Microsoft Windows Registry Guide, Second Edition

Restoring Administrative Shares

By default, Windows automatically creates special hidden administrative shares that administrators, programs, and services can use to manage the computer environment or network. These special shared resources are not visible in Windows Explorer or My Computer, but you can view them by using the Shared Folders node in the Computer Management console. Depending on the configuration of your computer, you might see some or all of the following special shared resources listed in the Shares folder under Shared Folders:

• DriveLetter$.

  Root partitions and volumes are shared as the drive letter name appended with the $ character. For example, drive letters C and D are shared as C$ and D$.

• ADMIN$.

  A resource that is used during remote administration of a computer.

• IPC$.

  A resource that shares the named pipes that are necessary for communication between programs. Remember that this resource cannot be deleted.

• NETLOGON.

  A resource that is used on domain controllers.

• SYSVOL.

  A resource that is used on Active Directory domain controllers.

• PRINT$.

  A resource that is used during the remote administration of printers.

• FAX$.

  A shared folder on a server that is used by fax clients during fax transmissions.

Microsoft recommends that you not delete or modify these special shared resources. If the default administrative shares were removed or if the automatic creation of these shares is turned off, you can edit the registry to restore the shares so that they are automatically created in Windows. To restore administrative shares so that they are automatically created in Windows, use the following steps:

1. Start Regedit.

2. Delete the REG_DWORD value AutoShareServer or set it to 0x01. This value is in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters. When this value is set to 0x01 or if it doesn't exist, Windows automatically creates the administrative shares.

3. Restart the Server service. To do so, run the following commands:

   net stop server

   net start server