We have an office with about 30 people in it and I set up a "server" computer running Windows 7 Professional x64. The company cannot afford to purchase a real server, so I'm trying to make do with our existing hardware. Here is some more info and the symptoms of the problem: The connection will intermittently drop out and only some people are able to access the shared folder. Shared folder is mapped on all other computers on the network (I did this by going to Computer > Map Network Drive and mapped the shared folder to Z:\) We have a Ricoh multi-function printer with scanner/copier/fax that we use to scan in documents and save them to the shared folder's Scans folder. The copier is suddenly unable to scan to the Scans folder. The only solution I've been able to come up with is constantly rebooting the computer hosting the shared folder. I have set the autodisconnect to 1 minute by running this command: net config server /autodisconnect:1 and also added a DWORD value to the shared folder computer's registry (can't remember off the top of my head what it was). Any ideas would be much appreciated!! dmatranga

The problem isn’t that the company is too cheap/cannot afford the server, the problem is you as Technician/Sales person hasn’t made a compelling enough case for why the investment is necessary. You need to prepare some material to justify the cost of a proper server, outlining the benefits such as * Data safety: with RAID configurations on the server disks * Performance: the server will offer faster more reliable access the files * Fit for purpose/use: - a server is designed with file server capabilities, Windows 7 isn’t designed to file share to the extent you need (yes, 30 users aren’t much, but still). - a server is design with print server capabilities, Windows 7 isn’t And so on, it doesn’t have to be 100% accurate as long as it sounds like you know what you are talking about. Gone are the days when and IT Technician can just be a technician, you need to be a sales person as well. I find it very hard to believe a company of 30 people don’t have a file server already, if you are short on space on the current file server maybe all you need is a NAS or other storage expansion options?

Thanks for your reply, and also for the tips on how to convince my company to buy a server. It's a difficult situation since we are in a field office, but I do understand the need. However, the problem with the network and Windows 7 shared folder persist, and I find it hard to believe that there isn't a solution other than buying a NAS or upgrading to a full-blown Windows Server installation, if all we need to do is share files across a network with 30 users (not 30 simultaneously, but throughout the day). So I will just continue to restart the computer several times a day.dmatranga

Thanks for your reply, and also for the tips on how to convince my company to buy a server. It's a difficult situation since we are in a field office, but I do understand the need. However, the problem with the network and Windows 7 shared folder persist, and I find it hard to believe that there isn't a solution other than buying a NAS or upgrading to a full-blown Windows Server installation, if all we need to do is share files across a network with 30 users (not 30 simultaneously, but throughout the day). So I will just continue to restart the computer several times a day.dmatranga

Thanks for your reply, and also for the tips on how to convince my company to buy a server. It's a difficult situation since we are in a field office, but I do understand the need. However, the problem with the network and Windows 7 shared folder persist, and I find it hard to believe that there isn't a solution other than buying a NAS or upgrading to a full-blown Windows Server installation, if all we need to do is share files across a network with 30 users (not 30 simultaneously, but throughout the day). So I will just continue to restart the computer several times a day.dmatranga

As a consultant I've worked in offices of around 15 staff who's had 3-4 servers, some offices only 3-5 staff but still a minimum of 1 server, I have never ever heard of an office of 30 people without a server, field office or not. If you want to car pool with 6 other people driving to work do you buy a motorcycle (Windows 7 client PC) or do you buy a minibus (Server)? Anyway, maybe someone can give you some tips on how to get the Windows 7 shared folders working, but I cant think of anything, you are using a product for something it wasnt designed to do. The time and effort you already spent on this probably cost the company more then the cost of a proper server already! I suppose one other thing you might consider is that the problem isnt with your Windows 7 PC acting as a file server, but with your switch.

Trana, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. And you're right about the much-needed server, and I'm going to now look into my routing/switches for any possible issues, good tip.dmatranga

Trana, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. And you're right about the much-needed server, and I'm going to now look into my routing/switches for any possible issues, good tip.dmatranga

Trana, thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. And you're right about the much-needed server, and I'm going to now look into my routing/switches for any possible issues, good tip.dmatranga

I wanted to post an update to this issue. On another thread, I found a solution that (so far) seems to have worked: Start > begin typing Device Manager and click on Device Manager. View > Show hidden devices Expand the section Network Devices Right-click > Uninstall (be sure to check the box that says 'also delete driver' Click OK Continue doing this on all entries under Network Devices (some entries won't do anything when you click uninstall, not sure why, but it's all good as long as you click on each one and select Uninstall) Restart your computer Log in to Windows, and the computer should connect to Windows Update and download a compatible driver for each network device. I'm guessing that the logic behind doing the above is that you install the most compatible Windows driver and reset all the settings for your NIC. If I encounter issues with accessing the network shared drive again, I'll re-post on this thread. If this solution worked for you, please leave a comment, thanks.dmatranga

Hi, How does the computer connect to Windows Update if all the network adaptors have been Uninstalled?

Hi, How does the computer connect to Windows Update if all the network adaptors have been Uninstalled?