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Humdinger of a problem - Cmd cannot change mapped drives - cannot see drives - Win11 Pro accesses perfectly

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2.3K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  WndrWmn  
#1 · (Edited)
Hello,

I have a WHOPPER of a problem that I think even the techs at Microsoft are looking at my request for support and passing over and saying a GINORMOUS "HELL NO NOT ME, YOU TAKE THIS CALL"......ROFL

First off I am attaching my MSInfo file for all the details to make things easy.

I recently reinstalled Win11 Pro and things seemed to be working ok. This is my first time trying to use the command prompt for anything since the reinstall. I have the Cmd set to always run elevated as administrator. I am the only person on all of my systems and I am completely set up as the administrator. Issue is that in the Cmd I cannot change drives. I have numerous folders that I have mapped successfully (and they are set to reconnect at startup) through Win11 Pro "map network drive" and I am able to navigate/access them completely, successfully normally through Windows, BUT the Cmd will not change drives/directories to any of them. (screenshot of Cmd included) and also the net use command comes back repeatedly as "There are no entries in the list." I am also coming up with various apps (two so far are: Snip & Sketch and also the iCloud control panel) that keep coming up with Windows access error boxes that say it cannot access the file, it shows the path in the title bar but it is too long to read and I cannot copy it because it doesn't have that functionality built into that error window and also the keyboard shortcut for Snip & Sketch is not working at all. I have tried repairing, resetting and reinstalling both of the apps (and have gotten the iCloud working) but the S&S app keyboard shortcuts do not want to work (Win + Shift + S). I am suspecting that if I reboot the computer that the iCloud CP will once again "cough up a furball" with that same error and have to be reinstalled.

I have a SOHO in my apartment that consists of the following:

2 laptops (one is Win11 Pro and the other is a 13 yr old on Win10 Pro)
A brand new desktop that I personally built with a custom liquid cooling loop (Win11 Pro - this is the machine with the issue that will be discussed and troubleshooting)
A NAS Enclosure (QNAP brand Model: TS-932PX) w/2 x 16TB Ironwolf drives) (I have attached the manual for this)
2 SeaGate external USB HD connected to the back of the NAS - One is 8TB and the other is 10TB
Wi-Fi router and a modem
Modem:
Arris Enterprises S33 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem

Router:
ASUS RT-AX3000 AX3000 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router

Switch:
TP-LINK TL-SG105 5-Port 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Desktop Switch

Troubleshooting steps performed so far:

Rebooted several times
Performed SFC /scannow and the results initially came back that there were corrupt files detected that could not be repaired.
Performed DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth which said it found problems and replaced the files.
Ran SFC /scannow again and it came up clean
Tried to change drives/directories and perform net use in CMD and it still would not work
Performed a System Restore (which reported it completed successfully)
Tried to change drives/directories and perform net use in CMD and it still would not work
I just ran SFC /scannow again and once again it came up with the same results as the first time I ran it - that there were corrupt files and was unable to fix some of them I am attaching several variations of my CBS log. The log file named CBS Full Old Log is the log that has older results in it. The one with the word "overnight" is from when I ran it overnight to isolate just those results and the one with the word "New" is the one I just ran now for the purposes of this post. Note: All log files had to be changed from .log to .txt because the forum software prohibited their being uploaded as .log files.

I have a Microsoft 365 subscription which gives me support from them that includes tech support for Windows. I have opened 2 support requests set for phone calls but both are stuck at "opened" and "a support agent is being assigned to your request" and it has been hours since I opened them. (screenshot attached). Like I described in the first paragraph, I don't think ANY techs want to touch this at Microsoft.

I would rather NOT have to wipe out the disk and reinstall Windows all over again. It is not a matter of losing any data at all because the desktop has 2 x 2TB SSD drives and I keep all my data either on the 2nd drive or mostly on my NAS drive which is also connected to my Google Drive and is still actively syncing successfully without issue. My laptop with Win11 Pro has zero problems with the Cmd accessing the drives (tested it this morning). If it comes down to it, I will do it....it will be annoying because I do the local account and I also have some large programs to reinstall, and also I do the offline installer version for office and I go to the extreme of ripping out OneDrive (cannot stand how that is forced down our throats) completely and I have several custom Defender Firewall rules that I created. Side question: can firewall rules be either exported or backed up to be reinstalled or do they always have to be created new?

Sorry this is so long, but it is a "Whopper"


Screenshots:

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Thanks in advance for the help, it's appreciated.
 

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#14 · (Edited)
Ok, just tested running the Cmd in elevated/admin mode by running the "net use" and also just switching directories to the "X:" and after adding that registry mod it is working perfectly....MS get your crap together! You are EMBARASSING YOURSELVES!
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#12 ·
Thank you again for your wonderful help. It’s appreciated. I did some research with a friend of mine and between my friend and the Microsoft Community forum we found out that this exact problem has been in existence for several years. There is a fix for it, and it is to create an additional registry key. Apparently the problem has something to do with when the option is set for prompt for credentials through the UAC. The thing is, that’s not what is set up on my computer. I did add the registry key and reboot the computer as per directions. I have not had a moment to test it yet. The interesting thing is a few things. First, this is such basic functionality. Why the hell has Microsoft fixed it if it’s been around for several years already . The next thing is why are my two laptops one of which is a 13 year-old running Windows 10 pro and the other which is maybe three years old running Windows 11 Pro not having the problem and have never had the problem?

I posted those questions in reply to , the suggestion I was provided with. The person could not give me an answer on either of them. In any case I created the registry key when I have a moment, I will test it and see what’s going on.

here is a link to my thread on the Microsoft Community forum for anybody that wants to review it and find the linked information for the fix:

Thread: Fix for elevated Cmd not seeing mapped drives
 
#13 ·
WndrWmn said:
First, this is such basic functionality. Why the hell has Microsoft fixed it if it’s been around for several years already . The next thing is why are my two laptops one of which is a 13 year-old running Windows 10 pro and the other which is maybe three years old running Windows 11 Pro not having the problem and have never had the problem?

I posted those questions in reply to , the suggestion I was provided with. The person could not give me an answer on either of them. In any case I created the registry key when I have a moment, I will test it and see what’s going on.
Click to expand...
Perhaps MS considers their OneDrive as making mapping obsolete.
 
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#10 ·
Ok, here's the latest and greatest....Did a wipe and fresh install of W11 Pro. Cmd is STILL not working properly to switch drives/directories. It will NOT work in Elevated Admin mode but it WILL work in non-elevated admin mode to switch around. It will also NOT do net use in elevated but WILL do it in non-elevated mode.

I did solve the issue with the keyboard shortcuts for the snipping tool....It looks like the GENIUSES at Microsoft that do NOT know how to leave things alone that work properly have changed the keyboard shortcuts for the app from Win + Shift + S to simply using the "Print Screen" to open and trigger the app. There is an option in the settings for the app that is tied into the Windows OS settings that allow you to toggle enable/disable use "Print Screen" but there is NO access to anything in the OS for keyboard shortcut mapping so you cannot reassign it back from the "Print Screen".....UGH Microsoft LEAVE THINGS ALONE!

But what in the world is going on with the command prompt still?
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#9 ·
Disconnecting a mapped drive and then immediately Mapping it with the same drive letter takes less then a minute.
Do one drive and check it with Net Use. If successful, do the rest.

We don't like to cross the bridge of what would happen if it doesn't fix it until we have at least tried it.
 
#7 ·
The Seagate 10 TB drive is Drive Letter X: you may want to change that to avoid confusion with the RE default drive letter.
You really only need to Map the NAS machine. And any other external computers, When, you click that mapped drive letter, it will show you the rest of the shared folders on that computer.
You can map each folder if you like on that computer for convenience but it is redundant.
 
#8 ·
spunk.funk said:
The Seagate 10 TB drive is Drive Letter X: you may want to change that to avoid confusion with the RE default drive letter.
You really only need to Map the NAS machine. And any other external computers, When, you click that mapped drive letter, it will show you the rest of the shared folders on that computer.
You can map each folder if you like on that computer for convenience but it is redundant.
Click to expand...
I am aware that it is redundant, but as you aptly noticed, it is for convenience. I personally pick each drive letter so it is easy to identify the purpose or subject of the content. For example, A: is for my personal files it corresponds to the initial of my first name, T: is for everything tech related, E: is for the "Eight TB" drive and X: is the Roman numeral for 10 because that is the other external driver which is 10TB. Regarding the X: drive mapping, my 2 laptops both do not have any problem at all with accessing any of the drives including the X: drive through the command prompt, it is only my desktop. I have all of my computers mapped in the same drive letter modality for uniformity.

The kicker in this is that they all function perfectly normally through Windows on this desktop, it is only limited to the command prompt.....That's why I called this a "Humdinger of a problem".

Easy and quick question, if the disconnecting and re-mapping does not solve the problem is my only fix left to reinstall Win11 Pro again?
 
#3 ·
Your post was so long, that I skipped over it so excuse me if you answered these questions already.

Do these Mapped Drives have Drive letters associated with them? If so, what are they?
In your Elevated Command Prompt the drive letter X: is the Recovery Environment, which is a virtual drive and not a local to your machine and you cannot run any Windows commands for the C: drive.
To change drive letters from the RE or any other drive just type the drive letter, do not type CD before it (ie) C: and press Enter. The prompt will change from X: to C:
For example If your mapped drive letter is S: or whatever, then type S: and press Enter. At the S:\> prompt (ie) type CD then folder you want to browse
(ie) S:.\CD Documents and press Enter. You now will be in the Documents folder.
You can browse for Shared drives by going to Search or Run and typing the name of the computer or drive (ie) \\ComputerName and press Enter.
If the Net Use command shows no mapped drives, then right click This PC and choose Disconnect Network drive. Remove all mapped drives
Browse for shared drive and choose to Map it and then choose a Drive Letter not being used.
 
#6 ·
I will disconnect and re-map all of the drives. I am providing a pic of the mapped drives. None of them are the recovery environment. They are mapped to folders on my NAS with the exception of the two drives showing offline status which are mapped to my Win10 Pro laptop which is currently in sleep mode and also of course the C: drive and the D: drive which are the 2 drives on the desktop.

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