Simple IT Support

HOWTO: Map a network drive

Posted by sporg

I know there is a lot of mysticism surrounding the mapping of network drives. But don’t worry with a little bit of information it can be a very easy process. To start off with we need two pieces of information, without this info mapping network drives becomes a bit of a nightmare. So what is this info?

• Computer Name – This is the name or IP address of the computer that holds the information you want. If it is a server you will need to speak to your IT staff to get the name. If it is another computer on the network you can find the name by right clicking my computer and going into properties. You will find what you need under the computer name tab.
• Share Name – Whenever a folder is shared you give it a name. The default is to give the share the same name as the folder but it can be changed to anything you like. You will need to know this before you can connect. Easiest way to get it is to ask the person that setup the share in the first place. Hopefully they will remember and if not they should know how to find out.

Once you have these two important bits of information the hard part is over. From here all you need to do if pick one of the following methods to tell windows where the share is and you’re ready to rock and roll. So for our first method…

Map drive using the windows explorer

1. Click Start.
2. Click My Computer.
3. On the menu at the top Click Tools.
4. Click Map Network Drive…
5. New dialog will display asking for to bits of information.
   1. Drive: This is the drive letter you would like to appear next to the drive.
      
   2. Folder: This is where the info you collected earlier is needed. Type the following \\server\share. Now go back and replace server with the Computer Name then replace share with the Share Name you collected.
      
6. You will also see a check box displayed with the words Reconnect at logon next to it. If you plan on restarting your computer but still want the files on this drive available you will need to click the check box. If you don’t the network drive will disappear when your computer is restarted.
   
7. If the username you have used to logon to the computer with is not allowed to use the share windows will display another dialog box asking for a username and password. If this is temporary and you know a username and password that has access you can enter the information and connect. If not you will need to speak to the person that created the share.
   
8. Once you have completed the above click on the Finish button and the dialog box will close after a second or two.

Now when you look at you’re my Computer you will see a new drive letter. This drive letter will be the same letter as the one you entered above. Now for our second option of mapping a network drive.

Map drive using the command console

1. Click Start go to Programs then Accessories.
2. Click on Command Prompt.
3. In the new command prompt windows you can type the following net use * \\server\share.
   1. Again you will need to replace the server part of the text with the Computer Name you collected earlier and replace share with the Share Name you have.
   2. The * at the beginning of the command tells windows to use the next available drive letter. If you would like to set the drive letter you can replace the * with the letter you would like to use followed by a colon. Please remember the drive letter must not already be in use. Your command will look like net use y: \\server\share.
   3. If you need to enter a username and password to access the directory you can add the following /USER:username. Replace username with the name you have been given.Net use will then ask for the password. It is possible to include the password on the command but this is unsafe and I do not recommend it in any circumstance.

Once the command has completed with no error messages you will have access to the network folder.

Hope this info helps. Any problems please add a comment to this post and I will be happy to try and help.

Technorati Tags: Map, Network, Drive, Windows, XP

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Simple steps to fix a problem with your printer

Posted by sporg

Don’t you hate problems with printers? I do, my problem is that I can never remember where to start when troubleshooting a problem. Well never fear I found a way to get the process started and it is in plain simple english so that everyone can use it to figure out common problems with printers. This great tool is Microsoft’s very own printer troubleshooter. Follow these steps to find the printer troubleshooter and all you have to do is follow the simple instructions given.

1. Click Start.
2. Click Help and Support.
3. Under Pick a Help topic, Click Fixing a problem.
4. On the left hand side you will find a list. Click Printing Problems.
5. Now on the right hand side click Printer Troubleshooter.

Form here you can tell the troubleshooter what kind of problem you are having and then follow the easy instructions until you find the problem. Although this method will only solve the most common printer issues it is always a good place to start.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Printer, Problem, Troubleshooting, Windows, XP, Microsoft

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Windows XP quick launch bar problems

Posted by sporg

Ever had an error like “Cannot create toolbar” when you try and open windows quick launch toolbar. Well here are a few things you can try to sort out the problem.

Check the quick launch directory

1. Open up your windows explorer and go to the following directory :
   1. “C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch”
   2. With the above path you need to replace the “<username>” with the name you use to logon to the computer with.
2. If the directory is missing create it, If the directory is there check that there are shortcuts in the directory and that everything looks normal.

Resister Shell32 and Browseui dll’s

1. Click Start then Run.

1. Type “regsvr32 /I shell32.dll” Click on the OK button.
2. Click Start then Run.
3. Type “regsvr32 /I browseui.dll” Click on the OK button.
4. Reboot windows and try to enable the quick launch bar.

Run Windows File Protection Check

1. Click Start then Run.
2. Type “sfc /scannow”
3. You will need your windows install disk. The File Protection Check looks at all the windows files on the systems and makes sure they have not been tampered with or corrupted.

Run the Internet Explorer repair tool

1. Click Start then Run.
2. Type “ie4uinit.exe” Click on the OK button.
3. This will run the repair tool. No indication that the program is running but give it a few seconds then reboot you computer and try to create the quick launch bar again.

Hope this help a few people out. Let me know if it works or post a comment below if you have found something else that works.

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