STATUS_NETWORK_NAME_DELETED (0XC00000C9) Fix

Try this first (30 seconds)

I know this error is infuriating — you click a network drive and boom, Windows throws 0XC00000C9. Usually it happens after you’ve disconnected a shared folder or a VPN dropped mid-session. The quickest fix is to delete the orphaned drive mapping.

Open File Explorer, right-click the drive showing the error, and select Disconnect. If that works, you’re done. If the drive won’t disconnect (Windows sometimes locks ghost connections), move to the next step.

Moderate fix (5 minutes) — kill it with net use

Sometimes the GUI just stalls. The command line is faster. Open Command Prompt as administrator — hit Windows + X, then choose Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).

Type net use and hit Enter. You’ll see a list of all mapped drives. Find the one with the error — it might show Unavailable or Disconnected.

Now delete it with:

net use Z: /delete

Replace Z: with the actual drive letter. You should see Z: was deleted successfully. If you get The network connection could not be found, that means Windows already removed the mapping but left a cached version — keep reading.

Pro tip: If you have multiple ghost drives, use net use * /delete to wipe them all at once. It’ll ask for confirmation for each one. Just type Y and Enter.

Advanced fix (15+ minutes) — clear cached credentials and registry

If the drive still reappears after reboot, Windows is holding onto cached credentials. Let’s scrub those.

Step 1: Delete saved credentials

Go to Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials. Scroll down to Generic Credentials. Look for entries related to your server name or IP — something like TERMSRV/<servername> or MicrosoftAccount:target=ssp!<something>. Remove them by clicking the arrow and selecting Remove.

This is often the real fix. I’ve seen Credential Manager hold onto stale entries for months. Once you remove them, restart your PC and remap the drive fresh.

Step 2: Registry cleanup (if needed)

If the drive still haunts you after that, there’s a registry key that stores old mapped drives. This is rare but happens after major Windows updates.

Open Regedit (type regedit in the start menu). Back up your registry first — I know, I know, everyone says that, but you really should. Go to File > Export and save a copy.

Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2

Under MountPoints2, you’ll see entries with ##ServerName#ShareName format. Right-click the one matching your ghost drive and choose Delete. Yes, delete it. Then close Regedit and restart your PC.

Still stuck? Check the SMB protocol

If you remap the drive and the error returns, the server might be using an older SMB version. In Windows 10/11, SMB1 is disabled by default. If your NAS or old server still uses it, you’ll need to enable it — but I don’t recommend that unless absolutely necessary. Security risk.

Instead, ask your server admin to update to SMB2 or SMB3. If that’s not an option, go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off and check SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support. Reboot after enabling.

That’s it. You should be back to your files without seeing 0XC00000C9 again. Let me know in the comments if this didn’t solve it — I’ll help you dig deeper.