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Adding a Network Device Fails: "This server is already connected under a different user name"

Windows allows only one user name per server. Use the same credentials, remove the other connection, or address the server by its IP address.

Applies to: NovaBACKUP PC Agent and NovaBACKUP Server Agent, version 22, backing up to a network share (NAS or Windows server).

When you add a network backup device in NovaBACKUP 22, the device check can fail with a message that the server is already connected under a different user name. This article explains why Windows refuses the connection and three ways to add the device.

Symptom

When you add or edit a Local Backup device on a network path such as \\NAS\Backup, NovaBACKUP shows:

This server is already connected under a different user name. Disconnect it first, or use the same user name as the existing connection.

Cause

Windows allows only one user name per server for the same Windows account. If this computer already has a connection to the server with another user name, Windows refuses a second connection with the user name you entered for the device. The existing connection can be:

  • A mapped network drive, for example the NAS mapped as drive M:
  • A connection you opened in File Explorer and saved credentials for
  • Another NovaBACKUP device on the same server, including a device you use in the legacy interface

This is common right after an upgrade to NovaBACKUP 22. Devices from the legacy interface are not listed in NovaBACKUP 22, so you add a new device for the same NAS, often with a different user name than the old one.

Solution

Option 1: Use the same user name and password (recommended)

  1. Find out which user name the existing connection uses. For a mapped drive, open Command Prompt and run net use. For a device in the legacy interface, open its properties on the Device tab.
  2. In NovaBACKUP 22, add the device again with that user name and password.

Option 2: Disconnect the existing connection

Use this when the existing connection is a mapped drive or a File Explorer connection that you no longer need.

  1. Open Command Prompt and run net use to list the connections.
  2. Disconnect the connection to the server, for example: 
    net use M: /delete
    or 
    net use \\NAS\Backup /delete
  3. If you saved credentials for the server, remove them in Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
  4. Restart the computer, then add the device in NovaBACKUP 22 again.

Option 3: Address the server by its IP address

Windows treats the server name and the server's IP address as two different servers. If you must use a different user name for the backup device, enter the path with the IP address, for example \\192.168.1.20\Backup instead of \\NAS\Backup.

Note: Give the server a fixed IP address, or a DHCP reservation in your router, so the path keeps working.

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