NT maps shares multiple

[Matthias Wächter]

On Wed, 15 Dec 1999, Micha Holzmann wrote:

> i have here Samba 2.0.6 (Linux, 2.0.36) an NT SP4. I use Samba as PDC.
> i have one share called 'office'. Normally this share is mapped to drive g:
> 
> Sometimes this share appears multiple. Beginnig with the next free drive,
> this share is mapped 5,6 or 7 times.
> 
> Is this Problem with samba or NT. I have asked Colleagues which have NT Servers,
> they do not know this behavior. Where must i look/work to solve this?

This is an NT (and Win 9x) issue, possibly related to Samba. I worked in a
9x/NT-only office (at the university) for 1 a year, we had this problem in
another way: We had different application servers, where one should use
the application server nearest to him. Whenever he created a link to,
f.e., "P:\apps\office\winword.exe", where P: is mapped to the nearest
server's APPS share (all these application servers are configured exactly
the same), and changes to another computer using another application
server, he automatically connects another drive, f.e. O:, to point on the
original application server's APPS share.

In fact, it's the roaming profiles and the links in all your explorer
folders that make the problem. Windows stores not only the visible path
(i.e. g:\project_x\mydoc.xls or p:\apps\office\winword.exe) in the link
but also the absolute path (i.e. \\myserver\docroot) - on a Samba server
it sometimes forgets that it has already mapped \\myserver\docroot to g:,
and, guess what, maps it automatically again (f.e. to l:), additionally
changing the link to show "l:\project_x\mydoc.xls) which automatically
leads to these shares being connected also in situations when NT doesn't
think there's something wrong.

So it looks like NT sometimes thinks that the Samba server is different to
the one it is already connected to, and tries to reconnect. Since the
drive it wants to use (i.e. g:) is already in use, it reconnects to
another drive.

Search the archive (or deja or MSKB) for "LinkResolveIgnoreLinkInfo" -
that's the name of a registry value one can enter to beautify this
behavior: Windows NT/9x then ignores the absolute path and doesn't try to
automatically remap the drive or change the link to point there. This
registry setting is normally accessible also via the standard .adm file
for poledit, in fact, most users cannot enter the value by themselves
using regedit (or double clicking on a .reg file) because it's located in
\\...\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer which they cannot access,
so you will have to set up an appropriate ntconfig.pol file on your
Samba server's netlogon share.

Sehr Wus,
- Matthias

-- 
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
- Wos waas I
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