Getting “Duplicate Name Exists” Error When Connecting to Network Share

This is the second time I have ran into this and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

If you have a windows 2003 or 2008 server that is sharing folders and there is a CName record set up to point at the server.  If you do not know what a CName record is, it allows a server to basically appear under a different name on the network.  So “Server1” can also be reached under the name “ServerFoo”.

The second part of this is if the machine trying to connect to the server share. If the connecting computer is Windows XP or earlier you may get the error “A duplicate name exists on the network”.  This is not true in this case.

The Fix from Microsoft:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate and click the following key in the registry:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

1. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:

   Value name: DisableStrictNameChecking
   Data type: REG_DWORD
   Radix: Decimal
   Value: 1

2. Quit Registry Editor.
3. Restart your computer.