Network Tutorial: Connect and Disconnect a Network Drive

Remy_3D

Connect and Disconnect a Network Drive

You can select a shared resource from My Network Places:

1. Click Start, click My Network Places, click Entire Network, and then double-click Microsoft Windows Network.
2. Double-click the domain you want to open.
3. Double-click the computer that has the shared resource you want to map. All the shared resources for that computer are automatically displayed in the window.
4. Right-click the shared drive or folder you want to map, and then click Map Network Drive.
5. In the Map Network Drive dialog box, click the drive letter you want to use, and then specify whether or not you want to reconnect every time you log on to your computer.

NOTE: Network drives are mapped by starting from the letter Z, and this is the default drive letter for the first mapped drive you create. However, you can select another letter if you want to use a letter other than Z.
6. Click Finish. Windows XP opens a window that displays the contents of the resource you have mapped.

You can map a drive from My Computer or Windows Explorer:

1. On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.
2. In the Drive box, click a drive letter.
3. In the Folder box, type the UNC path for the server and shared resource in the form \\server name\share name, or click Browse to find the computer and shared resource.
4. Shared drives and shared folders can be mapped. Unless permissions forbid it, when you access a shared drive or folder you can also access subfolders. However, you cannot map a drive for a subfolder that isn't explicitly configured as a shared resource.

To use the net use command to map or disconnect a drive:

* To map a network drive, use the net use x: \\computer name\share name command, where x: is the drive letter you want to assign to the shared resource.
* To disconnect a mapped drive, use the net use x: /delete command, where x: is the drive letter of the shared resource.

To disconnect from a mapped network drive:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the icon for the mapped drive.
3. Click Disconnect.

NOTE: When you disconnect from a mapped drive, you are removing the mapped drive letter you assigned to the shared resource. You can still access the resource from My Network Places.

[ Last edited by Remy_3D on 15-2-2004 at 03:18 AM ]