There was a problem connecting to the server "server".

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

1. Be sure your Mac is shut down.
2. Press the power button.
3. Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
4. Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

*Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Do the messages come back when you reboot as usual?

Then I guess you're done.

Are you using Time Machine to backup to a network drive? In Lion Mac OS X is throwing this message up when you move to another network and your Time Machine back up e.g. Time Capsule is no longer available on that network.

Nope, Time Machine isn't the culprit in my case.

I had this same error - it started roughly an hour after I'd done a completely fresh OS install of 10.8.1 - new hard drive, new OS, everything fresh. I was begining to add utilities and applications I needed, when I connected to my laptop by browsing the network, opening the device, and using "connect as" to log in.

Ever since, for the past 24 hours, I've been getting a server connection error (if the laptop was offline or booted down) or password prompt (if the laptop is available to the network) every 10 seconds to 15 minutes. It was worst immediately after booting up, but constant throughout the day, and wildly annoying. I couldn't even complete some tasks very easily due to the constant interruptions.

I tried connecting to the laptop again, disconnecting, uninstalling software (that'd I'd just set up!), repairing permissions, resetting Finder preferences, rebooting tons of times, etc. I also tried turning Time Machine off and on, as others had reported that to be the basis of the issue. But no. It wasn't.

Thank you Linc Davis! Your suggestion fixed it. No idea why, but booting into safe mode, then booting again normally appears to have solved the issue. I'm not getting any errors or alerts. Based on my limited testing, I'd venture a guess that Apple has really screwed up something in their networking system.

I am having the same issue. I went into safe mode and I got the same message right away. (when I am in not in safe mode it take a minute or two before it comes back with the message.) When I rebooted I got the message again. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Brad

Seemed to have worked for me also. Mac OS is getting buggy...

This procedure does not work for me I get the annoying pop up "There was a problem connecting to the server "" " within 10 seconds every time I boot.. and repeats every 10 seconds regardess for a minute or so. Very annoying as the pop up prempts other actions. The server indicated no longer exists.

At one time the machine may have been set to connect to this server automatically, but that server no longer exists. How do I remove the server search on boot up. This happens regardless of whether time machine is operation or not, although time machine backs up to a time capsule.

I don't have any apps that look for this server.

Thanks, this solved my problem.

I was trying to acess a computer on my office network, two macpro both qith Mountain Lion, 10.8.3.

thank you very much!

This did not solve my problem, but there were a lot of great recommendations on this other site that did work.

http://superuser.com/questions/351600/how-to-remove-permanent-map-of-a-network-d rive-on-os-x-lion

My problem was caused by connecting to my old computer from my new one, which was a copy. What worked for me was going into my Login Items and cleaning up the apps that run at startup. I also removed some old printers that I no longer connect to. Finally, no more stupid prompt!!

I'm dealing with the same problem as stated in the beginning. I'm getting the same popup pre-login. When I click OK, my screen goes blank and I have to click my touchpad once for the login screen to appear, otherwise the screen just remains black.

I tried rebooting in safe mode. The problem didn't happen in safe mode. After restarting, the problem happened again in normal boot.

I've checked Users and Groups login items. There is nothing there related to the mount. I made sure the I cleared recent server connections in "Connect to server".

Again this happens pre-login. I wish I knew what was invoking the mount pre-login so I could remove it.

The mount is an old smb mount to my Netgear3700 that's running dd-wrt. I was experimenting with the USB attached storage feature. I had it working, but quickly realized that the mac doesn't support fat32 formatted disks when sending time machine backups to it. Nor does Carbon Copy Cloner.

So I did away with it. I disabled the feature on my router and removed the server connection on the mac.

Now I'm haunted with the memory of that old connection.

I have reinstalled Mavericks OS from the recovery process. The problem came back when I did a full Time Machine restore. So wherever the problem lies, it's getting backed up with Time Machine as well.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Amador