Shared Folders Not Visible when logged in as Domain Admin

[-Jim-]

I am running VMWare Workstation Pro 15 and have a Windows 2016 Server VM with 6 sequential snapshots.

I created a Shared Folder on the Host that is "always enabled" and "mapped as a drive in windows guest os".

It works properly in my first 5 snapshots (and the server is not in a domain).

Then, I changed the computer name of the guest, joined a domain and re-booted.  After the re-boot, I log in as a Domain Admin - and the mapped drive for the shared folder does not appear.

If I log out again and log in with the Local Administrator account, the shared folders appear - but when I log in with a domain account they do not.

Why?

The Active Directory is recently installed, runs on a Windows 2019 server with a default configurations (no additional policies or restrictions).

Thanks.

[CarltonR]

Local and Domain accounts are different accounts, and therefore have different profiles . . . there are a number of ways you could map the drive, but would suggest doing so within AD so that the mapped drive is loaded wherever that particular Domain account is used, assuming that this is your goal.

As an aside this is unrelated to VMware Workstation, and all to do with Microsoft Windows Operating Systems and Active Directory.

[-Jim-]

Thanks for your reply - but this is not unrelated to VMWare.  

VMWare Workstation has a setting called "Map as Network Drive in Windows Guest" - which I have enabled.

There is no note or caveat that says "Sometimes this won't work (ie: if the machine is a member of a domain)".

VMWare says it will map the drive - but it doesn't.

[RDPetruska]

The VMware Shared Folders feature has always been iffy - best solution is to use standard Windows SAMBA/CIFS file sharing.

[bluefirestorm]

How many vmtoolsd.exe processes are in Task Manager Details tab for Local Admin versus Domain Admin?

There should be two. One runs under SYSTEM and the other with the signed in user. If the Domain Admin has only one (presumably the one with SYSTEM) try running

"C:\Program Files\VMware\Vmware Tools\vmtoolsd.exe" -n vmusr

The vmtoolsd.exe of the local user is invoked from

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

VMware User Process REG_SZ

[CarltonR]

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@-Jim- @ wrote: "but this is not unrelated to VMWare"

Agreed in one sense, in that VMware is interacting with the VM, however my comment regards Local vs. Domain still stands.

What you have to bear in mind is that when a Windows device is added to an AD Domain then the policies are derived from it.  It may be the case that VMware is attempting to configure the mapped drive but either does not have the appropriate permissions or that the AD polices being applied are overriding this, but to confirm this would require additional research.  You could add the local policies to AD Domain account policies, or as suggested just map it through AD (assuming Windows based VMs) or map it when logged into the AD authenticated VM.

There is also the niggling question of permissions, to map a drive you have to have permissions to the shared area otherwise it will fail.

@-Jim-  wrote: "There is no note or caveat that says "Sometimes this won't work (i.e.: if the machine is a member of a domain)"

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VMware can't know how you setup the VM, it just sees an Operating System and attempts to configure it as best it can.

Post Note: Have you attempted to reinstalling VMware Tools on the Guest VM when it is logged into the AD Domain ?

[CarltonR]

For completeness.

   Shared Folder for a Virtual Machine Prerequisites:

• Verify that the virtual machines use a guest operating system that supports shared folders. See Guest Operating Systems That Support Shared Folders.
• Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.
• Verify that permission settings on the host system allow access to files in the shared folders. For example, if you are running Workstation Pro as a user named User, the virtual machine can read and write files in the shared folder only if User has permission to read and write them.
  
  

[https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/16.0/com.vmware.ws.using.doc/GUID-D6D9A5FD-7F5F-4C...]