Client side "connect error"

[Crash2009]

Anybody got any ideas to get through or around this one. I have rebooted both server and clients and looked for pending file renames in the registry. I have tried to connect from 3 different workstations (M4A780PRO Ultimate 64 bit) (DELL Ultimate 64 bit) and (SONY Ultimate 32 bit). I get the same error on all three. I have not tried to connect from either of the two XP 32 bit workstations. All of the workstations are members of the UPTOWN workgroup.

I don't know a lot about networking, and this is my first attempt at having a server. The server is an old IBM 325 Eserver with just enough upgrade to run WHS 2011. I pulled it out of the scrap pile to get some experience with WHS 2011.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Venom51]

The time on your server is off. Check the time and time zones on all the machines.

If that fails to solve the issue try this one.

http://blogchampion.com/2011/06/25/how- ... -progress/

[Crash2009]

The time on your server is off. Check the time and time zones on all the machines.

If that fails to solve the issue try this one.

http://blogchampion.com/2011/06/25/how- ... -progress/

The time was off (by 20 seconds) How observant of you to notice the time of the screencap (9am) and the time of the post (noon) I was wondering what led you to the time suggestion. After viewing your other suggestion, I found an Update reminder in the Alert Viewer. 4 updates sitting there since midnight. Will try to connect client to server after update completion.

Checked the registry again. I have no "PendingFileRenameOperations" to rename. All I have in the place the blogchampion suggested was FileRenameOperations. NO "Pending"

[Venom51]

The time on your server is off. Check the time and time zones on all the machines.

If that fails to solve the issue try this one.

http://blogchampion.com/2011/06/25/how- ... -progress/

The time was off (by 20 seconds) How observant of you to notice the time of the screencap (9am) and the time of the post (noon) I was wondering what led you to the time suggestion. After viewing your other suggestion, I found an Update reminder in the Alert Viewer. 4 updates sitting there since midnight. Will try to connect client to server after update completion.

Checked the registry again. I have no "PendingFileRenameOperations" to rename. All I have in the place the blogchampion suggested was FileRenameOperations. NO "Pending"

You might want to remember something simple. I'm not the one asking for help.

[Crash2009]

Right, thanks for the suggestions.

[Venom51]

There are plenty of things that can cause issues when joining machines via the connector or to a domain controller. Time being off by more than 3 to 5 minutes is one of them. That may not apply to the Home server connector but was worth mentioning as it could have been that simple. Since I spend most of my time running Active Directory domains I don't put much effort into learning the in's and out's of the Home Server product line but since they rely on most of the same code some issues cross over.

[Crash2009]

There are plenty of things that can cause issues when joining machines via the connector or to a domain controller. Time being off by more than 3 to 5 minutes is one of them. That may not apply to the Home server connector but was worth mentioning as it could have been that simple. Since I spend most of my time running Active Directory domains I don't put much effort into learning the in's and out's of the Home Server product line but since they rely on most of the same code some issues cross over.

I was looking for a simple fix, thanks for suggesting that I check the time. Looks like I am going to have to roll up my sleeves and get digging. I expected that this server project was not going to be easy for a novice, although I was kinda hoping that Win 7 and WHS 2011 could figure it out on their own. WHS is pointing the finger at my router's inability to support Upnp so I guess I'll start there. I am going to try to bridge my existing modem/router to a router that supports Upnp.

[cjmccarthy72]

"WHS is pointing the finger at my router's inability to support Upnp so I guess I'll start there."

I believe this often shows up and can be just ignored. It is proabably not a cause of your problems I am affraid.

[Crash2009]

Problem Solved at least for one workstation. When I installed WHS2011 I don't remember if I was given the opportunity to name the workgroup. It was installed with the default workgroup WORKGROUP. All my workstations were members of the UPTOWN workgroup. When I went to change the server workgroup it was denied because: The Certificate Authority Service is installed. From what I read out there, the server cannot be renamed, or the workgroup changed. So, I renamed the workgroup of the workstation to the windows default of WORKGROUP. Shortly after that the connect software ran just fine. I hope this is the correct fix and not the beginning of a bunch of new problems. Just thought I would document this for someone reading in the future. Thanks for all your suggestions. I am going router shopping.

[Venom51]

That is actually correct. Once the certificate authority root has been named any changes will break the mechanism. When the client PC is joined to the server it is issued a digital certificate with which the communication between the machines is encrypted. It's also used to secure the RDP session for remote administration of the server. Looking a little further into it they are indeed using the Active Directory Certifcate services that we use in a full Active Directory domain setup.

You made the right move changing the work group name. Changing the workgroup name at the server will result in a re-install of the server to get everything working correctly again.

[Crash2009]

For the benefit of whomever may be reading this in the future. The 2nd workstation came with it's own set of challenges. One of which was that it was joined to a 3rd workstation and the server through the Homegroup. In order to complete the Connect Procedure, I had to step out of the Homegroup about half way through, then start over.

The 3rd workstation I finally got it right:

1-Make sure you are on the same workgroup as the server, and Shutdown (not reboot).
2-Leave any Homegroup that you might be a member of, and Shutdown (not reboot).
3-The 2 Shutdowns above, allow any Updates that you can't see, to get installed.
4-Run the Connect software and run any Updates that the Connect software tells you to. Don't back out of there to do the Updates. Do the Updates while connected to the server from the workstation.

Thanks Venom, for letting me know I did the right thing.