Repeated prompt for user name and password when accessing AS400 IFS under Windows XP using map network drive

Question

I was trying to access the IFS using map network drive. It prompted the dialog asking for user name and password. But after I had entered them and pressed enter the same dialog appeared again. No matter how many times I press enter it kept prompting the same dialog and it did not suggest that the information was incorrect. I could use another user profile to access this IFS without the above problem. Someone else was able to map drive it a few days ago and now it is not working. I had asked another colleague to try the same and the same problem occurred as well. So what could be the cause of this issue?

Solution 1

I've seen this occur when the username is the same as the AS/400 username but the password is different. Also this can happen if there is an existing map to the AS/400 using different credentials.

I find the easiest way to map a drive is to use the command prompt and specify the username and password:

NET USE Z: \\<ip address or host name>\<share> 
  /USER:<username> <password> /PERSISTENT:YES

The /PERSISTENT:YES option will keep the map across reboots.

Solution 2

In addition to James' answer, something else to check is to see if the user profile has been disabled in the NetServer server. This is different that a normal disable.

To find out if this is the case, open System i Navigator from your desktop. Then expand the target AS/400->Network->Servers->TCP/IP. Right-click on I5/OS NetServer and selected "Disabled User IDs".

If you don't have the Network option in iSeries Navigator, then the other easy way to test is to log in to green screen as the target use and run CHGPRF from a command line. Then try connecting again. If the password is a problem, you'll see a message in the QSYSOPR messages indicating the user has been disabled for NetServer access.

Solution 3

I've encountered this when users use mixed-case passwords and the IBMi (AS400) is not configured for mixed case, see this IBM techdoc. It includes some "special" mapping techniques that I've also found useful when I have trouble with the re-prompting for credentials. You may also want to check this IBM TechDoc regarding NetServer mapping and Windows 7.