Windows File Protection Cannot Restore Files from a Mapped Network Drive (325707)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

Windows File Protection (WFP) cannot restore files from the installation point that is specified in the SourcePath registry value if the value specifies a mapped network drive.

For example, if you map drive X to \\server\share for the installation files and you then install Windows XP from drive X, WFP cannot restore files from drive X.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version      Size     File name
   ----------------------------------------------------
   08-Aug-2002  09:58  5.1.2600.53  133,120  Sfc_os.dll

WORKAROUND

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To work around this problem, change the SourcePath value in the registry to point to a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path instead of a mapped network drive. The SourcePath value is located in the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Change the value to point to a UNC path instead of a mapped network drive. For example, change it to \\server\share\WindowsXP. In this example, this is the UNC equivalent of mapped network drive X.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 1.