Web Folders / Web disk / WebDAV problems on Windows 7

If you’re using Windows 7 and you encounter problems in using web folders or web disks (or more technically known as Windows Web Client or WEBDAV) how do you fix it?

Ever since the launch of Windows 7, I’ve been asked this question several times. Many people have already reported to me that they’re experiencing connection and setup problems for web folders or web disks (also called web client or WebDAV) .

I personally have Windows 7 64-bit in one of my PCs and I’m also having problems using web folders. Whenever I try to setup a web folder by “adding a network location” or “map a network drive” through My Computer, I’m given an error saying that either “The folder you entered does not appear to be valid. Please choose another” or “Windows cannot access… Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be…”. These errors appear whether I’m using SSL or non-SSL.

Web Folders Web disk problems WEBDAV Windows 7 graphic01


Your problem on Web folders or the WebDAV client in Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit may be a little different, but I’m guessing that what you’re experiencing falls under these two main categories:

1. Connection to a web folder or web disk cannot be established.

Whenever you try to setup a web folder or web disk (whether it is through “add a network location”, “map a network drive”, through the “net use” command, or any other method), it fails.

2. You can establish or setup a web folder but can only view contents.

Here, you can setup a web folder but you can only browse the root folder. When you try to open a folder or transfer a file to it, you won’t be able to.

 

What to do

This problem on web folders was also present on Windows Vista but it was easily resolved when Microsoft released a hotfix for it – Software Update for Web Folders (KB907306). I thought Windows 7 won’t encounter this kind of issue, but I guess it was just expecting too much.

To cut the long story short, I’ve tried to resolve the Web Folder problem of Windows 7 myself and have also sought help from other people as well. I’ve tried several solutions some of which are: using the update above, modifying registry settings (by modifying how the web client accepts Basic Authentication or by adding the “AuthForwardServerList” registry key), or by using different “net use” commands – all to no avail.

So to be able to setup or use web folders in Windows 7, we would be using a web folder or web client software until Microsoft fixes the problem.

 

BitKinex Web folder software

I’ve tested several free web folder software and found BitKinex to be the best so far. First of all is it’s completely free – it was once paid software but is now freeware. It’s very easy to use and work both for Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit. Bitkinex can be downloaded from their official website bitkinex.com or from download.com.

Web Folders Web disk problems WEBDAV Windows 7 graphic02

 

You can also just drag and drop files from your PC to the BitKinex window to copy files to your server or online storage (similar to windows explorer drag and drop functionality).

Bitkinex Web folders for Windows 7 graphic03
Just drag and drop files to the middle pane window (once you’ve chosen the correct folder on the left pane explorer window) to copy files to your server or online storage.

Setting up the web folder or WebDAV connection in BitKinex is easy as well. Once you’ve finished installation, it will automatically direct you to its network setup wizard – which would help you configure the application so it can have access to the Internet.

 

Once network setup is complete, it would ask you if you want to configure a WebDAV or FTP connection next. I suggest you DON’T click “yes” as it will direct you to another configuration wizard which doesn’t really properly configure the connection.

Web Folders Web disk problems WEBDAV Windows 7 graphic05

 

You could manually set-up a WebDAV or web folder connection in the BitKinex window by right-clicking Http/WebDAV then choosing New then Http/WebDAV.

Web Folders Web disk problems WEBDAV Windows 7 graphic06 

 

You would then need to type a name for the connection. Once you’ve specified a name and pressed the “Enter” key, a new window would appear for you to specify the connection details.

 

 

After this, just double-click the newly created connection to connect to your server or online storage and start using WebDAV or web folders in Windows 7!

Do you know of another freeware which can use WebDAV in Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit? Please don’t hesitate to post it below so we can all check it out. I’ll also be updating this article (if in case Microsoft releases a fix for WebDAV or web folders) so be sure to check back to the site or subscribe to the feed or email updates. It’s free!


 

 

 
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Live
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Subscribe to our TechieChips' RSS Feed or via Email or Newsletter. We'll only update you if there are new posts/articles. (No Spam!). Why do you want to subscribe to TechieChips?


 

 
  1. J says:

    Netdrive (only 32 bit), Webdrive (both 32 and 64 bit) achieve the functionality

  2. Rob says:

    You make a big deal about Netdrive being 32 bit only but fail to mention that BitKinex is as well.

  3. peter Elderson says:

    Unfortunately, BitKinex refuses to open. It keeps telling me to install an emailclient, even though I have Thunderbird installed and configured as the standard email client (mailto: from Open office works fine).

    • Ige says:

      That’s odd as it doesn’t do that to me. Does it tell you to install an email client during installation or after? Have you tried reinstalling?

  4. Djur says:

    Thanks for the great article. For me, Bitkinetix is the first one to work on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit – and I have tried almost everything else, including Webdrive, Anyclient and many others.

    I think it is a policy at MS that they don’t want to fix WebDav. Perhaps it has to do with that WebDav is “foreign” to the MS server architecture? This is just a guess though.

  5. m says:

    same story here, Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit – I’ve tested a lot of clients, the only working is Bitkinex

  6. ian says:

    anyone got it working without a client yet?

    • Ige says:

      I don’t think it works perfectly without a client yet (with the exception of a few cases – one reader suggested the use of the “net use” command, but it would only work when you don’t need to specify a port. But still even if you don’t need to specify a port, it’s not 100% working. See our thread of replies here -http://www.techiechips.com/web-folders-web-disk-webdav-problems-on-windows-7/comment-page-1/#comment-1603)

      I’ll update this article once this is resolved and we don’t need a client anymore.

  7. 19ninety says:

    superb, thank you! Headache solved!!! would have thought that cPanel could have releases a W7 script by now or that W7 WebDisk would work properly :S

  8. skip says:

    Instead of going through the GUI it said you should go to a command prompt and type in a command simlar to this one:

    net use * https://mywebdav.testserver.com/testfolder

    It prompted me for a username and password and then mapped the drive.

    I was able to access my files this way. Hope it works for you.

    • Ige says:

      Yes it’s been reported that the method you’ve mentioned works in some cases. However, if you need to specify a port to map it (ex. port 8080), this won’t work. That’s why I mentioned above that even if we use the net use command, most people cannot establish a connection.

      For CPanel users, this won’t work as they need to specify a specific port to connect to their Web Folder.

  9. Motty Chen says:

    Still can’t work for me on W7 Ult 64
    Get the message
    Method PROPFIND is not defined in RFC 2068 and is not supported by the Servlet API
    when trying to double click on the link.
    The WebDav is apache and the URL is:
    http://localhost:8080/B1iXcellerator/exec/dummy/

    • Ige says:

      Thanks mecane but unfortunately, that doesn’t work for cPanel webdisk. As pointed in the link you’ve shown, it is for SharePoint server and is for Windows 7 32-bit.

  10. Hashim says:

    Th fix is :
    go to registry
    \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlset\services\WebClient\Parameters\BasicAuthLevel

    and change the value to 2
    Enjoy!

  11. Shon says:

    I have it working without a client on an Apache based webdav server on Windows 7 64 bit clients. There are multiple steps but the biggest issue was the webdav server was using “Basic” Authentication instead of “Digest”. Windows 7 does not support this configuration.

    For instructions: http://shon.org/blog/2010/03/04/howto-fix-windows-7-64bit-webdav/

  1. [...] work. I suggest you just use a third party web client. Here an article which might help you – Web Folders / Web disk / WebDAV problems on Windows 7. I do hope this gets fixed though so we can use Windows Explorer again for Web Disk. I'm more [...]