Windows · Windows Server · high · Networking & connectivity

0x80070035 — "the network path was not found" reaching a share

The share is there, but this client cannot reach it — usually because SMB1 has gone, insecure guest logons are now refused, or the name is not resolving to the right machine.

What you see

\\server\share fails with 0x80070035 while \\192.168.1.10\share sometimes works. Common straight after a Windows feature update, or when a NAS or old printer is involved.

What is actually wrong

Modern Windows no longer installs SMB1 and refuses unauthenticated guest access to SMB2 shares. Devices that only speak SMB1, or NAS boxes configured for guest access, stop working. The rest are name resolution — NetBIOS gone, or the wrong record in DNS.

Codes and articles

0x800700350x80004005network path was not foundSMB1guest access

Fixes (3)

Establish whether it is resolution or access

Elevated PowerShell15 minuteslow riskreversible

Always start here — it takes three commands and decides which of the other fixes applies.

Resolve the name and check it goes where you expect.
PowerShell
```
Resolve-DnsName fileserverTest-NetConnection fileserver -Port 445 -InformationLevel Detailed
```
Port 445 closed means a firewall or a stopped Server service; the name resolving to an old address means DNS, and no amount of SMB configuration will help either.
Try the address directly. If \\10.0.0.5\share works and \\fileserver\share does not, it is name resolution, full stop.
Command Prompt
```
net use \\10.0.0.5\share
```
Clear stale entries that keep a dead mapping alive.
Command Prompt
```
net use * /delete /ynbtstat -RClear-DnsClientCache
```

On the server side, confirm the share and the service are actually up.

PowerShell

Get-SmbShare | Format-Table Name,Path,DescriptionGet-Service LanmanServer | Format-List Status,StartType

Confirm it workedThe share opens by name.

PowerShell

Get-SmbConnection | Format-Table ServerName,ShareName,Dialect

If you need to undo itOnly cached state was cleared. Mapped drives set to reconnect will restore themselves.

Deal with the refusal of insecure guest logons properly

Elevated PowerShell on the client20 minuteshigh riskreversible

A NAS or appliance share that used to open without a password. Read the warning in the first step before doing this.

Understand what is being traded. Guest SMB access is unauthenticated and unsigned — anyone on the network can read what it exposes and a man in the middle can alter it in flight. The correct fix is to create a real user on the NAS and connect with credentials; the switch below is for equipment that genuinely cannot do that.
First try the right way — a named account on the device.
Command Prompt
```
net use Z: \\nas\share /user:nasuser * /persistent:yes
```
Only if the device cannot authenticate at all, re-enable guest logons.
PowerShell
```
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters' -Name AllowInsecureGuestAuth -Type DWord -Value 1
```
This is the setting behind "You can't access this shared folder because your organization's security policies block unauthenticated guest access". It is a client-wide switch, not per-share.
Restart the workstation service.
PowerShell
```
Restart-Service LanmanWorkstation -Force
```

Confirm it workedThe share opens, and Get-SmbConnection shows the dialect in use so you know what you are actually running.

PowerShell

Get-SmbConnection | Format-Table ServerName,ShareName,Dialect,Encrypted

If you need to undo itSet AllowInsecureGuestAuth back to 0 and restart LanmanWorkstation. Do this as soon as the device is replaced.

Check the dialect before considering SMB1

Elevated PowerShell20 minuteshigh riskreversible

Genuinely old equipment. SMB1 is the last resort and should be treated as temporary.

Check whether SMB1 is even installed — on current Windows it is not.

PowerShell

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol | Format-List FeatureName,State

Before installing it, check the device really cannot do SMB2. Most NAS firmware from the last decade can, and simply has it turned off in its own settings.
If there is no alternative, install the client only and never the server component.
PowerShell
```
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol-Client -NoRestart
```
SMB1 is the protocol WannaCry and NotPetya spread over. The client-only component lets this machine reach the old device without turning this machine into a target.
Record why it was enabled and set a date to remove it.

Confirm it workedThe share opens. Get-SmbConnection will show a dialect of 1.5 or lower, which is the reminder that this is temporary.

If you need to undo itDisable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol-Client, then restart.

Related faults

Where this stops. This write-up was written and checked by hand. It says what each step changes, how to confirm it worked and how to reverse it, and anything destructive is flagged before you reach it. If it does not match what your machine is doing, search the Support Centre for the exact code or message — and when something needs a person, get in touch.