Fix ERROR_SHARING_PAUSED (0x00000046) on Windows File Shares

When You See This Error

You're trying to map a network drive or open a file share on a remote server—maybe a Windows Server 2019 or a Windows 10 Pro machine that's sharing a folder. The connection fails and you get this message: ERROR_SHARING_PAUSED (0x00000046) - The remote server has been paused or is in the process of being started.

This usually happens right after a server reboot, during a scheduled maintenance window, or when someone at the server console has manually paused the File and Printer Sharing feature. I've seen it most often when the Server service itself is set to Manual instead of Automatic, or after a Windows Update that stalled the service startup.

What Causes It

The root cause is simple: the Server service (the Windows component that handles incoming file sharing requests) is paused, starting, or completely stopped. When that service isn't running, Windows rejects any SMB connection attempt with this specific error code. It's not a permissions issue—those give you access-denied errors. This is a service-level block.

Another common trigger: someone ran net pause server or net stop server from the command line, or the service crashed due to a driver conflict. On domain controllers, it can also happen if the Netlogon service hasn't fully initialized after boot.

How to Fix It

Step 1: Check the Server Service Status

On the remote computer that hosts the share, open Services.msc. You can do this by pressing Win+R, typing services.msc, and hitting Enter. Look for the service named Server in the list. Its display name is "Server" and its internal name is lanmanserver.

What you should see: the Status column should say "Running", and the Startup Type should be "Automatic". If it's empty or says "Paused" or "Stopped", that's your problem.

Step 2: Restart the Server Service

Right-click the Server service and choose Restart. After you click Restart, wait about 10 seconds, then check the Status column again—it should show "Running".

If the service was paused instead of stopped, right-click and select Resume (this option only appears when the service is paused). You won't see it if the service is stopped.

Step 3: Set Startup Type to Automatic

While you're in Services.msc, double-click the Server service. In the Properties window, find the Startup type dropdown and change it to Automatic. Click Apply, then OK. This ensures the service starts every time the server boots. Do this even if it's already running—you're preventing a future recurrence.

Step 4: Check for Paused Sessions (Command Line)

On the remote server, open a Command Prompt as Administrator. Run this command:

net share

This lists all active shares. If any share shows Paused in the status column, you can resume all shares with:

net share \\servername\sharename /users:unlimited

But the real fix is to resume the Server service itself. Run:

net continue server

After running that, you should see a message that says "The Server service was continued successfully."

Step 5: Verify SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support (Older Systems)

If the server is really old—like Windows Server 2008 or Windows 7—it might depend on SMB 1.0. On modern Windows 10/11 and Server 2016+, SMB 1.0 is disabled by default. To check, open Windows Features (Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off) and see if SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support is checked. Only enable it if you're sure the client needs it. I don't recommend enabling it on any new setup—it's outdated and insecure.

What to Check If It Still Fails

If the error persists after restarting the service, look at these three things:

• Windows Firewall: Make sure inbound rules for File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In) are enabled. On the server, open Firewall > Allow an app through firewall > check that "File and Printer Sharing" is allowed for your network profile (Domain, Private, or Public).
• Antivirus software: Some security suites block SMB traffic. Temporarily disable the antivirus on the server and try the connection again. If it works, add an exception for the Server service or the folder path.
• Event Viewer: Look in Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System for events from source srv or bowser. You might see event ID 2015 or 2017, which often point to a driver crash or a missing dependency. If you see those, you're dealing with a deeper issue—like a corrupted SMB stack or a bad network driver. In that case, update the network adapter driver from the manufacturer's website, not Windows Update.

If none of that works, the problem might be on the client side. On the client machine, open Command Prompt as Admin and run net use * /delete to clear any cached drive mappings, then try again. That clears up leftover sessions that sometimes confuse Windows.