Windows 10: Windows cannot access network location.

Hi, got a really werid issue wondering if anyone has any ideas.


I run an old Dell Optiplex system with a bunch of hard drives in. This runs Windows 7 and is used purely to sit quietly in the corner and to be forgotten about and runs my network drives.


I've ran this setup for a long time now and had no issues until the other week where I couldn't access the network locations.


On my main PC which is a custom build running Windows 10, I went to access my network drive and was asked for the credentials, thought it was unusual as it only asked me for it when I first set up the drive and never asked since. I've entered them but get given the message "Network Error. Windows cannot access \\-------------. Contact your network administrator to request access."


This is the same on all computers in the house for some reason. I've checked on the system thats hosting the drives and that has a good internet connection, and you can access the folders and hard drives directly on that no problem, and also if I map them as a network location on there they also work fine, but not on other computers.


No settings have changed, and no Windows updates have happened on any of the machines unless Microsoft once again naughtely updated without my permission Which wouldn't surprise me as they have suddenly done that while I was in the middle of some work that had taken several hours. Lost it all, and the best part was, it was also supposed to have been saved in my documents too!


All permissions settings check out as fine too, with 'everyone' having full access to all adjustments.

:)

 

add a network location windows 10

Hi Erich,

Adding a network place in Windows allows you to access FTP, Windows file shares, and some HTTP servers directly in My Network Places, without having to use an FTP client.
To assist you better, kindly answer the following questions:

• Are you getting any error messages when you tried adding a network location?
• Are you trying to add a network location or map a network drive?

Meanwhile, if you're adding a network location, we suggest that you follow these steps below about adding a network location:

• Open This PC in File Explorer, click on the Computer tab, click on the
  Add a network location button in the ribbon.
• Click on Next in the Add Network Location wizard.
• Click on Choose a custom network location, and click on
  Next.
• Type the address of the website, FTP site, or network location you want to add, and click on
  Next.
• If you are allowed to log on anonymously to this network location, click on
  Next.
• Type a name you want for this network location in This PC, and click on
  Next.
• If you are not allowed to log on anonymously to this network location, then uncheck the
  Log on anonymously box, enter the user name for the network location, and click on
  Next.
• Click on Finish.
• If you could not log on anonymously to this network location, you will see a
  Log On As dialog prompting you to enter the user name and password for this network location. Check the
  Save password box if you do not want to be required to type the user name and password every time you access this network location. Click on
  Log On when finished.
• The network location will now open.

If you're mapping a network, we suggest that you follow the steps in this
article on how to map a network drive.

Let us know if you need additional help.

 

One computer cannot access other network computers.


So I've tried every troubleshooting step I know:

• Double checked that Net Bios was enabled
• Ran a bunch of network commands:
  • flushed DNS
  • registered dns
  • pinged and located the named computers successfully
• Reset my router to factory settings

Nothing works when I try to access via explorer. I'm still baffled by the fact that every other computer can access each other AND access this computer. It's just the outgoing connection from this machine that doesn't work.

Any thoughts?

 

Permission to access network

Hi Kristen,

You might be experiencing this issue because you lost permission to access the network resource or shortcut after upgrading your computer. To better assist you with this problem, we would like to know the following information.

• Are you using the shortcut to access a file or folder located on another computer in the network?
• Is the file or folder located on the computer that you recently upgraded?
• What is the exact error message that you received when accessing the shortcut?
• Are you using a homegroup to share files between devices on your local network?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

In the meantime, let's run the Network troubleshooter. This troubleshooter finds and fixes common connection problems. Here's how:

• Click Start.
• Start typing Network problems, and then select
  Identify and repair network problems in the results.
• Follow the steps in the troubleshooter and see if that fixes the problem.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to post a reply.