220-1101 Question 91
Single answerFileshareA small office uses a Windows file server to store shared department documents. A user reports that they can see the Finance shared folder in File Explorer by browsing to \FS1\Finance, but when they try to open it they receive an "Access is denied" message. Other members of the Finance department can open the share without issue. The technician confirms that the server is online and the user can access other network resources. Which of the following should the technician check FIRST to resolve this issue?
- A
Whether the user has the required share and NTFS permissions for the Finance folder
- B
Whether the workstation's local hard drive has enough free space to cache the shared folder
- C
Whether the file server's IP address is configured through DHCP instead of a static address
- D
Whether the user needs to map the Finance share to a drive letter before opening it
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best first step is to verify the user's effective access by checking both share permissions and NTFS permissions on the Finance folder. In Windows environments, the most restrictive combination of share and NTFS permissions determines what a user can do. A common real-world troubleshooting mistake is to focus on connectivity when the issue is actually authorization. Since the user can browse to \FS1\Finance, the path is valid and the server is reachable. Because other Finance users can access it, the problem is probably limited to this user's account or group membership rather than the server itself. This aligns with Microsoft best practices for troubleshooting shared folder access: confirm connectivity, then verify permissions, including inherited NTFS permissions and applicable group membership.
- A. Correct.
This is correct. In Windows file sharing, access to a shared folder depends on both share permissions and NTFS permissions. A user may be able to browse to a share and see that it exists, but still be denied access if their account or group does not have sufficient permissions. Since other Finance users can access the folder and the server is reachable, the most likely issue is that this specific user's permissions are missing or incorrect.
- B. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Insufficient local disk space would not typically cause an immediate "Access is denied" error when opening a network share. Offline Files or caching issues can affect synchronization behavior, but they do not usually prevent initial access in this way.
- C. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. If the server had an addressing problem related to DHCP versus static configuration, multiple users would likely experience broader connectivity issues. In this scenario, the user can reach the server and other users can access the share, so IP addressing is not the most relevant first check.
- D. Incorrect.
This is incorrect. Mapping a network share to a drive letter is optional convenience, not a requirement for access. A user can normally open a share directly using its UNC path. If permissions are incorrect, mapping the drive will not bypass the access denial.