Hi,
I'm working with the following: Windows 2000 domain controller, Windows 2003 R2 file & print server, numerous Windows XP PC's, new Windows 7 PC's. XP machines are joined to the domain. Home directories and most network drives are on the 2003 server, as well as the shared printers. These XP machines are being replaced with the new Windows 7 Pro 64-bit machines.
I'm able to join the Windows 7 PC's to the 2000 domain with no issue. However, access to the network drives and shared printers on the 2003 R2 server is extremely slow. For example, network drives take 15-20 seconds to open up. When connecting to a shared printer, it takes 15-20 MINUTES to copy the driver from the 2003 R2 server to the Windows 7 PC. However, access to network drives and printers on the 2000 domain controller is fast.
I tested access to the shared drives and shared printers from my laptop (also Win 7 Pro 64-bit, but not on the domain), and everything was fast. The existing Windows XP machines on the domain have been in use for many years and access to the shared drives and printers is not slow.
I took one of the new Windows 7 PC's and did a little testing. I booted it up and logged on as the local administrator (only account on the PC). Access to network drives and printers was fast. I installed our anti-virus software and other applications, then tested again, and found access to network drives and printers was still fast. I joined the PC to the domain and rebooted. Access to the network drives and printers was then extremely slow, so I know it has something to do with being joined to the domain.
I found a forum post about NTLM versions between Windows 7 and a Windows 2000. It was suggested to change the Windows 7 PC's to: "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated". I did this and rebooted the Windows 7 PC, but it made no difference. I checked the NTLM settings on the servers and they are as follows:
Windows 2000 Domain Controller: Send LM & NTLM responses
Windows 2003 R2: Send NTLM response only
I tried changing both the Windows 2003 R2 server and a Windows 7 PC to "Sent LM & NTML responses" in order for them to match the domain controller. Rebooted all devices are making the change and saw no difference.
Finally, I removed one of the Windows 7 PC's from the domain and logged on to it. I immediately noticed fast access to network drives and connecting to shared printers was very quick.
Any ideas? I'm not sure what else to look at here. It's odd to me that once joined to the domain, access from the Windows 7 PC's to network drives/printers on the Windows 2000 domain controller is FAST, but access to network drives/printers on the 2003 R2 server is painfully slow. Removing a Windows 7 PC from the domain results in FAST access to both servers. I thought the NTLM levels would be the ticket, as I can understand there being issues between Win 7 and a Win 2000 DC, but I'm not seeing any improvement when changing those settings. I just can't seem to figure out how being joined to the domain is affecting access to network drives/printers, but only those on the non-domain controller!
