how2it02d.htm
How to Troubleshoot Error 67 (device not available)
Symptom: You are trying to connect to a database or other resource located on another computer on the network but this message appears instead. Besides, your application won't run because this message keeps appearing.
Problem: The computer you're using cannot connect to the remote location.
Cause: It could be any one or a combination of several of the following:
DOS networking is usually pretty quick to connect to network resources. If you get this message the most probably cause is either a loose connection, the remote computer isn't turned on or in rarer circumstances, a jolt of static electricity (such as lightning) has "zapped" the computer. However, you may have an automated batch file on your C:\ drive that is named something like "REMAP.BAT" or "NETMAP.BAT," and if you have it, you could simply type the name of the batch file at a DOS prompt and give it a try. If you get a message "bad command or file name" it means you don't have batch files with those names and you'll have to try to reconnect manually. Contact your system administrator or if you have purchased our network support option, call us.
Loose network wire -- check ALL the physical connections between your computer and the one you're trying to reach. One could have jiggled loose, a cable could be crimped (network cabling doesn't like sharp bends, staples, etc.) or even cut (as can happen if someone runs a vacuum cleaner over the network wire).
If it's a new installation, the network wire may be running alongside a fluorescent light, refrigerator, air conditioner or some other device that emits a lot of electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic interference can cause some really weird and unpredictable things and can make your network run really slowly or not at all. Solution: try powering the appliance off to see if the problem goes away. If it does, move the network wire to a different place.
Network hub powered off - most computers have a "hub" or "switch" that interconnects all the computers on the network. Some installations may have multiple hubs or switches. These require power and if they're not powered on, they won't let the network connections through. Check the power light on the hub.
The computer to which you're trying to connect is not powered on. To fix: power it on.
The computer to which you're trying to connect is no longer sharing the resource you're trying to use. To fix: go to that computer (the host) and share the resource with the same name as it was originally shared. NOTE: You should check with your network administrator before establishing or changing any settings on a host/server computer.
The share name of the resource you're trying to use has been changed. To fix: either change the share name on the host computer or remap your local connection to the new share name.
If you're using a DOS computer yet connecting to a Windows computer, when the Windows computer was started, the networking password may have been bypassed as the computer booted up. At the Windows logon screen, sometimes pressing the ESC key at the network id/password prompt will bypass networking and effectively tell Windows not to use it. Then when DOS computers try to connect to it, the computer won't be available because Windows hasn't started its own networking component. Solution: shut down and restart the Windows computer and sign in with a valid network id and password, then restart the DOS computer and see if the problem goes away.
The network name/id/password does not match the name/id/password on the computer to which you're trying to connect. This normally happens with dedicated file servers, Novell, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Solution: log in with a valid name. Solution: check with your network administrator.
The network name on the computer to which you're trying to connect is not authorized to use the resource you're trying to use. You may get a "not authorized" message instead, or possibly Error 67 will pop up. Solution: check with your network administrator.
The remote computer no longer uses the same network protocol as the DOS computer. Most DOS computers use either the NetBEUI or NWLink protocol for network connections. For computers to talk across a network they need to use the same language, and the network protocol is the "language" the computers use to communicate with one another.
The "workgroup" or other network settings, network protocols and network addresses have changed on either the computer you're using or on the computer to which you're trying to connect. Check with your network administrator.
The network interface card (a NIC is the electronic part inside your computer that connects to the network cable) has gone bad. These can burn out just like light bulbs can, and are quite susceptible to damage from lightning strikes and other forms of static electricity. If you've had a recent electrical storm, a nearby lightning strike could have "zapped" the network card and it may need replacement.
A recent lightning strike or other static electricity jolt has temporarily jumbled the RAM memory in the computer. Solution: shut down the computer, power it OFF for about 5 minutes, then power it back on and give it a try.
General solution: How to restore ("remap") map a network drive
At the DOS prompt, type NET VIEW \\WORKGROUP where WORKGROUP is the name of your network. (Example: if your network is called PROSHOP, you'd type NET VIEW \\PROSHOP instead.). If successful, you should receive a listing of the names of all the computers on your network. If you don't see any, then there's a connection problem and you can't go on. See you network administrator.
Now type: NET VIEW \\COMPUTERNAME where COMPUTERNAME is the name of the computer you're trying to connect to. If successful, you should see a list of the resources that computer is sharing to the network. InfoTouch for DOS often uses the share name "SYSTEM" although you may see other words, perhaps related to the name of your facility, such as GOLFCC or PSHOP1, etc.
Assuming that you need to remap drive I:, your server is named MAINBOX and is sharing "SYSTEM," to remap the drive you would probably type the following: NET USE I: \\MAINBOX\SYSTEM (and press ENTER of course). If you use a different drive letter, you'd use it instead of I: in this example. (Note: NWLink uses the word MAP in place of NET USE)
If successful, you can type NET USE and you should see that your drive I: is now connected to \\MAINBOX\SYSTEM. (NWLink users: type MAP instead.)
You can type NET HELP and you should get a cryptic listing of various NET commands and their usage. While highly efficient, the relatively arcane command structure that networking uses at the command prompt level is often seen as much more cumbersome than it is in Windows. In any event, other than the above, the concepts and methods of networking at the DOS level is far beyond the scope of this document. It's suggested that end users enlist of help of network specialists if the above suggestions do not solve the problem.
General solution: How to restore ("remap") a connection to a network printer
At the DOS prompt, type NET VIEW \\WORKGROUP where WORKGROUP is the name of your network. (Example: if your network is called PROSHOP, you'd type NET VIEW \\PROSHOP instead.). If successful, you should receive a listing of the names of all the computers on your network. If you don't see any, then there's a connection problem and you can't go on. See you network administrator.
Now type: NET VIEW \\COMPUTERNAME where COMPUTERNAME is the name of the computer you're trying to connect to. If successful, you should see a list of the resources that computer is sharing to the network. One of those items is a printer, and it probably has a name that indicates it's a printer, such as "CANON" or "OKIDATA" or "EPSON" or possibly "REPORT_PRINT."
Assuming that your server is named MAINBOX and is sharing the printer named "EPSON," to remap the printer you would probably type the following: NET USE LPT1: \\MAINBOX\EPSON (and press ENTER of course. Note: NWLink uses the word MAP in place of NET USE.)