Disabling the network balloon

  • Thread starter Thread starter EmptyMinded
  • Start date Start date
E

EmptyMinded

I use my laptop both at home and at work. I have mapped a network drive to a
shared folder on one of my home computers.

Now, logically, every time I use my laptop at work, I get a balloon message
saying not all network drives could be restored (or similar, I'm translating
from dutch). I know that, and I'm not expecting it to be. I just don't want
to do it by hand every time I log on to my home network.

Is it possible to disable that balloon? I've found this old (2004) article
for XP that allows disabling ALL notification balloons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307729, but most balloons actually contain
useful information. I only want to disable this specific balloon tooltip.

Any ideas?

Using: Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit, without SP1 (haven't received it
through Windows Update yet, and I'm not downloading it manually).
 
Robert L. (MS-MVP) said:
Do you map a network drive at home? If yes, how?
Click to expand...

Translating again from dutch, so it might not correspond entirely, but
here's how I mapped it:

- Open the computer ("start" -> computer)
- Tap the ALT-key
- Tools -> Create network connection (the top one)

Using that screen I mapped \\my_pc\shared_folder to the F: drive, and
checked the "reconnect when logging in"-box.

I want it to be persistent, because if I have to reassign it every time I
log on to my home network, I might as well just type \\my_pc\shared_folder
into the windows explorer address bar. I just want Windows to stop telling me
it's not available.
 
john_cena said:
hi EmptyMinded,
you can disable the ballons from poping up by modifiyng the group
policy [snip] but you cant be specific on the Network Map. there is a
way however by modifing the registry. but i cant happen to find it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I didn't know about the group policies, but that isn't specific
enough. I don't want to disable all balloons, just this particular one.
 
Thank you for the information. "reconnect when logging in"is the problem.
You may have some options. 1) use the last drive Z for home network mapping.
2) create a logon script for home network. This how to may help.
Logon script
Example of VBScript - Mapping a network drive based on the group
Example of batch file - make a network drive Where is logon script located
....
www.howtonetworking.com/logonscript.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com
 
Robert L. (MS-MVP) said:
Thank you for the information. "reconnect when logging in"is the problem.
You may have some options. 1) use the last drive Z for home network mapping.
Click to expand...

Why would mapping it to the Z drive be any different than using the F drive?
2) create a logon script for home network. This how to may help.
www.howtonetworking.com/logonscript.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. This appears to look at the workgroup. Would it be possible
to check against the SSID of a WLAN, or whether my home pc can be found?

If Exists("\\my_pc") Then
MapDrive("F:", "\\my_pc\shared_folder")
End If

Perhaps that step can even be skipped by simply doing:

If Not MapDrive("F:", "\\my_pc\shared_folder") Then
End If

I don't know whether the MapDrive function throws an error of some kind when
it fails, this should catch that, right? If I wanted to see an error message,
I'd keep the balloon :)

Would that work?
 
Robert,

Thanks for the tip on using VBScript. I've managed to do just what I want
using the following four-line script:

Set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
On Error Resume Next
If Not objNetwork.MapNetworkDrive("F:", "\\my_pc\shared_folder") Then
End If

I saved that as network.vbs, dropped a shortcut into the startup folder in
my start menu, and now when I log into Windows, it tries to map the shared
folder to my F: drive. If that fails, nothing happens. No disconnected drive,
no error notice, no balloon, nothing. If the shared folder was succesfully
mapped, I still don't get a warning or balloon, but the drive is right there
in My Computer.

In other words, exactly what I wanted.

Thanks again!
 
Back
Top