"initializing folders", how to edit network delay ?

[Tyson]

Hi, within Office 2007, whenever attempting to browse to open or save
attachments, etc, the "Initializing the root folders to display" window
appears and delays any browsing for a long period of time. From what I've
read in previous posts, this is due to an unavailable mapped drive. Deleting
the mapped drive is a poor solution, considering in this case it's probably
only available when a VPN is active and the user isn't going to want to
recreate the mapped drive letter everytime the VPN is initiated.

Where in the registry can I edit the timeout delay for this problem in
Office? If this is not possible, when will MS issue some solution to this
well-known hassle?

Thanks in advance,
Tyson.

 

[Bob I]

The corrective action is to ONLY map active drives. There isn't any
valid reason to not include the drive mapping at the time the VPN
mapping is done.

 

[Tyson]

Hi Bob, that would work for me if we were using an interface like Cisco's VPN
client, but considering it's just a simple PPTP connection through Windows XP
Pro I don't know how to use your suggestion as a solution ? As it stands,
the user isn't going to want to recreate a drive mapping each time the VPN is
initiated, and I don't know how to automate a drive mapping for a PPTP
connection in Windows.

Thus, I'm still hopeful MS will fix the software issue.

 

[Bob I]

This "software issue" is Office waiting for the Operating system to
return a list of valid targets. Office is primarily designed to work in
a business environment with a working network. Provide an invalid
target, and you will wait. As to fixing your setup. Simply put a
shortcut on the desktop that points to a batch file that contains the
mapping to the drive letter you want to use and click it to do the mapping.

example line for batch file which you write in NOTEPAD and save to the
root of "C:"

NET USE Z: \\computername\sharename


save and name the file something like MAPDRIVE.BAT then right click on
it and Send To Shortcut to desktop.

 

[JMF]

It seems to me that you're suggesting that Microsoft office is perfect (once
again) and people should go out of their way to work around their issues with
the program.

I have a similar situation. I use a laptop for work. In the office, I am
plugged into the network and have several mapped drives to the server drives.
Outside of the office, once connected to a VPN, I also use these same mapped
drives. At home, the laptop is connected to a different network and I use
different mapped drives. Lastly, I am an electrical designer and do
programming of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers). Some of the software I
use has a software key that I need to move to other computers depending on
what I am working on. I can only move the key to a mapped hard drive.

As you might be starting to comprehend, constantly removing and
re-installing mapped drives is not exactly the ideal solution.
Is it possible that there is another solution to this problem?

I would be grateful for any replies. Thanks.

 

[Bob I]

No Office is not perfect, but it seems you have a pretty cobbled up mess
on your computer as far as configurations go. If you need to use custom
mapping then do so. Simply map the appropriate drives with a logon
script or batch file. End of issue. What you are doing is like commuting
all week with a housetrailer behind your car, because you go camping on
the weekend, and then complaining about the cars perfomance around town.

 

[JMF]

LOL, Well my performance has worked extremely fast and efficiently until
Microsoft Office 2007. No matter where I am, everything has previously
worked correctly without delay from the moment I powered up the computer.

How does the batch file work? Are the mapped drives disconnected
automatically when the computer is hibernated? or turned off? Or is the
mapping temporary?

 

[Bob I]

The "network delay" due to inaccessible mapped drives has been around
since at least Office XP. If you had Office 2003 and and it changed when
you went to Office 2007, it could be some other issue. As far as
"hibernation", whatever the machine was connected to going in, it should
have available coming out. If it wakes up and resources are gone, the
operating system does get cranky about it. I suspect there is more to
this issue than there was before. As to "unmapping" you would have to
trigger it yourself if "hibernation" is involved. A batch file simply
issues the commands to delete old mapping and map the new assignment.
And you can run it by simply clicking on it or it's shortcut.

example

net use * /DELETE
net use N: //computer/share
net use O: //computer/share2
net use P: //computer2/share
net use Q: //computer2/share2

 

[Andrew.Bath]

Hardly a good enough 'fix'. I have the same issues as the user above - work
and home mappings that I don't really want to continually mess with when
changing locations.
I originally encountered this problem on updating to Office 2007 but for
some reason it seemed to fix itself and I have not seen the message until
applying SP1 in the last day or so. Now it's back again and I'd really like
to fix it again.

 

[HJ]

A simple question regarding this: suppose a drive is mapped, and the machine
is no longer on the network through which the drive is normally accessed. How
long will Windows Explorer try to connect to the mapped drive before it gives
up? And is this timeout settable, e.g. in a registry key? If so, which one?

Thanks in advance,

HJ

Hardly a good enough 'fix'. I have the same issues as the user above - work
and home mappings that I don't really want to continually mess with when
changing locations.
I originally encountered this problem on updating to Office 2007 but for
some reason it seemed to fix itself and I have not seen the message until
applying SP1 in the last day or so. Now it's back again and I'd really like
to fix it again.

[...]

 

[Bob I]

Nope, just "Disconnect" it and get on with it.

A simple question regarding this: suppose a drive is mapped, and the machine
is no longer on the network through which the drive is normally accessed. How
long will Windows Explorer try to connect to the mapped drive before it gives
up? And is this timeout settable, e.g. in a registry key? If so, which one?

Thanks in advance,

HJ

:

Hardly a good enough 'fix'. I have the same issues as the user above - work
and home mappings that I don't really want to continually mess with when
changing locations.
I originally encountered this problem on updating to Office 2007 but for
some reason it seemed to fix itself and I have not seen the message until
applying SP1 in the last day or so. Now it's back again and I'd really like
to fix it again.

[...]

 

[Infinity]

Hi, within Office 2007, whenever attempting to browse to open or save
attachments, etc, the "Initializing the root folders to display" window
appears and delays any browsing for a long period of time. From what I've
read in previous posts, this is due to an unavailable mapped drive. Deleting
the mapped drive is a poor solution, considering in this case it's probably
only available when a VPN is active and the user isn't going to want to
recreate the mapped drive letter everytime the VPN is initiated.

Where in the registry can I edit the timeout delay for this problem in
Office? If this is not possible, when will MS issue some solution to this
well-known hassle?

Thanks in advance,
Tyson.

I've been trying to figure a fix/workaround to this problem too.. Finally
found 1 that works for me, not sure if it will work for you or not.. took me
brainstorming a little and then figuring out that having the drive available
offline would probaly fix the initializing folders delay, since the drive
would be visible all the time.. I just created a placeholder txt file in the
drives that are not always online and then told windows to make it available
offline..since the file has nothing in it it is as close to a 0 bit file as
you can get(in fact windows reports it as 0 KB).. so synchronization will
take no time at all with it..

 

[Wildviper]

Hi All,

Bob, please don't bother replying as you obviously want us to work around
technology rather than technology work for us.

To everyone else, have you figured out a solution to this that is NOT what
the idiot Bob was suggesting??

Infinity, if you are still around, can you please clarify your solution a
bit more. I was a little confused how you got this to work.

THank you

 

[Bob I]

Even idiot Bob knows how to look up "off-line files" in Windows Help.

 

[Per Christensen]

Even idiot Bob knows how to look up "off-line files" in Windows Help.

 

[Per Christensen]

Hi,

First of all, let me hire 'Bob 1' to run around to 3.500 people who have
this problem also on stationary computers that only gets locked night over
(no rebooting, restarting or logging off), so network drives are connected
24/7/365 and those users also experience this issue.

2nd of all let's try to be constructive and kindly ask for a fix for this,
as I fail to see why Microsoft are intersted in people cursing over their
Office package. I asusme MS indeed wants to investigate this matter and
rectify it in a future patch.

3rd of all, I did indeed try to disconnect the drives at 10 of different
users and reconnecting and it does seems to work - 7 / 10 times. The rest
needed to reboot the computer. What's behind the idea of having an
application looking for a network ressource that is d/c or not for 30 secs -
10 minutes cant be right.

It is impossible to reconnect 3.500 people's network drives once a day if
not more. Despite how many scripts / batch files ect, you can make. Our
supporters, admins, developer's, users, CEOs ect. do have other things to do,
than to script us out of basic faults that can be fixed in a snap by the
vendor. Also take into consideration that the more scripts running when
logging on / off, while online ect.. the worse performance on already
stressed computers.

Hoping for a fix somehow regarding this issue in near future.

Thank you,
Per Christensen

 

[ANdrew]

I have the exact same issue. When is Microsoft going to come out with a
hotfix for Office 2007? It absolutely sucks that I have to wait. My Office
2003 NEVER did this, only Office 2007. Man, I regret upgrading, I mean,
down-grading from Office 2003 to Office 2007.

By the way, I have 3 mapped network drives and none of them are disconnected.

I am a .NET developer so I am technical. I am not sure of the solution you
are recommending. Can you please explain in details and steps? Thanks.

 

[Bob I]

"That unavailable drive issue" is the same in Office 2003, so what ever
you are experiencing is not that.

 

[sp00ky84]

Yep Bob's attitude makes it easy to differentiate myself from the othe
IT consultants out there.
This is a Microsoft bug as far as I am concerned and only with Offic
2007. One should be able to have persistant mapped drives albeit the
disconnected.
Which is my there is a /p switch available when running the net us
command

 

[DL]

Since you are posting to another group, only your single thread appears
here, on the MS Outlook group, so frankly renders the thread incomrhendable
in its context