Reference number: CH000472

How do I map a network drive?

Question:

How do I map a network drive?

Answer:

Microsoft Windows Users

1. Open Microsoft Explorer.
2. From Explorer, click the Tools drop down menu and click the option "Map Network Drive."
3. Specify the network drive or network computer as the folder. Below are two examples.
   
   If the computer's name was hope, to map to that computer, type \\hope
   
   If you wished to map to a shared folder on the hope computer such as a mp3 folder, you would type \\hope\mp3.
   
   
4. If a different username or login is required to connect to this computer or drive it must be specified in this window before clicking the finish.

Windows users may also map a network drive through MS-DOS by using the "net use" command and following the below steps.

1. Open a MS-DOS window by clicking Start, Run, and typing "command" and pressing enter.
2. Type a similar command to what is shown in the example below. In the below example, the "z:" represents the drive letter the new share will become, and the \\computer\folder is an example of the shared network path.
   
   net use z: \\computer\folder

Note: If the network computer or folder is not available or offline you will not be able to map. To determine what computers and/or shared folders are available, open "Network Neighborhood" or "My Network Places", or if you know the name of the share you can also type it in the Run line to see if it is accessible.

Note: When opening or mapping a network computer or folder you must use the back slash and not the forward slash.

Additional information:

• Additional information about removing a network drive can be found on document CH000863.
• Information about mapping an FTP address in Windows can be found on document CH001001.
• See our map dictionary definition for additional information about this term.