Windows server

Hi guys, I was wondering, where would I go to learn more about working with Windows Server? I know a few very simple things, like doing some stuff in Active Directory, but there's still so much I don't know. What would be a good resource (preferably cheap)?

For example: I had a client ask me about her work computer. She says that her two coworkers get automatically connected to their server's shared directory at login, but she always has to enter her login credentials again when she tries to open the folder. Is that something controlled by the server, or something on her computer? She asked me because they're between IT people, and nobody there knows the answer.

I'd love to get more familiar with this side of things, so any help you can offer would be great. Thanks.

You can always directly mount the server shares by using the "net use" command and the flag "/persistance:yes" IIRC. You can put that command in the Windows startup folder.

We do this with a logon script, very simple batch file really. Do you want me to post it?

ETA: Have you checked her permissions in AD?

Have you tried to map the share in Windows Exlorer and tick the box "Reconnect at login"? Wouldn't this use the same credentials the next time? I'm not sure since I use a domain both at work and at home and I have no problems with this.

Thanks guys, you're jogging my memory here.

Tahir, I'd like that batch file. I've monkeyed around with those before when connecting network printers at logon, but it's been a while...

I would think she has permissions to the drive in AD, because she's able to access it, she just has to re-enter her credentials when she does. It's sort of a weird half-connection. I would have thought that if the drive is showing up, she'd be connected to it, but like I said this is a little outside my previous knowledge base.

Matt

This is our logon script, "ifmember" refers to the AD user group, for some reason the script stopped working a couple of years ago and I had to change "ifmember" to "ifmember.exe aoz5" to get it working again. Can't remember the exact issue.

Looks like it was a weird/obscure firewall issue. The existing logon script was using NET USE commands to connect the users of the office to their shared drives, everyone was set up identically, and everyone was on Windows 7, but only one person was having problems with authentication. I changed a weird setting for just that user in Active Directory, and all of a sudden the error stopped and she was automatically connected when she logged on. I'll post what that setting was in case anyone here is curious or someone from elsewhere on the internet stumbles across this thread

Thanks for your help, guys!

Any advice on where to learn more about this side of things? Where do I start? Any online classes I could take?

MS Knowledge base is quite extensive. MSCE book series is also an option if you are willing to buy those. Subscribing to technet also could be a possibility if you are planning to invest into this business in general (and get licenses for a lot of MS software, which can come handy if you need to locally test products before you deploy them to your customers, for example).