How to Fix: Win10 April Update: RDP, Mapped Drives Broken

Infopackets Reader Robert G. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I own two computers that automatically upgraded to Windows 10 17134.1, dubbed the 'April 2018 Update'. Ever since the upgrade to 17134.1, my remote desktop (RDP) and mapped network drives no longer work. Also when I click on File Explorer -> Network to view my shares, it says it can't find the computer on the network. It's strange because I can access computer A from computer B, but not the other way around. I have been trying to fix this for over 3 days now and no one on the Internet seems to have a solution. Can you please help me with your remote desktop support service? "

My response:

I connected with Robert using my remote support service. Below I'll describe how I went about troubleshooting this issue.

How to Fix: Windows 10 April Update: RDP, Mapped Drives Broken

For the record, the remote desktop (RDP), mapped drives, network shares and printer shares are all related to the same issue because they rely on resolving an UNC path (computer name) to an IP address. If this mechanism is broken, then any associated service you use - whether it's RDP, file and print sharing, mapped drives, etc won't work.

The main issue Robert wanted solved first was remote desktop, so I started there. I looked at the remote desktop settings on both machines via the System Properties -> Advanced settings. Both machines had remote desktop protocol (RDP) connections turned off - I am not sure how this happened, though I suspect this setting got flipped during the Windows 10 April 2018 upgrade. Here's what strange: even though this setting was set as "disabled" on both machines, I was still able to remote desktop into his second machine. At any rate, I set the remote desktop to "enabled" on both machines and RDP but it still would not resolve the computer name.

It's important to note that whenever you have issues where you can connect to one machine but not the other - whether it's a network share or remote desktop, you should temporarily disable the firewall on both machines to see if it helps. In this case, the computer names (UNC paths) still would not resolve on the network. That said, I was able to remote desktop into Robert's machines using IP addresses of either machine. That is a well known system administration 'trick' if resolving UNC paths does not work and you need to access a machine.

I researched this issue on Google and was not able to find any relevant suggestions, though I remembered an issue I had with OpenVPN not working properly with UNC paths when I had IPv6 enabled. I decided to disable IPv6 and network shares worked again, meaning RDP and mapped drives, printer shares, etc would work as well.

Problem solved for now - at least until Microsoft can fix it properly.

Robert said he had mixed success in the past 3 days where his network shares would work one day and not the next. I suggested to him it was likely a cached setting with IPv6 and IPv4 conflicting. With IPv6 disabled, this should no longer be an issue, though if it happens again I set both his computers with a static IP address. That way, accessing the systems using an IP will be easier to remember (if needed).

I hope that helps. If you found this post helpful please consider donating to the site and/or link to this page, as I believe this is likely a widespread issue.

Additional 1-on-1 Support: From Dennis

If all of this is over your head, or if you need help fixing RDP or resolving UNC paths, I can help using my remote desktop support service. Simply contact me, briefly describing the issue and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

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About the author: Dennis Faas is the owner and operator of Infopackets.com. With over 30 years of computing experience, Dennis' areas of expertise are a broad range and include PC hardware, Microsoft Windows, Linux, network administration, and virtualization. Dennis holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science (1999) and has authored 6 books on the topics of MS Windows and PC Security. If you like the advice you received on this page, please up-vote / Like this page and share it with friends. For technical support inquiries, Dennis can be reached via Live chat online this site using the Zopim Chat service (currently located at the bottom left of the screen); optionally, you can contact Dennis through the website contact form.