Rcmd.exe Err Msg: Error 53 Failed to Connect to Server

 Last reviewed: February 2, 1998
Article ID: Q150536
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, and 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you run the Windows NT Resource Kit utility Remote Command Service (RCMD), you may receive the following error message: 

   Failed to connect to <\\servername>, Error = 53
where servername is the NetBIOS name of the server on which you are attempting to execute a command.

CAUSE

This error may occur when RCMD cannot communicate with the destination server.

RESOLUTION

The above error equates to the common networking error 53, "The network path was not found." To resolve this issue, you will need to verify connectivity to the server. Depending on what networking protocols are in use on your network, this may involve hardware issues as well as high-level issues, such as name resolution.

For more information, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q151519
   TITLE     : Resource Kit Utility Provides Remote Command Execution

Keywords          : ntnetserv ntreskit NTSrvWkst kberrmsg kbnetwork kbtool
Version           : WinNT:3.5,3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt
Issue type        : kbprb

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Last reviewed: February 2, 1998
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