This is something I see with every fresh installation of Windows 8 and later.
I have a file server, called FILES, which is a Windows 8.1 Pro machine with a bunch of shared folders. I use several Windows 10 Pro machines to connect to these shares over Ethernet or WiFi (Netgear R8000 router).
I use basic password-based authentication. I.e. all machines have the same set of user accounts with identical passwords. All machines belong to default WORKGROUP. Homegroups are disabled. Windows Firewall is disabled on all machines as well. The network is designated as private.
Now, once I log into my Windows 10 user account, I open File Explorer, hit 'Network' and see FILES listed as a machine on my network. This means that network discovery works fine.
I double click on FILES icon and see the full list of all available shares on FILES. So this part works fine as well.
But then, when I click on a specific share (say, 'Storage'), I get an error message
Trying to click on the same share (or other shares) produces the same error. But it happens only for about 20-40 seconds after the first click. After that, the next click suddenly successfully opens the share and everything works fine after that. All other shares on FILES also begin working perfectly.
However, if I leave FILES alone for a while and then return back to it, the same behavior happens again. First click of FILES shares generate 0x800704cf error, but after a short while everything starts working again.
What is the reason for this annoying error? I see it mentioned on the Net quite a few times, but no definitive answer.
Some additional details: if the client machihne maintains an open Remote Desktop session with FILES machine, all shares on FILES continue to work fine indefinitely. No 0x800704cf errors whatsoever. But once the RD session is over, after a certain period of inactivity 0x800704cf reappears.
There appears to be a definite "keep alive" issue of some sort with network connection between the machines. As long as the connection is active, it is kept alive. Once the activity ceases, the connection gets dropped eventually and then takes 20-40 seconds to reestablish.
I wonder if the router is to blame here somehow...
Using the IP address of 'FILES' instead of the name makes it all work fine, i.e. '\192.163.1.3Storage' results in immediate successful access even when '\FILESStorage' fails with 0x800704cf . However adding an entry for 'FILES' to LMHOSTS file does not resolve the issue.
Exactlythe same problem! I know this is old, but I am getting desperate....have you solved this problem?
This is an old thread. The OP is long gone on to other things. There is a master thread regarding these issues. That error dates back to Windows 7 SP1. The problem is from "Client for Microsoft Networks". It came about when Microsoft tried to fix one Zero Day issue and created another which keeps popping its ugly head up on certain Network chipsets.Exactlythe same problem! I know this is old, but I am getting desperate....have you solved this problem?
Some have found uninstalling and reinstalling their network device driver works. Others have found running sfc /scannow and the Dism fix corrects this issue. All of the info is still the same in fixing this issue from back in 2010 as it is today.
Here the solution guys-
0x800704cf error Solved - Windows 7 Help blog
