Unable to Run a .NET Framework Application from a Network Share created with SUBST

Source: Microsoft Support

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On a computer with Internet Explorer 7.0 or later installed, a user attempts to run a .NET Framework application from a network share that has been mapped with the SUBST command.

The following error message is displayed:

myApplication.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

where myApplication is the name of the application.

If the error message is still displayed click the Debug button the the following message may be displayed:

An unhandled exception of type 'System.ArgumentException' occurred in Unknown Module

Additional information: The parameter is incorrect. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070057 (E_INVALIDARG)

Setting the correct Code Access Security (CASPOL) setting as detailed in the following article does not resolve the issue:

897296 How to adjust security settings for Framework applications - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=897296 (http://support.microsoft.com/?id=897296)

This problem occurs due to differences in how Internet Explorer 6.0 and Internet Explorer 7.0 determine if a drive is valid.

When running a .NET Framework application from a network share that has been mapped using the SUBST command, the .NET Framework calls into the WNetGetConnection API to validate the drive. This calls fails with error code 0x80070043 - network name can not be found. This error code is masked with E_INVALIDARG (0x80070057) which is then returned to the .NET Framework, which displays the error.

Note that the same behavior does not occur on an Internet Explorer 6.0 computer. The call to WNetGetConnection fails in this circumstance as well, however, Internet Explorer 6.0 erroneously ignores the error and returns a successful result to the .NET Framework.

Connect to the network share by using the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path or by mapping the share with the Map Network Drive wizard.

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