up vote 0 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I have a mapped network drive which maps to a shared folder on a VPS. Whenever I connect to the mapped drive from most locations I don't have any problems. However, when I try to connect at work I get the following error message:

An error occured while reconnecting Z: to [path]
Microsoft Windows Network: The network path was not found.

This connection has not been restored.

The only difference connecting from my work environment is that I'm using a 3G MiFi Wireless Modem to connect to the Internet. So I'm wondering if this has something to do with why it's suddenly not working.

Does anyone have any ideas? All help is appreciated. Thanks.

link|improve this question
What OS are you using? – Col Aug 25 '11 at 8:28
I'm using Windows 7 – Leah Aug 25 '11 at 8:51
feedback

migrated from serverfault.com Aug 25 '11 at 8:26

This question came from our site for system administrators and desktop support professionals.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

Many 3g sticks use a highly restricted internet service that only provides the most basic ports (80, 443, 25 etc.) and block everything else.

If your mapped drive is working elsewhere, I can only recommend checking what zone your 3g internet connection is in (Public/Private etc.) and/or firewall settings. If that is all correctly set, I can only assume that your 3g service is restricted.

Also, a bit of friendly advice - try looking at setting up VPN or a similar service to your server. Having SMB (Windows File Sharing Protocol) accessible over the internet is a very bad idea on the security front.

link|improve this answer
Thanks for your advice. When I connected, I had the option of choosing the "Network Location" out of "Home", "Work" or "Public". I chose "Work" so I think this is a Private network type. I'm not sure how to check if the firewall settings are "correctly set". Thanks for the advice about setting up a VPN - I've never done that before so is it fairly easy to do something like that? – Leah Aug 25 '11 at 8:58
VPN ease really depends on the environment... I wrote a guide for Windows - blog.williamhilsum.com/2010/09/… I doubt it is firewall though if the same machine can access it in different places. – William Hilsum Aug 25 '11 at 11:07
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.