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This guide explore all the available ways to map a network drive on windows 10/11. Mapping a network drive is the process of assigning a drive letter to a shared network folder, so that you can easily access the shared folder’s data through File Explorer.
As in Windows 7 and 8 operating systems, Windows 10/11 makes it easy to assign a drive letter to network shared folder(s) in order to quickly and easily access your network folder and its files directly from File Explorer.
Mapping a network drive in Windows 10/11 can be done via File Explorer, Command Prompt and PowerShell, and this article provides step-by-step instructions on how to do this.
How to Map a Network Shared Folder to a Drive Letter in Windows 10/11.
Method 1: Map a Network Drive using File Explorer.
Using File Explorer is probably the most common way to map a network shared folder to a drive letter in Windows 10/11.
1. Open File Explorer and select This PC from the left-hand side panel.
2. Now, either right-click on This PC and choose Map network drive, or choose the same option on the Computer options-toolbar above.
3. At the ‘Map Network Drive’ window, do the following and click Finish:
a. Choose a Drive letter to assign to the network drive (or leave the default «Z:»).
b. Type in «Folder» box the full path* of the network shared folder that you want to map as a network drive, or click Browse to locate and select the shared folder on the network.
* Note: The folder path to the network shared folder must be typed in one of the following ways:**
- \\Computer-Name\Name-of-Shared-Folder
- \\Computer-IP-Address\Name-of-Shared-Folder
Where…
- Computer-Name = the name of the network computer with the shared folder. (e.g. «desktop1» in this example)
- Computer-IP-Address = the IP Address of the network computer with the shared folder.
- Name-of-Shared-Folder = the name of the shared folder (e.g. «shared_folder» in this example)
c. Select the Reconnect at sign-in check box if you want to make the mapping permanent so that you connect to the network shared folder every time you connect to your computer.
d. Select the Connect using different credentials check box, if the credentials required to connect/access the shared folder are different from what you use to log on to Windows.
4. (Optional) Type the credentials to access the network shared folder if prompted and click OK.
5. When, done the network drive will now show up in File Explorer under the This PC section.
Method 2. Map Network Drive using RUN Command.
If you know the Name or the IP Address on the computer with the shared folder, you can assign a drive letter to a network shared folder as follows:
1. Press Windows + R keys to open the «Run» command box.
2. In RUN command box, type one of the following commands, to view the shares on the network computer and press Enter:*
- \\Computer-Name
- \\Computer-IP-Address
* Notes: In the above command replace:
1. The «Computer-Name» with the name of the network computer with the shared folder e.g. «Desktop1»
2. The «Computer-IP-Address« with the IP address of the network computer with the shared folder e.g. «192.168.1.70»
Example. To view the shares on computer «desktop1» with IP address «192.168.1.70», you can type either:
- \\desktop1
- \\192.168.1.70
3. After pressing Enter, type the credentials to connect to the network PC (if prompted) and check the Remember my credentials check box, if you want to map the drive permanent.
4. Right-click on the shared folder that you want to map to a network drive and select Map network drive.
5. Finally, choose the drive letter that you to map the shared folder to, and hit Finish. The mapped network drive will shown on File Explorer.
Method 3: Mapping a Network Drive Using Command Prompt.
Another way to map a network drive in Windows is by using the «net use» command. To do that:
1. Open Command Prompt and use one of the following command to map the network shared folder and press Enter:*
- net use X: \\Computer-Name\Name-of-Shared-Folder
- net use X: \\Computer-IP-Address\Name-of-Shared-Folder
* Note: In the above commands replace:
-
- The letter «X» with the desired drive letter you want to map the shared folder to (e.g. «Y» in this example).
-
- The «Computer-Name«, with the name of the network computer with the shared
folder. (e.g. «DESKTOP-AIFS0G0» in this example) - The «Computer-IP-Address«, with the IP Address of the network computer with
the shared folder. - The «Name-of-Shared-Folder«, with the name of the shared folder (e.g.
«Public» in this example)
- The «Computer-Name«, with the name of the network computer with the shared
Example1: The following command will assign the drive letter «Y» to the «Public» shared folder on the «DESKTOP-AIFS0G0» computer:
- net use Y: \\DESKTOP-AIFS0G0\Public
2. To map a network drive and let Windows to automatically assign a drive letter, type an asterisk after typing «net use»:
- net use * \\Computer’s-Name-OR-IP\Name-of-Shared-Folder
* Note: The asterisk (*) option in the command above instructs Windows to allocate any drive letter that is not currently in use to the mapped shared folder. e.g.
- net use * \\DESKTOP-AIFS0G0\Public
3. To map a network drive using different credentials than the one you use to sign-in to Windows and make the mapping permanent, give the following command:*
- net use X: \\Computer’s-Name\Name-of-Shared-Folder PASSWORD /user:USERNAME /persistent:yes
* Notes:
1. In the above commands replace the «PASSWORD» and the «USERNAME«, with the credentials for the network share.
2. The «persistent» option keeps the folder mapped even after reboot.
Example: To authenticate on the «DESKTOP-AIFS0G0» computer with username «admin» and password «12345» and to map the shared folder «Public» to drive letter «H:», give the following command:
- net use H: \\DESKTOP-AIFS0G0\Public 12345 /user:admin /persistent:yes
When you finish the steps, the network folder will be mapped on the device and will appear in File Explorer.
Method 4: Map Network Drive Using PowerShell on Windows 10/11
Finally, you can use PowerShell in Windows 10/11 to map to a drive letter a network shared folder.
1. Open Windows PowerShell.
2. In PowerShell, give the following command to map the network drive and hit Enter:*
- New-PSDrive -Name «X» -PSProvider «FileSystem» -Root «\\Computer-Name-OR-IP\Name-of-Shared-Folder» -Persist
* Note: In the above command replace:
- The letter «X» with the desired drive letter you want to map the shared folder to (e.g. «H» in this example).
- The «Computer-Name-OR-IP«, with the name or the IP Address of the network computer with the shared folder. (e.g. «192.168.1.70» in this example)
- The «Name-of-Shared-Folder«, with the name of the shared folder (e.g. «Public» in this example)
Example: New-PSDrive -Name «H» -PSProvider «FileSystem» -Root «\\192.168.1.70\Public» -Persist
3a. To map a network drive using different credentials than the ones you use to log into Windows, provide the following PowerShell command and hit Enter:
- New-PSDrive -Name «X» -PSProvider «FileSystem» -Root «\\Computer-Name-OR-IP\Name-of-Shared-Folder» -Persist -Credential USERNAME
* Note: In the above command replace the USERNAME with the username for the network share. e.g. «Admin» in this example:
- New-PSDrive -Name «H» -PSProvider «FileSystem» -Root «\\192.168.1.70\Public» -Persist -Credential Admin
3b. At the «credential request» window, type the password for the network share and hit OK.
3c. After completing the steps, the shared network folder will be mapped to your computer and will show up in File Explorer.
Final Words.
In summary, mapping a network drive in Windows 10/11 is a simple process that makes accessing network resources effortless. You can map a network drive using Windows Explorer, Command Prompt, or PowerShell and have the shared folders as if they were on your own computer.
That’s it! Which method worked for you?
Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
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Konstantinos is the founder and administrator of Wintips.org. Since 1995 he works and provides IT support as a computer and network expert to individuals and large companies. He is specialized in solving problems related to Windows or other Microsoft products (Windows Server, Office, Microsoft 365, etc.).
You can map a network drive on Windows 10 with the Map Network Drive utility in File Explorer. Suppose you constantly use a specific virtual folder over a shared network. In that case, it’s only logical to create a shortcut so that you can easily access it when you open the file manager.
This is where the network drive mapping comes into play, and it’s surprisingly easy to do If you follow the proper steps. Read on below to find out how to go about it.
If you already have a series of drives attached to a network hub, the following steps will guide you:
Launch File Explorer
You can open it with the keyboard shortcut, Windows key + E, or by simply clicking on the folder icon in the taskbar
- On the File Explorer window, click on This PC on the left pane
- Next, navigate to and click the Computer tab next to File at the top-left
- Next, select Map Network Drive from the ribbon menu
4. You should be on the Map Network Drive window at this point
5. Select the letter for the drive you want to map
6. Click Browse to select a shared network folder
Note: If you get an error message afterward, it’s because you haven’t enabled Network Discovery; you can turn it on in the Control Panel. Press Windows key + R and then type Control in the provided text box followed by the Enter key to launch Control Panel. Then, search for Network Discovery in the search box and enable it.
Navigate to the folder you want to map
Note: You can use the chevrons to rummage through your drive. Regardless, you’ll have to click Users and then the virtual user drive before diving deeper to select the folder you want to map.
- Once you’ve found the target folder, click OK
- Next, choose the persistence option
Note: If you check the Reconnect at Sign-in option, the target folder will reconnect whenever you power on or restart your PC.
3. Click Finish to save all the changes
And that’s how to map network drive on Windows 10. Now, if you go back to File Explorer and click this PC, you will find the mapped drive or folder under the Network Locations section.
In addition, you can access the mapped network folder in command lines and so on by using the drive letter you chose in step 5.
How to Reconnect Network Drive Windows 10
If you enabled the option in step 9 of the previous section and your network drives don’t reconnect, chances are you’re running the 1809 build of Windows 10. Regardless, if your mapped network drives are unable to reconnect on startup, the following workarounds will help fix it:
1. Map the Drives with Command Scripts
With this method, we will create scripts that automatically run at startup and spur the network drives to connect. Use the steps below:
- Open Wordpad on your PC
- Copy and paste the following script into a new note
PowerShell -Command "Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser Unrestricted" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1 PowerShell -File "%SystemDrive%\Scripts\MapDrives.ps1" >> "%TEMP%\StartupLog.txt" 2>&1
3. Click File in the top-left corner and then click Save As
4. Name the file with a .cmd extension and save
5. Next, open a new notepad
6. Copy and paste the following script into it:
$i=3 while($True){ $error.clear() $MappedDrives = Get-SmbMapping |where -property Status -Value Unavailable -EQ | select LocalPath,RemotePath for each( $MappedDrive in $MappedDrives) { try { New-SmbMapping -LocalPath $MappedDrive.LocalPath -RemotePath $MappedDrive.RemotePath -Persistent $True } catch { Write-Host "There was an error mapping $MappedDrive.RemotePath to $MappedDrive.LocalPath" } } $i = $i - 1 if($error.Count -eq 0 -Or $i -eq 0) {break} Start-Sleep -Seconds 30 }
7. Click File in the top-left corner again and select Save As
8. Save the file as DriveMap.ps1
Now, restart your PC for the scripts to run automatically at startup.
2. Force Windows to Wait for Network
Windows may try to map the network drives before they become available, resulting in an error when establishing the connection. You’ll have to change the local group policy if that’s the case. The Group Policy Editor is only accessible to Windows 10 Enterprise, Pro, and Education users.
To do this,
- Press Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog
- Type gpedit.msc in the provided text box and then click OK
3. You should be on the Local Group Policy Editor window now. Click Computer Configuration under Local Group Policy
4. Next, click Administrative Templates > System > Logon
5. Now, locate Always wait for computer startup and Logon network on the right pane
6. Right-click on it and select Edit from the options
7. In the dialog box, navigate to and select Enabled
8. Click Apply and then Ok to save all changes
9. Restart your PC
How to Unmap Network Drive
Unmapping a network drive is just as easy as mapping it. And you can go about it in two different ways:
Edit Local Group Policy
- Press Windows key + R to launch Run dialog
- Type gpedit.msc in the box and hit Enter on your keyboard
- That will open the Local Group Policy Editor. Click User Configuration to expand it
- Next click Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer
- On the right pane, select Remove Map Network Drive and then Disconnect Network Drive
- Select (dot) Enabled. Click OK
Go to Map Network Drive Dialog Box
- Launch File Explorer
- Click Computer at the top-left
- Select Map Network Drive
- In the accompanying dialog box, click the arrow in front of Drive to select the network drive you want to delete it
- Next, untick Reconnect at Sign-in
- Click Finish to save all the changes
Related: How to delete a network drive on Windows 10
Final Notes
And that’s all you need to map network drive on Windows 10. Once you’ve done it for the first time, mapping other folders over a shared network should come off as a piece of cake afterward. Need any further assistance? Use the comments section below.
Ganiu Abdurahman
Ganiu is an astute technical writer with a special interest in gaming and Cryptocurrency. He is a PlayStation enthusiast whose passion lies in writing problem-solving articles.
Mapping a network drive is a quick & easy way to access data from a remote device/storage.
For the unversed, you are assigning a local drive letter to the remote storage by mapping that network drive on your computer. As a result, you can quickly access the remote storage from File Explorer as if it’s your local drive.
So, what’s the easiest way to map a network drive on your Windows 10 computer?
Let’s dive into this article & find out.
Mapping Network Drives on Windows 10
To map a network drive on Windows 10, open File Explorer and select This PC. Click on the Computer tab and select Map network drive. Choose a drive letter from the Drive drop-down menu and click on Browse. Then choose a network drive/folder from the pop-up window and hit Finish.
But before you do that, make sure you’ve enabled the network discovery option from your computer’s Control Panel.
Below, I have thoroughly discussed all the necessary steps to map a network drive as quickly and effortlessly as possible on your Windows 10 PC.
By reading our article easily use Auto Click feature on Windows 10.
Step 1: Turn on Network Discovery
Enabling network discovery is crucial as you need to see all the available remote devices and their respective drives on the shared network before you can map them on your PC.
Here’s how to turn on network discovery on Windows 10:
After enabling network discovery, let’s see how we can map the discoverable network drives on a Windows 10 computer.
Try our article to solve if Drag and Drop not working in Windows 10.
Step 2: Map a Network Drive
By mapping a network drive, you can directly access the remote storage from your computer’s File Explorer without having to look for it or type its network address every time.
Follow these steps to map a network drive on Windows 10:
Done! Now you’ll be able to see the shared network drive in your File Explorer’s Network locations section.
In case you can’t access the network drives or folders, the remote device might be offline, or you might not have the necessary permission. Certain devices will ask you to input credentials to gain access. In such cases, contact your network admin.
Here is another epic post about open Programs and Features in Windows 10.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I enable file and printer sharing on Windows 10?
On Windows 10, go to your computer’s Control Panel and select View network status and tasks. Then click on Change advanced sharing settings and expand the All Network section. From there, you can enable the file and printer sharing option.
Why are the mapped network drives not showing up in Windows 10?
The mapped network drives won’t show up in Windows 10 if the network drives are hidden or offline.
Why can’t I see any mappable folders when I’m trying to map a network drive?
During the network drive mapping process, you won’t find any mappable drive if there are no drives connected to the shared network or the drives are currently offline.
Wrapping Up
Now that you know how to map a network drive, don’t willy-nilly copy-paste files from unknown network drives, as they might contain viruses/malicious programs.
Anyway, I hope you’ve found this article helpful. In case you have any further queries on this topic, comment below.
Have a nice day!
Steven Arends
Steven Arends is a computer science graduate and tech enthusiast with over 10 years of experience in the field. He has a vast collection of computer hardware and loves exploring the latest advancements. As a contributing author to 10Scopes, Steven shares his expertise to make the world of technology more accessible and easier to understand for all readers.
Mapping a network drive in Windows is an essential task for those who have to refer to network resources many times a day. Once a network location is mapped to a network drive, it can be accessed like a local drive with File Explorer. There are a number of ways to do it. Let’s review them all.
When a network location is mapped to a network drive, a special shortcut appears in the This PC folder. It will be visible under «Network locations». Windows assigns a drive letter for mapped drives, so they look like any other partition on your local drive.
When you click it, it opens the network location directly in File Explorer. Most third-party file managers support mapped drives as well. After a reboot, Windows has the ability to re-connect the mapped network drive automatically, so it saves your time. Tip: see what to do if Windows does not reconnect to mapped network drives. Before you continue, you might need to learn the username and password credentials for the network resource you are going to map.
To map a network drive in Windows 10, do the following.
- Open File Explorer.
- Right click the This PC icon in the navigation pane and select «Map network drive…» from the context menu. See the following screenshot.
Alternatively, you can open This PC and click the «Map network drive» icon on the Home tab in the Ribbon user interface.
- The Map Network Drive wizard will appear on the screen. There, type the full path to the network share you want to map as a drive. You can browse for your share using the «Browse…» button. The path must be in UNC format: It must start with «\\», followed by the remote computer’s name, and then followed by «\» and the name of the share. For example, \\WinaeroPC\Share1.
- Enable the option Reconnect at sign-in to restore the mapped drive automatically at sign-in.
- Enable the option Connect using different credentials if required to access the share. Fill in the credentials in the Windows Security dialog if prompted.
- Click the Finish button and you are done.
The mapped network drive will appear in This PC.
Alternatively, you can use one of the following methods to map a network drive in Windows 10.
- Open a new command prompt window and type or copy-paste the following command:
net use drive_letter:\\Computer\Share /user UserName Password /persistent:yes
If you omit the /persistent:yes portion, or use the argument «/persistent:no» instead, the mapped drive will be removed after the next logon.
- Open a new PowerShell instance and type or copy-paste the following command:
New-PSDrive -Name drive_letter -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\ComputerName\ShareName" -Credential "UserName" -Persist
If you omit the -Persist portion, the mapped drive will be removed after the next logon.
Finally, to disconnect the mapped network drive, you can do the following.
Now see how to access your network drives from elevated apps running as administrator.
That’s it.
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General Steps
- In Windows 10, click the File Explorer button (pictured below):
- Once in File Explorer, select This PC. It should bring up a page similar to image below:
- At the top of the This PC page there should be a tab labeled Computer. Click on that tab and then click on a button labeled Map network drive. Select this button and the window below should open up:
- On this page you can now enter in your required server (see list below for common EGR drives such as personal and office drives).
- Click the Finish button to close the window and finish the operation. If you are prompted for a username and password, you will need to add EGR\ to the beginning of your username. You can specify to Reconnect at sign-in so you are not required to re-map the drive each time you log into your machine. The drive will now open in a window of its own and appear under My Computer (we have used the general office drive as an example below):
Drive Specific Instructions
- M: Home
- Drive: M:
- Folder: \\filer1.egr.msu.edu\username
- O: Office
- Drive: O:
- Folder: \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-*department*\*department* (*department* is the common abbreviation for your department; examples below)
The following paths are case sensitive.
ECE \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-ece\ECE CEE \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-cee\CEE ME \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-me\ME CHEMS \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-chems\CHEMS CMSC \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-chems\CMSC CMSE \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-cmse DER \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-dean\DER NCPP \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-cee\NCPP Publications \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-dean\PUBS EGR DEV \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-dev\EGRDEV UGS \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-ugs\UGS Recruitment \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-ugs\Recruitment K-12 Outreach \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-ugs\Recruitment\K-12Outreach DPO \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\office-ugs\DPO
- R: Research
- Drive: R:
- Folder: \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\research
- You may be provided a customized folder path to access storage for your group that is not part of the main research volume.
- S: Scratch
- Drive: S:
- Folder: \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\scratch
- T:
- Drive: T:
- Folder: \\cifs.egr.msu.edu\
- W: Web
- Drive: W:
- Folder: \\filer1.egr.msu.edu\web
NOTE: The drive letter is simply a recommendation. It can be any drive you choose if the suggested drive letter is currently in use.
What is the Home Directory?
Home (M:) is personal space for each user.
What is the Office Directory?
Office (O:) is shared space set up for departmental groups.
What is the Research Directory?
Research (R:) is a shared space set up for various research groups. Additional customized research volumes exist with alternate paths.
What is T:?
Think of (T:) as a drive containing all the other drives. Mapping it should eliminate the need to map any of the other network drives.
What is the Web Directory?
Web (W:) is shared space for various groups dedicated for web sites.
What is the Scratch Directory?
Scratch (S:) is temporary space (7 days) that is never backed up and is used for large computational jobs.