NT4 Server - Network path not found

[pcwilson]

Hi Guys

I'm having bother with an aging NT4 server. Hardware: IBM eServer X200 PIII 1.28GHz, 1.5GB RAM. O/S: NT4 Server SP6a. Server is a PDC for a small LAN (about 20 XP Pro and W2K Pro clients) and hosts user data (Excel, Word etc...).

Every couple of days, the server will stop accepting connections to shared folders and home drives; some users' network drives are unavailable (big red X) and anyone who isn't currently logged on to the domain is logged on using cached information.

I can't find any clues in the server's event log, although there are lots of Event ID 2009 (unable to expand table) but these have been happening for years.

I have found that simply logging off and logging on again at the server works around the problem, in as much as users can then log on and access their network drives normally.

If anyone can offer any advice on how to resolve this problem I'd be most grateful.

Cheers
Phil

[pantscat]

Can you still ping the server when this happens?

[pcwilson]

pantscat said:

Can you still ping the server when this happens?

Yes. I've checked the obvious stuff like NIC on server and client, cables etc... The strange thing is I just log off on log back on at the server then all is well for a while.

[pAntscat]

That's really very bizarre!
I had heard of something similar before... but it was because someone had set one of the 3D OpenGL screen savers on their server... so every 15-20 mins things would grind to a halt!
I'll put my thinking cap on!

[pcwilson]

pAntscat said:

That's really very bizarre! I had heard of something similar before... but it was because someone had set one of the 3D OpenGL screen savers on their server... so every 15-20 mins things would grind to a halt! I'll put my thinking cap on!

Cheers, pAntscat. I'm pulling my hair out. It is very bizarre. The server used to have 4 print queues on it too, but I've moved them to another server because when the problem occurs, some users were unable to print. The printers showed as not connected.

I have turned off the licence logging service but not suprisingly this hasn't made any difference.

[aldi]

You say you dont have to reboot to get it up again, just log in and out... whats running in startup that could be kicking it back into life? Maybe next time rather than logging out & in just kill & re-run run each startup program one at a time, see which one makes it work again. That might give you a big clue as to what the problem is.

[ErnestM]

Event logs should give you some clues...

ErnestM

[pcwilson]

ErnestM said:

Event logs should give you some clues... ErnestM

Nope. Absolutely none. Neither on the server nor the clients. First place I always look. I even check the event log on all my servers as part of my morning chores, looking for anything unusual.

[ultimasimon]

My gut feeling here is ageing and failing hardware. I know the logs should tell you this, but that is what I would personally suspect.

I had a lot of dropped network drives with a server which had a Tyan motherboard. We changed the nic and still the same problem. The logs showed nothing, but when we rebuilt the machine swapping it with an identical redundant one, the problem went away. You could always try throwing in another nic and seeing what happens. Also the fact that it does this after a time could point to overheating or dry joints on the circuitry - another test I learned from the electronics industry is to run the server with the side of the case off to maximise airflow, you may spot it then.

Anyway, good excuse for an upgrade, and a bit of Server 2003 no?