? Its not vista home basic is it? I dont even know if you can network with the basic vista.

[cotjocky]

Originally Posted by Floppyman Could be the firewall blocking the connection attempt to the network share. If you temporarily disable the Vista firewall, do you still receive the error? HTH

I'm not at work today, but I'll give this a try tomorrow if it is still not up and running.

Problem is most everything requires a admin password I don't have. I'll see if I can turn the firewall off or not and see what happens.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox This is why the business community has not adopted windows vista. It has only been in the last 2 years that the business community has adopted windows xp. There are just too many idiosynchrasies that happen between versions, and it takes quite a bit of testing in a lab environment to get everything to work 100% of the time.

Like I had said before, I think we only got Vista because our "Computer Guy" (Mechanic) found it easier to use the parental controls on Vista than he did on XP. I personally feel, from what was said to me, that was the only reason we ended up with Vista to begin with, but I can't say 100%. Either way, the computers are Vista and that isn't going to change.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox When you map a drive, depending on the protection, it may not broadcast itself, and by knowing the server name, and drive you are looking for, you can basically force the connection. Sounds odd, but not every drive will broadcast that its there, and businesses do this to keep some things private but shared with only those people that need to know.

Well, I thought that was what the \\blah\art6 was for. By typing that it, it should be looking for the direct path of that particular folder on the main machine. Am I wrong in that thought?

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox Are the VPN setting correctly set up for vista? That would be something check.

I assume they are as our "Computer Guy" got the systems working in house at the main station and then took the pcs to the outer stations. He then could not get them to work at the outer stations and took some of the computers to a local computer shop to get the pc's setup correctly as he had no clue why it would work in house, but not at the outer stations. He brought back to our station another computer that the guy at the local computer shop had setup, installed it and everything worked correctly. I come in the next shift and "Z" drive is gone and it no longer works.

What would I check to make sure it is setup correctly? Remember, I don't have alot of knowledge about VPN's, network drives, sharing or things of that nature.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox I am reaching here, but look this up as well and see if this might be interfering with the VPN. RIght click on computer and select manage. From there go down to services and select that to show you what services are running on your computer. Go all the way down to the bottom and ensure that the service Workstation is enabled and started. Try restarting that service as well and see if that helps the situation. I ran into an issue once where I could connect to the VPN, but I could not map any of the drives on our network, and the reason was that the workstation in my services was turned off. I am not that well versed with vista, and I hope that it is in there.

I'll definitely give that a look and make sure the service is started and running.

Originally Posted by Liquidparadox Is the version of vista that is on the computer able to map drives? Its not vista home basic is it? I dont even know if you can network with the basic vista.

I didn't bother to check, but I don't think it is Vista Basic. Since this is a small county government entity, I assume they had the fore thought to get Vista Business. These aren't bad machines. Granted they are low end Vostro 200's, but they do have Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processers with 2GB of RAM.

I'll check and make sure but I would assume it is Vista Business.

[glc]

He brought back to our station another computer that the guy at the local computer shop had setup, installed it and everything worked correctly.

Best advice? Get the guy at the shop involved. Pay him to get this working for you. You need local competent support.

[cotjocky]

Originally Posted by glc Best advice? Get the guy at the shop involved. Pay him to get this working for you. You need local competent support.

That's my thoughts exactly, but when they have the "Service Manager" (why they call him a manager I don't know as he has no mechanic employees he manages) fixing broken doors, leaky faucets, replacing light bulbs, repairing the vehicles and anything else that breaks, I just don't see them paying anyone to fix these PC issues unless they absolutely have to as the cost of a IT guy is usually outrageous in cost.

Our last computer guy was an employee that worked on the ambulance. He had a 2 year degree in IP and many years of PC knowledge and work. He just liked working on the ambulance better even though he took a cut in yearly pay by half from his IT job. Unfortunately, I kinda got dubbed "The Computer Guy" around work because I help some people out at work with their laptops and some software issues.

Just because I can reload an OS, figure out driver issues and other minor PC problems does not make me a "networking" or "IT" guy, but I think I got the mechanic whooped in certain aspects! lol...

So... Until everything comes to a screeching hault and they absolutely have to get a IT guy to come in and get it working, I'm stuck diagnosing until then.

[glc]

One thing I do know about networking with Vista - *ALL* user accounts need passwords or it will NOT go smoothly.

[cotjocky]

Originally Posted by glc One thing I do know about networking with Vista - *ALL* user accounts need passwords or it will NOT go smoothly.

Maybe that could be the issue. The admin account requires a password. The generic account that is for our use requires no password at log-on.

[Liquidparadox]

I agree with glc to a point. I know that I had no problem mapping a network drive on my xp computer from my vista workstation without having it password protected.

D drive on XP pro mapped on vista didnt need a password, but a D drive on vista mapped on XP needs to be password protected. I only know this since I have one of my computers at home running vista, while everything else in the house runs XP pro.

It all comes down to what the main or central computer is running, and you probably need to know this as well as passwords if you are going to be their go to guy. Nothing like trying to work with half the information. It would be best to password protect everything as I know that in vista, a password is the only way it will share things out.

I do agree that you need some onsight help, as networks and VPN's can be very tricky to set up if they are not configured right.

One other idea that I have is that maybe that bat file used to apply a persistant address. Only thing is that you only need to set up a persistant address on a VPN once, and the computer should keep it for whenever you are connected to the VPN. Maybe when you swapped out computers to vista, that persistant address wasnt put in. I cant really help you out that much since I dont know all the parameters of the VPN you are working on, but I can help you find out if there is a persistant address in the computer.

Open up a command prompt, and type in route print This command will print all of the routes on your computer, and at the bottom it will tell you if there is a persistant address present. You might need one in there. To put one in there you need to have the VPN's ip info, subnet mask, gateway and metric info. The command to add a persistant address is as follows from the command prompt. The xxx's are info that you would need to get from the VPN and how it is configured.

route add -p 192.xxx.x.x mask 255.255.xxx.0 192.xxx.xxx.xx metric 1

[glc]

Very easy to take care of the password issue if you are not too concerned with security - use "password" or something else that's very simplistic and you would have to be a total moron to forget.

I had a customer that used "drowssap" as his ADMIN password.........he never forgot it!