Problem

You want to find out who has files opened on a CIFS share (in order to close the system or backup data). If you try to connect to the Storage by browsing the computers from the AD Server Manager it gives you a connection error (and no operation can be executed). But if you try a New Connection, the second time it’ll connect correctly and you can find the path of the open files.

Solution

Short version: Go to Computer Management (local), select New Connection and write the storage hostname (without the domain postfix)

Further details:

1. Computers view from the Server Manager (from our AD)

2. If you try to manage the Storage from here you get an error

3. Error: cannot connect.

4. But it still opens a Computer Management window (connected)

5.  From this point, you can connect to another computer (like in the previous screenshot); write the name without the domain

6. Now the Computer Management window is connected to the computer STORAGE (not “STORAGE.DEV.SYNETO.NET”) and you can see all the shares, sessions and open files.

7. Now you can open a file from the Storage and see it in the list of open files.