Win98 machine asking for a password when using a share on a Win2003 AD server

Hi All

We have had a techie install a new Win2003 server into our school, setup
active directory, domains, etc and then they got completely dumb-founded
when they found that 70% of the machines in the school are still on Win98SE.
Do they know how much schools have to spend these days :0) ???

Anyway, the teachers are happy to have simple share on the server for the
Win98 machines and have all the juicy stuff for their clutch of WinXP
machines, but we just can't get the share to appear.

The techie sent us a batch file to put in the startup folder of each Win98
machine and having looked at the contents of the file, it simply says net
use p: \\server\public, which seems to infer that it will use a virtual 'p'
drive to map to the shared public folder (which the XP machines can use).
Would this be right?

Anyway, all we get is a DOS prompt when the win98 machines boot up saying
enter password. We've entered no password and all of the ones that are used
to log onto the domain users, even the administrator one, but these are not
accepted.

What I also can't understand is that the Win98 machines are still part of a
Workgroup. Not any domain. Surely you would need them to be part of the
domain so that they work with the same server and the WinXPs??? Am I on the
wrong track??

Does anybody have any ideas on how I get the Win98 machines to see this p:
drive, as the techie has given up. Obviously he copied and pasted this bat
file with a hit and hope attitude.

Thanks.

Laphan

 

look at the network configuration of the w98 clients.

w9x do not belong to a domain as w2k/w2k3/wxp clients/servers do...

however you can tell them to use a domain for accounts, etc (somewhere in
the network configuration)

try that first

--

Cheers,
(HOPEFULLY THIS INFORMATION HELPS YOU!)

# Jorge de Almeida Pinto # MVP Windows Server - Directory Services

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First, was the domain set up to even permit legacy clients to talk to it.
If you set up your 2003 AD server to only accept clients that are Windows
2000 or higher, no amount of anything is going to permit those Win98 clients
to talk to the domain and unless there is a third party utility out there
that will make believe that Win98 can be part of a 2003 AD domain, you will
have to wipe that 2003 AD box and start from scratch.

These "techie's", I worked in a school for 5 years as one. Be careful,
their quality can be varied and my trick is to find somebody who really
loves what they do. I am in this field for the passion and love of the
proverbial game. Just food for thought.

Oh, simple trick. At the 98 box, do that \\server\public from the simple
Run command at the Start menu. If you can't see it or get a jolly error
message, then the above holds true. I could tell you how bad Win98boxes
are, but its likely that you know that.

Can you please contact your reseller or go to CDWG (as a school, you are
entitled to ridiculous discounts on software) and look into something called
a Campus Agreement. Its basically a dirt cheap way to get schools up to
speed on the latest OS, etc.,

Yes, net use X: \\servername\sharename is the correct command. Then again,
remember. I hate to beat a dead horse, but if the domain is not set up to
see clients lower than Windows 2000, you have to get that fixed. I dont
recall if you can go back and permit this, but I know that, by default, the
setup of AD calls for native mode, that is, no Windows 2000 or higher,
nothing.

Wait, hold on. The Win98 boxes do boot up, right? I mean, Windows comes up
and you get to see all the wonderful spam thats on the boxes from the
factory? Okay. Remember, if you cant \\servername\sharename from the Run
line on the Win98 box, its that server saying "huh" and not even really
talking to the 98 boxes.

Provided that your domain is set up to accept Windows 98 clients as part of
the domain, the Windows 98 machines need to be set up to be a part of the
domain. You are on the right track, but I think its that server that is
telling the Win98 boxes to go scratch.

Okay. I think that the issue is definately that the domain has not been set
up to see the Win98boxes, that is to say, pre Windows 2000 boxes. I think
thats the root of your problem. However, there is an alternative.

Why dont you set up an FTP server on that 2003 server so that the ftp "site"
points to the share that you wanted to share out via that P drive. You can
likely add the share point as an FTP location in Windows 98. Its not as
"glamorous" as having a mapped network drive, but the Windows 2003 AD box
will let the Windows 98 clients talk to it.

How many machines are you talking about? How many students do you have?
What state are you located in? What grades do you teach?

Keep this sort of information handy. I believe that it may be in your
school's best interests to hire a full time network admin/engineer who has a
love for the game and wants to make a difference. Where I worked for five
years it started much the way you describe with "consultants" coming in
every five minutes and breaking everything.

Let me know if any of this works.

Regards,

Doc Wally
aka The Flying Dutchman

 

By the way. . .

Its when you run DCPROMO to bring a domain to life that you get the
permissions compatability dialogue box. The two options are permissions
that are compatible with Pre Win2K boxes and permissions compatible only
with Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 servers.

It defaults to the latter of the two and if thats the case, it totally
explains why your Win98 clients cannot connect.

Dutch