Error message when attempting to connect to a shared folder: "An Extended Error has Occurred."

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This article provides information on a possible cause of the message "An extended error has occurred" when attempting to connect to a share on a Windows server.

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When trying to connect to a share on a Windows-based member of an Active Directory domain, you may receive the following error message:

An extended error has occurred.

No additional information is given. This error can occur when directly accessing a network share via its UNC path (via the Run dialog, for example) or when attempting to map a drive to the share.

There is more than one possible cause of this issue. Two of the most common are as follows:

• The target machine's clock is not synchronized with the domain.
• The source machine has stored credentials pertaining to the target share, and those credentials are obsolete.

Check the date and time on the target machine and verify whether they match the date and time on the domain controller which holds the PDC Emulator FSMO role. (This DC is the master time source for the domain.) If they don't match, run the following command on the target machine:

w32tm /resync /rediscover

This command should synchronize the clock on the target machine with the clock on the DC. If the clock fails to synchronize within a few seconds, restart the Windows Time service on the target machine. If it still fails to synchronize, reboot that machine. If the clock is still incorrect after a reboot, see Troubleshooting the Windows Time Service for further information.

If the date and time on the target machine match the date and time on the PDC Emulator, the source machine may have invalid stored credentials associated with the target share. If this is the case, the source machine will likely have multiple instances of error 14 (source Kerberos or Security-Kerberos) in its System event log. To remedy the issue, open the Credential Manager Control Panel applet (called Stored User Names and Passwords in older versions of Windows). Locate the applicable credentials and update or delete them.

The stored-credentials issue is discussed in this blog entry, which contains relevant screenshots.

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