From: Bo Berglund on
I have an extremely annoying problem with my XP-Pro laptop.
Several times a day (say 5-10 times) the networking locks up so that
if I try anything in any application that has anything to do with
networking then that application locks up. The block is on for several
*minutes*, after which it goes away and the PC works normally again.

The strange thing is that TCP/IP networking seems to be OK all the
time, but not the accesses using UNC naming or any access to a mapped
drive, which behind the scenes ia acually an UNC name mapping.

These actions will trigger an application lock-up:
- Save as and select the dropdown combobox at the top of the dialog.
- Scroll the folder list in Windows explorer down until the first
network item is to be shown. At this time Explorer locks up.
- In a command window type dir I:\ (where I: is a mapped drive)
- In MS Word the lockup may happen anytime while typing. Letters just
stop appearing on screen and Word is completely unresponsive.
- etc etc

While the lockup is active I *can* do this:
- In a command window ping any resource on the LAN. Returns OK.
- In MS Outlook 2003 read and write email, no problems here.
- Use the web browser causes no problems.

During this time I see no suspicious activity in Task Manager and my
network icon in the tray does not light up showing excess network
traffic.

I have checked my drive mappings but all of them are for shares that
are located on the network and *are* accessible both before and after
the lockup.

I have cleared everything out of "My Network Places" and adjusted the
registry to stop caching network addresses I access.

I am normally running a number of applications:
- MS Outlook 2003
- MS Word 2003
- Borland Delphi 7 development IDE
- FireFox web browser
- A number of Windows Explorer windows on different folders
- UltraEdit text editor

I have Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 installed but not running and I also
have VMWare Workstation 7 installed but not running.

What can I start looking for to solve this *extremely* annoying
behaviour?

--

Bo Berglund (Sweden)
From: John John - MVP on
Bo Berglund wrote:
> I have an extremely annoying problem with my XP-Pro laptop.
> Several times a day (say 5-10 times) the networking locks up so that
> if I try anything in any application that has anything to do with
> networking then that application locks up. The block is on for several
> *minutes*, after which it goes away and the PC works normally again.
>
> The strange thing is that TCP/IP networking seems to be OK all the
> time, but not the accesses using UNC naming or any access to a mapped
> drive, which behind the scenes ia acually an UNC name mapping.
>
> These actions will trigger an application lock-up:
> - Save as and select the dropdown combobox at the top of the dialog.
> - Scroll the folder list in Windows explorer down until the first
> network item is to be shown. At this time Explorer locks up.
> - In a command window type dir I:\ (where I: is a mapped drive)
> - In MS Word the lockup may happen anytime while typing. Letters just
> stop appearing on screen and Word is completely unresponsive.
> - etc etc
>
> While the lockup is active I *can* do this:
> - In a command window ping any resource on the LAN. Returns OK.
> - In MS Outlook 2003 read and write email, no problems here.
> - Use the web browser causes no problems.
>
> During this time I see no suspicious activity in Task Manager and my
> network icon in the tray does not light up showing excess network
> traffic.
>
> I have checked my drive mappings but all of them are for shares that
> are located on the network and *are* accessible both before and after
> the lockup.
>
> I have cleared everything out of "My Network Places" and adjusted the
> registry to stop caching network addresses I access.
>
> I am normally running a number of applications:
> - MS Outlook 2003
> - MS Word 2003
> - Borland Delphi 7 development IDE
> - FireFox web browser
> - A number of Windows Explorer windows on different folders
> - UltraEdit text editor
>
> I have Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 installed but not running and I also
> have VMWare Workstation 7 installed but not running.
>
> What can I start looking for to solve this *extremely* annoying
> behaviour?

See if anything is showing up in the Event Log.

John
From: John Wunderlich on
Bo Berglund <boberglund(a)myotherhome.sec> wrote in
news:9uvap5hdvvu96driv7k83460204nbp87n1(a)4ax.com:

> I have an extremely annoying problem with my XP-Pro laptop.
> Several times a day (say 5-10 times) the networking locks up so
> that if I try anything in any application that has anything to do
> with networking then that application locks up. The block is on
> for several *minutes*, after which it goes away and the PC works
> normally again.
>
> The strange thing is that TCP/IP networking seems to be OK all the
> time, but not the accesses using UNC naming or any access to a
> mapped drive, which behind the scenes ia acually an UNC name
> mapping.
>
> These actions will trigger an application lock-up:
> - Save as and select the dropdown combobox at the top of the
> dialog.
> - Scroll the folder list in Windows explorer down until
> the first network item is to be shown. At this time Explorer locks
> up.
> - In a command window type dir I:\ (where I: is a mapped
> drive)
> - In MS Word the lockup may happen anytime while typing.
> Letters just stop appearing on screen and Word is completely
> unresponsive.
> - etc etc
>
> While the lockup is active I *can* do this:
> - In a command window ping any resource on the LAN. Returns OK.
> - In MS Outlook 2003 read and write email, no problems here.
> - Use the web browser causes no problems.
>
> During this time I see no suspicious activity in Task Manager and
> my network icon in the tray does not light up showing excess
> network traffic.
>
> I have checked my drive mappings but all of them are for shares
> that are located on the network and *are* accessible both before
> and after the lockup.
>
> I have cleared everything out of "My Network Places" and adjusted
> the registry to stop caching network addresses I access.
>
> I am normally running a number of applications:
> - MS Outlook 2003
> - MS Word 2003
> - Borland Delphi 7 development IDE
> - FireFox web browser
> - A number of Windows Explorer windows on different folders
> - UltraEdit text editor
>
> I have Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 installed but not running and I
> also have VMWare Workstation 7 installed but not running.
>
> What can I start looking for to solve this *extremely* annoying
> behaviour?
>

What seems painfully apparent is that these hang-ups are caused by
failed attempts to access networked drives and/or UNC resources.
Knowing what these networked resources are would be helpful. For
example if your "I:" drive is mapped to an XP-Home machine, that
machine will not allow more than 5 concurrent incoming connections.
If all five connections are used up when you do something that
requires access to the I: drive, you will have a hang until the
connection times-out or the resource becomes available. If a mapped
drive is not accessed for 15 minutes (default), then that connection
is dropped. The next attempt to access the drive may fail if other
resources have acquired the 5 input connection limit.

My first step would be to eliminate all mapped network drives,
particularly ones that map to XP Home and Pro machines. Instead, use
shortcuts to a UNC path or a UNC path itself to access a network
resource. The advantage here is that accessing "My Computer" will
not attempt to connect to these networked drives and possibly
eliminate your delay. (Mapped drives are shown under "My Computer"
and accessed/statused when you open or access it using most of the
triggers you cite above) This approach can often quickly identify
which network resource is hanging the computer.

Another step would be at the server end to decrease the
Autodisconnect time for idle server connections which would increase
the availabily of these connections.

Try this article:
"Inbound connections limit in Windows XP"
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314882>

HTH,
John

From: Bo Berglund on
On Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:28:43 -0800, John Wunderlich
<jwunderlich(a)lycos.com> wrote:

>Bo Berglund <boberglund(a)myotherhome.sec> wrote in
>news:9uvap5hdvvu96driv7k83460204nbp87n1(a)4ax.com:
>
>> I have an extremely annoying problem with my XP-Pro laptop.
>> Several times a day (say 5-10 times) the networking locks up so
>> that if I try anything in any application that has anything to do
>> with networking then that application locks up. The block is on
>> for several *minutes*, after which it goes away and the PC works
>> normally again.
>>
>> The strange thing is that TCP/IP networking seems to be OK all the
>> time, but not the accesses using UNC naming or any access to a
>> mapped drive, which behind the scenes ia acually an UNC name
>> mapping.
>>
>> These actions will trigger an application lock-up:
>> - Save as and select the dropdown combobox at the top of the
>> dialog.
>> - Scroll the folder list in Windows explorer down until
>> the first network item is to be shown. At this time Explorer locks
>> up.
>> - In a command window type dir I:\ (where I: is a mapped
>> drive)
>> - In MS Word the lockup may happen anytime while typing.
>> Letters just stop appearing on screen and Word is completely
>> unresponsive.
>> - etc etc
>>
>> While the lockup is active I *can* do this:
>> - In a command window ping any resource on the LAN. Returns OK.
>> - In MS Outlook 2003 read and write email, no problems here.
>> - Use the web browser causes no problems.
>>
>> During this time I see no suspicious activity in Task Manager and
>> my network icon in the tray does not light up showing excess
>> network traffic.
>>
>> I have checked my drive mappings but all of them are for shares
>> that are located on the network and *are* accessible both before
>> and after the lockup.
>>
>> I have cleared everything out of "My Network Places" and adjusted
>> the registry to stop caching network addresses I access.
>>
>> I am normally running a number of applications:
>> - MS Outlook 2003
>> - MS Word 2003
>> - Borland Delphi 7 development IDE
>> - FireFox web browser
>> - A number of Windows Explorer windows on different folders
>> - UltraEdit text editor
>>
>> I have Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 installed but not running and I
>> also have VMWare Workstation 7 installed but not running.
>>
>> What can I start looking for to solve this *extremely* annoying
>> behaviour?
>>
>
>What seems painfully apparent is that these hang-ups are caused by
>failed attempts to access networked drives and/or UNC resources.
>Knowing what these networked resources are would be helpful. For
>example if your "I:" drive is mapped to an XP-Home machine, that
>machine will not allow more than 5 concurrent incoming connections.
>If all five connections are used up when you do something that
>requires access to the I: drive, you will have a hang until the
>connection times-out or the resource becomes available. If a mapped
>drive is not accessed for 15 minutes (default), then that connection
>is dropped. The next attempt to access the drive may fail if other
>resources have acquired the 5 input connection limit.
>
>My first step would be to eliminate all mapped network drives,
>particularly ones that map to XP Home and Pro machines. Instead, use

My problems happen on our corporate LAN and there are absolutely no
XP-Home machines there. All mapped drives (I have 4) are towards
Windows 2003 Servers, so these should be OK.

>shortcuts to a UNC path or a UNC path itself to access a network
>resource. The advantage here is that accessing "My Computer" will
>not attempt to connect to these networked drives and possibly
>eliminate your delay. (Mapped drives are shown under "My Computer"

I never ever use "My Computer" or "My Documents".....

>and accessed/statused when you open or access it using most of the
>triggers you cite above) This approach can often quickly identify
>which network resource is hanging the computer.
>
>Another step would be at the server end to decrease the
>Autodisconnect time for idle server connections which would increase
>the availabily of these connections.
>
>Try this article:
>"Inbound connections limit in Windows XP"
><http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314882>

Looks like it is for XP <-> XP connections, but I have XP Pro <->
Server 2003 connections.....

--

Bo Berglund (Sweden)
From: John John - MVP on
Bo Berglund wrote:
> On Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:28:43 -0800, John Wunderlich
> <jwunderlich(a)lycos.com> wrote:
>
>> Bo Berglund <boberglund(a)myotherhome.sec> wrote in
>> news:9uvap5hdvvu96driv7k83460204nbp87n1(a)4ax.com:
>>
>>> I have an extremely annoying problem with my XP-Pro laptop.
>>> Several times a day (say 5-10 times) the networking locks up so
>>> that if I try anything in any application that has anything to do
>>> with networking then that application locks up. The block is on
>>> for several *minutes*, after which it goes away and the PC works
>>> normally again.
>>>
>>> The strange thing is that TCP/IP networking seems to be OK all the
>>> time, but not the accesses using UNC naming or any access to a
>>> mapped drive, which behind the scenes ia acually an UNC name
>>> mapping.
>>>
>>> These actions will trigger an application lock-up:
>>> - Save as and select the dropdown combobox at the top of the
>>> dialog.
>>> - Scroll the folder list in Windows explorer down until
>>> the first network item is to be shown. At this time Explorer locks
>>> up.
>>> - In a command window type dir I:\ (where I: is a mapped
>>> drive)
>>> - In MS Word the lockup may happen anytime while typing.
>>> Letters just stop appearing on screen and Word is completely
>>> unresponsive.
>>> - etc etc
>>>
>>> While the lockup is active I *can* do this:
>>> - In a command window ping any resource on the LAN. Returns OK.
>>> - In MS Outlook 2003 read and write email, no problems here.
>>> - Use the web browser causes no problems.
>>>
>>> During this time I see no suspicious activity in Task Manager and
>>> my network icon in the tray does not light up showing excess
>>> network traffic.
>>>
>>> I have checked my drive mappings but all of them are for shares
>>> that are located on the network and *are* accessible both before
>>> and after the lockup.
>>>
>>> I have cleared everything out of "My Network Places" and adjusted
>>> the registry to stop caching network addresses I access.
>>>
>>> I am normally running a number of applications:
>>> - MS Outlook 2003
>>> - MS Word 2003
>>> - Borland Delphi 7 development IDE
>>> - FireFox web browser
>>> - A number of Windows Explorer windows on different folders
>>> - UltraEdit text editor
>>>
>>> I have Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 installed but not running and I
>>> also have VMWare Workstation 7 installed but not running.
>>>
>>> What can I start looking for to solve this *extremely* annoying
>>> behaviour?
>>>
>> What seems painfully apparent is that these hang-ups are caused by
>> failed attempts to access networked drives and/or UNC resources.
>> Knowing what these networked resources are would be helpful. For
>> example if your "I:" drive is mapped to an XP-Home machine, that
>> machine will not allow more than 5 concurrent incoming connections.
>> If all five connections are used up when you do something that
>> requires access to the I: drive, you will have a hang until the
>> connection times-out or the resource becomes available. If a mapped
>> drive is not accessed for 15 minutes (default), then that connection
>> is dropped. The next attempt to access the drive may fail if other
>> resources have acquired the 5 input connection limit.
>>
>> My first step would be to eliminate all mapped network drives,
>> particularly ones that map to XP Home and Pro machines. Instead, use
>
> My problems happen on our corporate LAN and there are absolutely no
> XP-Home machines there. All mapped drives (I have 4) are towards
> Windows 2003 Servers, so these should be OK.
>
>> shortcuts to a UNC path or a UNC path itself to access a network
>> resource. The advantage here is that accessing "My Computer" will
>> not attempt to connect to these networked drives and possibly
>> eliminate your delay. (Mapped drives are shown under "My Computer"
>
> I never ever use "My Computer" or "My Documents".....
>
>> and accessed/statused when you open or access it using most of the
>> triggers you cite above) This approach can often quickly identify
>> which network resource is hanging the computer.
>>
>> Another step would be at the server end to decrease the
>> Autodisconnect time for idle server connections which would increase
>> the availabily of these connections.
>>
>> Try this article:
>> "Inbound connections limit in Windows XP"
>> <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314882>
>
> Looks like it is for XP <-> XP connections, but I have XP Pro <->
> Server 2003 connections.....
>

Check the Power Management setting on the network adapter's properties
and see if it is set to 'Allow the computer to turn off the device to
save power', maybe the adapter gets turned off while you are working.

John