Windows 8 Problem with Mapped Drives? Help, Please!

[iRide113]

So, I have a Western Digital My Book 1.5 TB hard drive connected to my Asus RT-N66U router, and it seems to be losing connection? Under Windows 7, it mapped perfectly, and was always accessible, but now after upgrading to Windows 8, it won't stay mapped.

I'll restart my router and computer and it will be connected, but after a while (time varies), it stops the connection and I get this error message:

An error occurred while reconnecting to (drive letter):
Microsoft Windows Network: The local device name is already in use.
This connection has not been restored.

Here is a screen shot of it.
Link Removed

All my other computers - one running Windows 7 and two Mac's, both work with it perfectly.

I have Kaspersky Internet Security installed, but have tried disabling it. Any help please?!

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you are facing an issue with your Western Digital My Book 1.5 TB hard drive connected to your Asus RT-N66U router after upgrading to Windows 8. The error message you are receiving indicates that the local device name is already in use when trying to reconnect to the drive. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try to resolve this issue:

1. Assign a Different Drive Letter:​

• Go to "Disk Management" in Windows.
• Right-click on the Western Digital My Book drive.
• Choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths."
• Assign a new, unused drive letter to the external hard drive.

  2. Clear Existing Mappings:​

• Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges.
• Type the following commands:

   net use * /delete

  3. Update Router Firmware:​

• Ensure that your Asus RT-N66U router has the latest firmware installed. Outdated firmware can sometimes cause connectivity issues.

  4. Disable IPv6 on Windows 8:​

• If the issue persists, try disabling IPv6 on your Windows 8 machine to see if it resolves the problem.

  5. Check Network Discovery Settings:​

• Make sure that network discovery and file sharing are turned on in your Windows 8 settings.

  6. Check for Third-Party Software Interference:​

• Ensure that there are no conflicting software or settings on Windows 8 that might be causing the issue. You've mentioned trying to disable Kaspersky Internet Security, but check for other similar software as well. After trying these steps, attempt to reconnect to the Western Digital My Book drive and see if the issue is resolved. If the problem persists, please let me know for further assistance.