This discussion is specifically for Windows PCs, but the same considerations apply to Macs. See the more general discussion in "How do I access my U: share on the Windows-server?". Also, the steps outlined here apply equally well to problems accessing your Unix home directory from a PC through Samba.

In "My Computer", if you find your U: share with a red X through it, some of your applications (Eudora, Outlook) may not work correctly, since they rely on files stored on your U: share. Obviously, while U: is inaccessible, you won't be able to get at documents that live on your U: share either.

Your first action should not be to call Computer Support. There are several things you can do yourself first. In most cases, these steps will fix the problem.

Try double-clicking on your U: share. The red X may go away (--> problem solved). Or you may get a message such as "Access denied". In this case, unmount (disconnect) your U: share and remap it. You can unmount (disconnect) a share by right-clicking on it and selecting "disconnect". If you don't know how to (re-) map your U: share, read "How do I access my U: share on the Windows-server?". The simple steps of unmounting and remapping solve most problems; you need to be able to perform them effortlessly. Also, when somebody in Support asks you to remap your U: share (again), you need to know what that means.

If you still can't access your U: share, make sure you're logging onto your computer with the correct Windows username and password (this is especially important for older flavors of Windows, such as Windows95 and 98, which are not multi-user and do not normally require valid logins). Again, see the "Windows FAQ" for a general discussion. If you're confused what your "Windows account" is, see What accounts do I have in the Chemistry Department and at OSU?.

If this still didn't help, reboot your computer.

Now you've exhausted what you can do yourself, and you should notify Support that there appears to be a problem. Send email, or have someone send email on your behalf, and state what you've already tried to solve the problem yourself ("I can't access my U: share. I disconnected and then remapped my U: share, I'm sure that I logged in with the correct Windows username and password, and I rebooted my PC. I still get the red X").

Now that you know how to report a problem like this, here are some suggestions how not to report it:

• "My U: drive crashed" (not, it did not, really!)
• "I don't have access to my email account" (the term "email account" is very misleading; in general, we try to avoid this term, but it would usually refer to your Unix account; no, you can connect to the Unix server just fine)
• "My Eudora is down" (no, it is not; your U: share is not available, and you may store your old Eudora messages on U:, but there are still ways to start Eudora)
• "All my email is down" (no, it is not; there are several different ways of accessing new mail; see How can I access my email from outside the Department; yes, this works from inside the Department as well!)
• "I receive email in Netscape, and my Netscape is down" (no, you don't, and no, it is not; you receive your email on the Unix server [hopefully]; see above)