Why is it so difficult to access network shares?

[Joelacrane]

Whenever i try to access my shared folders on my network, I can never know if its going to work or not. On some days, LAPTOP works fine, and on other days, LAPTOP doesnt work, and only GATEWAY and DESKTOP work. And still on other days, nothing works at all! Sometimes, entering the share name differently helps. For example:

Gateway\My Documents\
GATEWAY\ (And then navagating to My Documents)
gateway\My Documents\
Gateway
\\gateway\My Douments\

Why is it so random? I just want to be able to access any of my shared folders when i please, without worrying about whether its going to work or not. Am i entering in the share name incorrectly?

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Maybe the IPs are changing between each connection? Or DHCP isn't working properly? Have you tried using the network folders hack (it keeps a static list of your network shares so you don't have to manually input them all the time).

[Joelacrane]

Never heard of such a hack.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I'm not sure if this works in WM5, but have a go at it anyway:

1. Using a registry editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\REDIR
2. Click RegisterFSBoot and change the value 0 to 1, then save the new value
3. Suspend your device so the registry value is properly saved, and then soft reset
4. You should now have a Network folder in file explorer - any network shares you input will now appear here

Click here for the original article (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=16254)

[Joelacrane]

not sure if i wanna go mess around in the registry. I dont want to do a hard reset.

[isajoo]

is this the same hack as the one that is in tweaks2k2, if so, then u have nothing to worry about. it does work. u could also try out a different file explorer like total commander...or resco file explorer. they have the network folder in them also. another thing i seem to notice is, if i try to access a file which i have not moved in to a folder...like a downloaded podcast from the default folder, it will not let me view the file until i move it to another folder...try that out if u have those problems. and make sure the windows firewall allows acess to shared files. try an app like zonealarm to allow permission for devices to access data over the network.

[isajoo]

opps double post

[Brad Adrian]

...and you shouldn't have to do a hard reset. A soft reset is all that's required.

[Joelacrane]

I meant risk having to do a hard reset. So it works in WM5 huh?

I guess I'll give it a try.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

is this the same hack as the one that is in tweaks2k2

Yes, it is - I thought I'd save Joel a few bucks.