ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I am having an issue where my mapped drives on my ReadyNAS drop off intermittently and then become available again. I am at the most current firmware version (6.10.10). Following is the error I receive. I can manually disconnect the drive and remap it and that will fix it but not permanently. This is becoming problematic as I have quite a bit of content on the NAS. This is issue is fairly recent. I have had this NAS for a number of years and it has performed without a hitch. I load the admin page and it shows the NAS is healthy. I run the diagnostics from the RAIDAR utility and it shows no issues. So I am at a loss
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
This is most likely a networking problem. But the problem can be in one of several places: internal to the NAS, the router/switches involved, the PC, or any of the cables between them. Is the PC wired or using Wi-Fi? Do you have another PC also utilizing the NAS and does it have similar issues? Is it's route to the NAS similar to the one with the issues?
I can manually disconnect the drive and remap it and that will fix it but not permanently.
I do see it from time to time on one of my own PCs. That particular PC also has a VPN installed, and generally it triggers when the VPN drops (which happens sometimes). Not sure if there are other possible causes.
I ended up creating a script that remounts the drive (net use * /d /y followed by the net use command to mount the drive).
If your drives are set to sleep after inactivity, you might try turning that feature off and see if it makes any difference. You could also try looking in the NAS logs, and see if there is any clue in there on the cause.
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I have (4) Windows PCs on the network - 3 desktops (on CAT V cable) W10 and laptop W11 on WiFi. All the PCs experience this issue with losing the network drive. The NAS and the 3 desktops are plugged into 16 port Netgear switch. When I lose the network drive I am able to ping the NAS so would think connectivity is not an issue. I issue a ping with larger buffer and -t option and never drop a packet.
I do not have a VPN. My best guess is a Windows update tightened down some setting but I am not able to nail it down. Not really sure when the problem first appeared - perhaps in the last month or so. I have made no changes to the NAS shares
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
Next time it happens, issue the NET USE command from a command prompt and see what it says. That you can ping the NAS after it happens only means that the low-level connection is restored by them, But it sounds like Windows has given up on the SMB connection. Your issue is not a common one, so I doubt a Windows update has anything to do with it.
A good first step is to swap the cable and port the NAS is attached to and see if that helps.
Is that 16-port switch a "green" one? I've had issues with those (though not a Netgear brand) and turned off the "green" feature.
Then there is the possibility that the power to the Ethernet transceiver in the NAS has an issue, Unfortunately, that is a problem others have reported on the 102 and 104 models. In a few cases, replacing the power brick has helped, but in most it has not. One issue is that the transceiver uses the +3.3VSB (3.3 volts standby) power, which is on all the time, even when the NAS is "off' (and the fan isn't running). If you've had any issues turning the unit on or off, then that's a second symptom pointing to +3.,3VSB.
It could be the transceiver itself, as well, though that's not a common problem unless there was a power surge or something. But lets not jump to one of these being the issue until we've looked at other potential causes.
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I did not mention it but one of my first troubleshooting efforts was to replace the CAT V cable for the NAS and plug it into a different port on the switch. It did not make a difference. Not sure what you mean by "green" switch. It is a Netgear model GS316. It is an unmanaged switch - there is not an admin page to make any adjustments to settings.
Following is the screen print of the status using NET USE command after the connection to the drive is lost. I understand what you are saying about the ping command not being a complete diagnostic tool for checking connectivity. It is just weird that it will disconnect while I am actively using the drive and then magically reconnect (or I can issue the Net use command to attempt to force it to reconnect). I have rebooted it (after updating firmware) and it seems to restart without any issues. If I lose power in the house it powers back up OK after the power is restored.(yes it is on a surge suppressor). Nothing in the logs indicates any types of errors.
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
The GS316 is not a green switch. Devices supporting green mode will adjust the power on each port based on perceived cable length. I've seen instances where it adjusts too low, creating connection issues, but that's not your issue.
I'll have to wait for a moderator to enable your screen grab before I can comment on that. Do you also get a pop-up error when the connection goes bad?
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
Obviously I get an error if I am actively using the mapped drive (for example updating a document) - I will get an error related to the loss of the drive access but that is more a symptom of the drive disappearing. The screen shot pretty much shows the mapped drives as disconnected status with the remote path and Microsoft Windows Network under the network column.
I have looked at some articles from the MS viewpoint (searching for "windows randomly drops network mappings"). I have verified there are no offline files in Sync Center. Some recommendations suggest disabling fast startup but I am not sure that is the root issue. I have never messed with that setting and as mentioned previously I had no issues with the mapped drives disconnecting so I have dismissed that as a cause.
Thanks again for you assistance. At this point I am resorting to running a script to regain access but it is really a pain when the connection drops while I am in the middle of using the mapped drive. If I cannot resolve this I may be removing the NAS from the network as its usefulness is severely impacted by this issue.
Obviously I get an error if I am actively using the mapped drive (for example updating a document) - I will get an error related to the loss of the drive access but that is more a symptom of the drive disappearing.
You could install gping or ping tracer on one of the PCs. That would give you a better idea on what's going on with the network.
However, this might not be the network. An issue with one of the disks could also result in the NAS taking too long to process the read/write from the PC, and that could lead to dropping the connection.
Have you looked in the NAS log zip file for errors?
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I created the log zip file and extracted the contents but not sure which log file to look at. Would you mind looking them over ? If so how do I get them to you ?
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I ran GPING from one of the Windows workstations (one that is experiencing the issue) for 5 mins . 0 lost packets
min .38ms max .61ms avg .51ms.
Thanks for the reference to the tool. At least for low level diag it appears there is no network impediments. Both the workstation and the NAS are on the same switch so I would expect there to be nothing to bog it down.
I ran GPING from one of the Windows workstations (one that is experiencing the issue) for 5 mins . 0 lost packets
min .38ms max .61ms avg .51ms.
Thanks for the reference to the tool. At least for low level diag it appears there is no network impediments. Both the workstation and the NAS are on the same switch so I would expect there to be nothing to bog it down.
Any other thoughts ?
The idea here was to run it until you see the disconnect issue, and then see if there was network loss around the time the share dropped.
I created the log zip file and extracted the contents but not sure which log file to look at. Would you mind looking them over ? If so how do I get them to you ?
You can put the entire zip into cloud storage (dropbox, google drive, etc). Then send a PM ("private message") using the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page. Include a link to the zip in the PM. Make sure the permissions are set so anyone with the link can download.
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
Another oddity.. if I enter the IP address of the ReadyNAS on address line of Google or Edge it will open one of the shared folders in the browser. I can open the other shared folders also by explicitly entering the share name.
Occasionally I will get a refused to connect error. If I hit refresh a few times the folder will open.
Re: ReadyNAS 102 randomly dropping mapped drive(s) on Windows 10
I would like to thank the people on the forum who tried to help me identify the issue with my NetGear Readynas 102.
The unit randomly drops connections for shared folders, SSH, the RAIDar utility etc.
I am sure it is not a network infrastructure issue. I have done GPING and no dropped packets. I think the unit has issues that are hardware related. I would think getting more than 9 years would have been expected but it is what it is.
At any rate I have moved data off the NAS (took awhile since access was spotty) and moved to using Google Drive Desktop.
