Mapping a network drive can make accessing shared folders and resources easier.
How to map a network Drive
We live in the age of networking and sharing information. Many homes now contain servers, routers and multiple computers, much like businesses. Sharing data between these computers is essential, so it becomes almost necessary to create a way to access shares in only a couple of clicks. The best way to do this is to map network drives. Mapping a network drive is the method of assigning a network share a drive letter in My Computer. If you have multiple PCs that need to share a folder on a home server or a different computer, having it mapped to a specific drive letter on all computers makes that data easily accessible.
To map a network drive in Windows, you first need to know the path to the share. usually this is simply \\computername\sharename so if you have a file called DOCUMENTS on the C: drive of a computer named OFFICE, the path would be \\office\documents. You can also do it by the computer's IP address if the IP is static.\\192.168.1.5\documents.
You should also make sure the folder is set to "sharing." To do so, right-click the folder and select Sharing and Security. in the next Window, specify the share name you want to use on the network.
Once you know the path to the shared folder, you can begin mapping the drive in Windows. To start, right-click My Computer, then select Map Network Drive...You will see a place to indicate a drive letter and a place to designate the folder. You can "Browse" the network to see if the share shows up, but if it doesn't, you'll need to manually type in the path as we did above.
When Mapping a drive you should consider the following:
1. Try and keep the drive letter you assign the same on all machines. 2. Keep Reconnect at Login checked so the computer automatically reconnects to the share when you reboot the computer. 3. If you connect to the share under a different login than you use to login to Windows, click the connect using a different name link at the bottom of the drive mapping Window, otherwise it will attempt to log you in under the Windows login.
If you have other questions about networking or mapping drives, be sure to visit our computer repair forumtoday.
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To map a network drive in Windows, you first need to know the path to the share. usually this is simply \\computername\sharename so if you have a file called DOCUMENTS on the C: drive of a computer named OFFICE, the path would be \\office\documents. You can also do it by the computer's IP address if the IP is static. \\192.168.1.5\documents.