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Slow local file reading because of mapped drives 4

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KC78

Technical User
Mar 17, 2004
16
US
At work, we run Win 2000 Pro. I'm mapped to alot of drives all over the country. This make opening files from the dropdown box in the open file dialog very slow (I think). Is there a way to get connected to all of them automaticaly at logon but have a folder outside the MyComputer frame, so when I need them I go to them instead of Windows looking at the whole folder structure? I think I could do it in Network Places, but IS securtity would definitely not allow it.
 
Hi KC78

If I understand the question correctly you could, rather than map to drive letters, create say, a desktop shortcut like \\servername\sharename.

This way a drive is never mapped but you can still get to the drive via the shortcut. Then when you go to My Computer you'll only have your local drives. If you wanted to save to the network drives you'd do it via Desktop then the shortcut.

Hope this is what you're after

Cheers

Simon
 
I think I kind of get what you're saying..... but just to clarify more...... we have servers that hold specific information that is used frequently, so, anyone with the right priviledges (me in this case) would have permission to map to it. So, when I map a drive, I would check, "reconnect at logon" because I want it ready when I need to use it so I do not have to go to tool/map network drive.....pick from the dialog box etc.

However, with my job function, I have something like about 10 mapped shares, and I use most of them everyday. It's great when I need something in a mapped drive, but when I want to just say save a file locally, or open a file locally from Word, or just access a file from a particular share, windows will read all of them before displaying the folder tree. I know this because when I unmapped all the drives, the folder tree appears immediately. It's like Windows has to think and look at all those maps before displaying the tree.....(I don't know how else to say it!)

So, what I was looking for, is have the drives mapped and ready, but not in the My Computer level, but more like on the Desktop level (when you look at the tree structure in Explorer).

Am I making sense??
 
Try this fix first:

Open the registry editor.

Go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace

Export this key (in order to back it up, just in case) and then delete the key called

{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} (Task Scheduler).

Close the registry.


 
Hi There

Yes that makes pererfect sense. Just to clarify, you want the drives actually mapped to a drive letter AND to show in Win Explorer but not to actually 'check' the drive unless you want to access that particular drive.

I think what I mentioned before may be the best way (Unless anyone else has some other idea's?). So give this a go..

1: Go to the desktop and do a right mouse click. Select NEW then SHORTCUT.

2: In the path, instead of having the shortcut point to a drive letter type it as follows

\\server or PC name\share name (exactly as you would if you were mapping a drive) OK all of that.

Now you have a shortcut connecting to the share you would normally have mapped as a drive. This won't appear in Win Explorer but it shouldn't affect your access spead to the local drives. Do the smae for the rest of your network 'drives'. These will all remain mapped next time you log on.

If you wanted to save something to the drive that the new shortcut points to you would have to go EG; 'Save as', Select Desktop then select the shortcut you created. It will save to this as it would a normal drive.

I think we're on the same track here. Hope this is a bit clearer AND what you're after.

Cheers

Simon
 
Hey simon, Yeah, it's beginning to make sense now, I can't try it now but i'll print your solution and try it at work when there's the network connection.

Thanks bud, I think it's gonna work!
 
Hey Simon, I don't think it's quite possible now. I tried it at work...... If I need 10 mapped drives, that would mean I would need 10 shortcuts on my desktop...... Wouldn't that be kinda messy? Well, looks like that's the best..... the autoexec.bat file provided by IS is

blah blah blah.....
net logon E:{share}
net logon F:{share}
net logon G:{share}
net logon H:{share}

I like that, but if only I could put it in My Network Places, which I don't think I have admin rights to......

But thanks so much for your help... I really appreciate it!!!!! KC
 
Create yourself a batch file or two on your desktop.

On called: CONNECT.BAT and the other DISCONNECT.BAT .

In the connect.bat, you add all the drives you want to map:

NET USE G: \\<server>\<share1>
NET USE H: \\<server>\<share2>
NET USE I: \\<server>\<share3>

and in the DISCONNECT.BAT, you can remove them:

NET USE G: /d
NET USE H: /d
NET USE I: /d

Also, you might be getting troubles from your MRU lists (Most Recently Used). If your drive are not connected and you pull down the listing, it will need to timeout before showing you all of them, which takes time. This article explains how to remove the MRU lists:








&quot;In space, nobody can hear you click...&quot;
 
KC78,

When you get a chance, make the registry edit I mentioned above.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
 
Happy to help anytime KC. You are right. It would be messy with 10 shortcuts. I use the shortcuts alot but only for one or two drives.

Reddlefty's idea is a good one but try bcastner's suggestion. I haven't tried it yet but sounds like he's onto something.

TO BCASTNER, I'm curious, can you explain what that registry change is doing?

Thanks

Simon
 
Ok guys..... you guys are too great!! I will try all options at work tommorrow. I hope I have access to the registry.

Yeah Bcastner, are you saying you want to delete the task scheduler??? It'll be nice to explain....... thanks.
 
Windows Explorer will first look at any mapped drive to see if there is a remotely scheduled task, and the second, if there are remote print requests, prior to scanning the remote share for volumes, folders and files.

Microsoft itself introduced this browsing speedup in an earlier Win2k service pack, but has not re-introduced it since.

For any Windows client, Win9x, ME, NT, Win2k, or XP, that uses remote shares, disabling the preliminary chore of scanning the remote Task Scheduler for possible chores will make an often dramatic difference in your browsing speed. You can extend my hint when you use regedit by removing the remote printer scan as well, it is the next key down.

If you follow my registry hack, you should be surprised how responsive a browse of a remote share now becomes.

Depending on your setting, you can save between 5 and 20 seconds per share browsed.




 
Super........I'll let you know tommorrow!!!!
 
Great post Bcastner. I never knew that. Have a star from me.
 
Dear BCASTNER and SIOXLEY,

It sure worked!!!! D@mn you're good BCASTNER!!!! Apparently, it probably wasn't so much of my machine running slow looking for the files, but the office's LAN setup is not very good, in my opinion......too much security to go through before doing anything....... anyways......

I tried it on several programs and the minimum speed increase was at least 3-5 seconds...... and then it's just fast once's it's opened.

KUDO's to you BCASTNER, and Sioxley, you have been very very helpful too even though I didn't use your solution. : )

Don't know if you guys know this and don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but there's this other site that you guys would love, it's a paid forum, but you can get by, by earning points, by answering other people's questions..... and then you get promoted and promoted the more and more points you earn..... and it's also like a competition, to see who gave the best solution because it's up to the author to award the points he has. And you can ask questions by using your points. so.....if interested, it would be..... world wide web.experts-exchange dot dot dot com.... :)

Oh, by the way, IS caught me doing that, and wasn't too happy. That's why I said, maybe the slow time is because the damn IS people actually can know exactly what you're doing any time........ argghh!!!!

But I do want to post another post to see if you guys can answer. Explorer issue too....... THANKS!!!
 
Glad it worked for you.

As I mentioned above, at one point Microsoft itself pushed this registry patch, but for various reasons decided to preserve the ability to browse Remote Sheduled Tasks. It is an odd choice, as Administrators have multiple tools to remotely schedule a Task, and burdening Explorer with the task of checking in each instance seems silly.

Thank for recommending Expert Exchange. I am a member, as are many Forum members on this site. But there are only so many hours in a day, and I prefer the unpaid Tek-Tip contribution.

You can tell your IS department that the above registry change is a clean and good one; and will not interfere with other networking features.

You can blame it on me.

Bill Castner
Microsoft MVP - Windows Networking


 
Hi KC78

Glad you found your solution, even tho it wasn't mine D@MN!! :)

Thanks for the other site info. I haven't seen it and will check it out but I agree this free forum is the way to go. Not coz it's free but coz I don't believe you should pay for a bit of friendly advice.

I've found alot of solutions and asked questions on this site myself. It's just a great resource and wealth of knowledge.

Anyway, more than happy to have helped.
 
sioxley,

You are being far too modest. There is a great deal of truth in your recommendations above.

For a variety of reasons, a shortcut to a fully specified UNC description of a remote share is often faster than a persistent mapped drive letter.

I hope if any lesson is learned it is that there are often more than one approach to any problem; and a combination of answers is often required. If you read this whole thread you will see that I "bumped" my earlier registry hack suggestion, as it seemed to have gotten lost. But that change is no more apt or helpfull than your contribution.

Best wishes,
Bill




 
Thanks Bill

I appreciate your comments. What you say about more than one solution is very true.

I guess it relates back to my point about this site being a wealth of knowledge. The more solutions, the more you learn!

Take it easy and hopefully we catch up again sometime.

Simon
 
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