Mapped Network Drives issue in Windows 10 version 1809

Martin Brinkmann
Nov 15, 2018
Windows, Windows 10
|
29

If you run a Windows 10 PC with mapped network drives you may want to hit the brakes to make sure that the Windows 10 October 2018 Update is not deployed on the device.

Microsoft released, re-released to be precise, the latest feature update for Windows 10 two days ago after reports of major quality issues emerged on the Internet in early October which forced the company to stop the distribution of the update. It took Microsoft six weeks to release an updated version of the October 2018 Update to the public that addressed some of the reported issues.

A new support page, Mapped network drives don't work in Windows 10, version 1809, on the Microsoft website indicates that the re-released version is not without issues itself.

The official Windows 10 update history page for the feature update does not list the network drive mapping issue as a known issue; only the file association bug is listed there that plagues Windows 10 version 1803 users as well.

A bug in Windows 10 version 1809 prevents mapped network drives from being reconnected on system start. Mapped network drives are displayed with a red X-icon in Explorer and listed as unavailable when the "net use" command is run from the command prompt.

windows 10 1809 mapped network drives

The error message "Could not reconnect all network drives" is displayed in the notification area.

Microsoft published a workaround on the support page; the company recommends that a script is run on affected systems that reconnects mapped network drives automatically when users sign in to the operating system.

Administrators need to copy the commands from the Microsoft support page and run these on startup; instructions to add the scripts to the startup, as a scheduled task, or in the Group Policy, are provided by Microsoft.

Susan Bradly notes, correctly, that the update should not have been released with a bug like this; especially, if the bug is not even listed on the main update history page for the new feature update for Windows 10.

She recommends that admins block the new feature update for the time being until things do get sorted out.

Microsoft released a statement yesterday in which it noted that update quality is better than it ever was (on Windows 10).

Administrators may want to monitor the support page as it seems to be the only option right now to find out when the issue is resolved.

Now You: did you update to Windows 10 version 1809 already?

Summary
Mapped Network Drives issue in Windows 10 version 1809
Article Name
Mapped Network Drives issue in Windows 10 version 1809
Description
Microsoft published information about a bug in Windows 10 version 1809 that prevents mapped network drives from reconnecting on start.
Author
Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
Logo
Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. Joey said on November 22, 2019 at 9:23 pm
    Reply

    Nope. Going back to service bureaus and punched cards.

  2. Claudio said on November 21, 2018 at 6:31 pm
    Reply

    1809 installed.
    After tests, only maps to 2012 server are “broken”; maps to archival 2003 server are unaffected.

    Creating a “script” file to test map and if fail, re-map “fixed” the problem.

    So, are we going back to using AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS to configure our systems? hahahaha.

    Seems people at Microsoft don’t use their own products; otherwise they’d experience these bugs first hand!

  3. Claudio said on November 21, 2018 at 6:06 pm
    Reply

    1809 running; mapped drives to archival 2003 server don’t have this issue.
    Only maps to 2012 server.

    Do the people at Microsoft even use their products?

  4. Matt said on November 17, 2018 at 12:01 am
    Reply

    Corporate admin here, with about 180 Windows 7 Pro PCs and 65 Windows 10 Pro PCs. Stopped upgrading Win 7 to Win 10, too many blue screens, distractions, telemetry, ads, cortana, start menu live tiles, candy crush. Group policy is too overwhelming to manage Win 10 PCs now. Never had any of this hassle with Win 7. Win 10 is too much admin work for just me. Staff HATE Win 10.

    I sometimes wonder if Microsoft is trolling me with this. Can they really be serious? What the hell has happened at Redmond. Windows is NOT a service, it’s an operating system – that’s all. The future of Windows looks grim. Congratulations Microsoft, I now hate this job I always loved.

  5. Pablo said on November 16, 2018 at 6:06 pm
    Reply

    Those who can do!
    Those who cant, well they use Windows.

  6. Staman said on November 16, 2018 at 9:03 am
    Reply

    I’m a corporate admin, managing around 200 workstations.
    I set up a WSUS test group with previous 1809 release, there has been no issue with invalid network mapping. (but stoped the testing after M$ took down their initial 1809 release)

    Yesterday a new 1809 release showed up in WSUS so I set up an another group to test this. For a corporate domain computers, this second release messed up network mapped drive. If you have a login script mapping your drives, you will still get the error buble message (despite your mapped drive are working just fine).

    Also, first 1809 release started to having this issue after installing the lastest 1809 cummulative update! (and this has been working fine until the CU has been installed)

    You can’t be serious with this dear Microsoft!

  7. Jeffrey Karasik said on November 16, 2018 at 12:55 am
    Reply

    I was running the initial October release of 1809. Installed the November 13, 2018—KB4467708 (OS Build 17763.134 update) 2 days ago. My previous mappings are not affected.

  8. Alex said on November 15, 2018 at 11:48 pm
    Reply

    “Did you update to Windows 10 version 1809 already?”

    Absolutely not – probably around March 2019. My update… window keeps growing with every new W10 release: used to be a few days, then weeks, now months. Disappointing new features and decidedly shitty quality control from Microsoft.

    Thankfully, Candy Crush Soda Saga works fine and auto-updates without a hitch.

  9. John said on November 15, 2018 at 11:06 pm
    Reply

    Windows getting to be like a old car, its always breaking down and it never gets fixed right. More then likely its probably because Windows for all its many years of code revisions and security patches is simply so messed up anymore its all downhill from here. Just seems like we can expect problems with every feature update.

  10. rickmv said on November 15, 2018 at 10:40 pm
    Reply

    MickySoft Clubhouse. Disney or Nickelodeon should buy them.

  11. ilev said on November 15, 2018 at 10:40 pm
    Reply

    This is a STOP bug and Microsoft should remove the re-released 1809 until fixed.

  12. Richard Steven Hack said on November 15, 2018 at 10:21 pm
    Reply

    This is becoming a circus. Microsoft needs to simply pull the release and reschedule it for next year AFTER fixing their quality control issues, which clearly are very serious. Has no one in Redmond ever heard the phrase “regression testing”?

    1. pHROZEN gHOST said on November 16, 2018 at 7:38 pm
      Reply

      They should start by replacing Michael Fortin with someone who is honest and cares about the future of MS.

  13. Farmers said on November 15, 2018 at 9:57 pm
    Reply

    Sorry, but since MS started talking more about the cloud than Windows, they seem to have lost all interest in keeping Windows running smoothly for their customers. Heck, they don’t even take bugs like this seriously.

    How the hell is update quality better than it ever was, when there are known issues like this (which they haven’t even bothered to tell their users about until now)? This bug falls right into the territory where it will affect small businesses, who will often have mapped drive letters. There’s also the brightness bug affecting certain laptops and AMD issues I read about today. Not to mention of course the bug we’ve all forgotten about now, where they included code to delete duplicate folders but didn’t think to check if those folders were empty before deleting them.

    1. Mola Ram, CEO Microsoft said on November 16, 2018 at 4:09 am
      Reply

      “Heck, they don’t even take bugs like this seriously.”

      They’ve always been like this. People are finally starting to notice. That is, this new generation of users. Anyone who’s used Microsoft products for a couple of decades is not surprised by any of this. Quality HAS gone down with Win 10, mostly because of the updates and CEO Mola Ram trying to turn Windows into a cloud subscription service, but Microsoft’s attitude remains the same, which is why they’re not bothering to fix anything unless they get caught.

  14. Aaron Priest said on November 15, 2018 at 5:51 pm
    Reply

    This has been a well-known and discussed bug in the Microsoft support forums since at least August or September, hundreds of posts discussing it. I kept hoping it would get resolved with each new build, .55, .107, .134, but nope. Microsoft fired the quality control teams, and doesn’t listen to feedback from fast and slow ring testers. The result is this.

    There is also an issue with screen brightness on many laptops, resorting to 50% on every boot. Also documented and unresolved across the last three updates.

    I hope it doesn’t take them as long as it did to fix network teaming, that was almost 2 years.

  15. Tom Taborda said on November 15, 2018 at 5:49 pm
    Reply

    Hi there!

    Win 10
    Version 1809
    Installed on 04-Oct-18
    OS Build 17763.134

    2 mapped Network Drives (NAS:Seagate BlackArmor and WD MyCloudEX2Ultra)

    File Explorer’s Dark Theme

    No issues at all (any of reported 1809’s issues). My luck

    I tough you’d like to know

  16. Squuiid said on November 15, 2018 at 5:18 pm
    Reply

    This issue was present in the first release of 1809 and is also present in the re-release of 1809.
    They didn’t bother to fix it despite, I and many others, flagging it as a problem.
    Pathetic really.

  17. ilev said on November 15, 2018 at 5:13 pm
    Reply

    I don’t use Microsoft’s OneDrive, so is OneDrive a Mapped Network Drive which will stop working ?

  18. Ross Presser said on November 15, 2018 at 3:24 pm
    Reply

    I’m still on 1803 for some reason. I have never been offered the 1809 update as far as I can see.

    1. Deo et Patriae said on November 16, 2018 at 2:14 am
      Reply

      Neither did I, but it was time for a clean installation anyway. I downloaded first all the latest drivers and placed them in my secondary SSD. Then I did the clean installation while I wasn’t connected to the Internet in order to avoid unnecessary driver updates through Windows update.

      Installed all the latest drivers, did all the tweaks, disabled whatever I could and not needed, uninstalled the apps I don’t use and then connected to Internet. Thus, no redundant apps updates either. Now Windows is working great.

    2. ilev said on November 15, 2018 at 5:15 pm
      Reply

      You are lucky. Just block 1809 for 365 days.

  19. Maelish said on November 15, 2018 at 1:53 pm
    Reply

    How in the world can they keep having errors like this? Where is quality control?

    1. pHROZEN gHOST said on November 16, 2018 at 4:41 am
      Reply

      I wonder how Michael Fortin, Corporate Vice President, Windows would comment on this?

      “Oh, we designed it that way. It’s working flawlessly. But, we could change it if there’s enough demand”.

  20. John G. said on November 15, 2018 at 1:08 pm
    Reply

    LOL. Sorry, I didn’t want to laugh. W10 1809 version will be released at 1903. Sorry again, LOL.

  21. Account unknown said on November 15, 2018 at 12:53 pm
    Reply

    “Microsoft: update quality is better than ever.”
    Windows 10: Hold my beer.

  22. Aegis said on November 15, 2018 at 12:40 pm
    Reply

    I have 2 mapped network drives on my Notebook with 1809 and don’t have any issues with it.

  23. Yuliya said on November 15, 2018 at 11:34 am
    Reply

    Microsoft re-released Server and LTSC 2019 as well, and they are the same piles of shite they were a month ago when I first tried them. They really don’t do any testing, none at all. They rely on a bunch of fanboys willing to use the insider program who barely scratch the surface of the OS and dare not to modify one default setting.
    If you were to use LTSB 2015, LTSB 2016 and LTSC 2019 side by side you’ll see how everything just gets worse. More buggy, more inconsistent, even the performance gets worse with every newer release as the OS gets more bloated.
    I’ll stick with Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 for home, and work, tyvm.

    1. Deo et Patriae said on November 16, 2018 at 2:06 am
      Reply

      What do you expect when MS keeps adding new features… Even Windows 7 that stopped adding new features, still keep fixing things.

      At least, every 2 feature-updates, they should focus in one cycle with only bug-fixing. For example, now that we got 1803 and 1809, the next 1903 should be only bug-fixing update ( although I can’t wait for the new “Light Theme” that is coming ).

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.