Intermittent "Access Denied"

[gbbones]

Just installed a new server running Small Business Server 2000 with 20 license. There are approximately 20 workstations all running Win98 but usually only 12-15 are on at any given time. Each workstation is running Outlook 2000 to connect to Exchange Server. Each workstation also has two mapped drives (P: and H:) to shares on the server. Randomly, users will get "Access Denied" when trying to access one of these mapped drives even if they are already in that share. For example, I might open a Word document from the P: drive and make some changes. When I try to save it I might get the "Access Denied" message. Like I said, it's intermittent. It only happens a few times a day and it happens to different workstations on different hubs, etc. There doesn't seem to be anything common to the affected workstations other than the server. When the error occurs, I can still do anything I want with the Exchange Server info in Outlook so I know I have connectivity to the server. I can't access any shared drives from Explorer. If I go to a Command Prompt I can map a drive successfully and then the problem goes away. Suddenly, I regain access to the P: and H: drives if I map a drive X: to the server. Also, if I simply reboot the affected workstation the problem goes away.

Any thoughts?

[+Daemon+]

have you checked the shared folder to see if its set to allow unlimited users, or is is set to a amount

[gbbones]

It was set to "maximum allowed" and I changed it to 50 just to eliminate that possibility.

[KCarter335]

I've seen it too. Only a reboot fixes it. There was a Technet article that resembled what the problem was, but it was one of those things that happens once and a while and it was eventually forgotten about.... until it happens again.

[silencio]

Check your log for license issues.

M$ considers different types of connections as consuming a single licence. A single machine can use 3 or so licenses. Sucks huh?

[The Computer Valet]

Yeah, I agree. Check the event log for security faults. I imagine you are running out of licenses with persistent connections and multiple accesses.

I also imagine that Windows 98 is not giving you the full message.

Check your event viewer for faults under security. You may also want to turn on auditing.

[GHSTECH]

I have the same problem here. We have over 400 systems so it happens daily. I am hoping that W2K SP3 might help, I haven't had time to test it enough before I install it on the server. Have you installed SP3 yet? I have been testing Win XP Pro and it does not seem to occur on clients running it. This seems to point to a problem in Win98. btw what kind of logon script are you running? (we are using Kixtart) Does yours drop manually mapped drive or only ones mapped by a script? (Ours only drop the ones mapped by the logon script.)

[gbbones]

Still haven't found a solution to the problem. I checked the Security Log and found nothing there. I haven't installed SP3, yet. I'm kinda waiting to see what experiences everyone else has with it. I don't use a logon script. The drives are mapped from Explorer at the workstations. I am keeping everyone somewhat happy with a little batch file on their desktops. When they get disconnected from a mapped drive they run the batch and the problem goes away. The batch just disconnects and reconnects the mapped drives like this:

net use x: /delete
net use y: /delete
net use x: \\server\share1
net use y: \\server\share2

I'll let you know if SP3 makes things better...

Thanks for the posts! Keep 'em coming if you think of anything new.

[Chris_MacMahon]

now if this happens in word, and 2 people have the same file open, the first person can save the other can't....

[KCarter335]

gbbobes,
Why not rename that login script on their desktop to LOGIN.BAT and put it in the NETLOGON share on the domain
controller(Generally this is %SystemRoot%\System32\Repl\Import\Scripts, but it is easier to work with the NETLOGON share). Or are you running a peer to peer network? This way your users ALWAYS get the same drive letter mapped to the same share whenever they login using their NT account.

[The Computer Valet]

Can't you verify exactly how many connections are open on the server?

[silencio]

Two things, if your out of licenses you'll get a 202 event id in the Application log and 2) I can almost guarantee that this is your problem.