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kluonk avatar Server

Mount usb device as existing network drive

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kluonk

I tried to find an answer to my issue but haven't been successful so far. Maybe I couldn't find the right search terms, so please apologize, if the question has already been answered and I was just not able to find it.

In our windows domain network the server (DNS, AD, Files) failed, and is currently not available. However, I have access to the data stored on the server, for instance via a USB memory stick. On the local machine an application is usally used which accesses its program files on the network drive. But the app won't start anymore due to the missing network drive. My idea was to somehow mimic the network drive with the memory stick attached. However, it fails as authentication from the domain controller is required.

Here the bullet points:

  • The server SRV provides a network share at \SRV\Appdata
  • On the local machine (PCNAME) the user USR starts the application which looks for the data stored in \SRV\Appdata. The user provides his credentials to get access.

Now, since the server is down, i tried the following:

  • Mount the usb device which contains Appdata at the root level
  • share "Appdata" via network, such that it is accessable via \PCNAME\Appdata
  • Create an entry in the hosts file with: 127.0.0.1 SRV
  • After reboot, \SRV\Appdata seems available. But I have to enter credentials, and they cannot be validated due to the missing domain controller. Is there a way to circumvent this? I mean, I have the data, I just have to tell the app to look somewhere else for Appdata.

A short remark, I'm logged in on the local machine with a domain account. But the credentials are already cached. Other domain accounts which are not cached, are not able to log in.

System details:

  • SRV: Windows Server 2019
  • PCNAME: Windows 10 20H2
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Tilman Schmidt avatar Server
bd flag
Tilman Schmidt

Reconfigure the application to look for its data on the locally connected USB drive instead of the network share. That will be much easier and more reliable than trying to redirect the network path to that local drive.

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kluonk avatar
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kluonk
Yes, but the app does not start without the appdata path available. So I can't configure it within the app. There are no obvious config files in the program directory and %AppData% (ini-files)
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Tilman Schmidt avatar
bd flag
Tilman Schmidt
Did you ask your support contact for the application for advice? Search the Windows registry for the path `\SRV\Appdata`?
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djdomi avatar
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djdomi
i have a better solution :change the question to how can i fix the server which m8ght be. more on topic ;)
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kluonk avatar
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kluonk
@djdomi true, we are working on it. But it takes time and we were looking for a quick'n dirty workaround. I see from the replies that it's not as simple as I hoped for. Thanks anyways for your thoughts!
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kluonk avatar
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kluonk
@TilmanSchmidt Yes, I started to search the registry, but the entries are so spread accross the registry that I'm afraid I might break the running system. I will try to reinstall the app and see if I can change the appdata path without reinitializing it. I think the installer supports it.
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