Today, when prices for computer equipment have become more or less acceptable, get your own own computer every family member can. There is nothing to say about small and medium-sized enterprises; the use of several computers connected into a single local network is commonplace. Naturally, in such conditions, users often have to exchange files while working. Use removable portable drives is not very convenient, so operating system developers have implemented such a feature as creating a network drive. Essentially, this resource is a directory or a separately created logical section to which it opens, i.e. Hosts connected by a local network can connect. Very rarely, network drives on a home PC are created to be accessed from global network, for example, when the machine is used as a mini-server, mainly to provide single access Shared folders on cloud services are used to access user files from the Internet.
Today we will learn how to create and add network drive exactly in local network. The main distribution computer is usually the administrator's computer, but it can also be any other PC on the network.
Sharing
It all starts with creating an ordinary folder with unusual properties. Our example resource will be called WorkFolder. Create a folder with a suitable name in the location you need, open its properties, switch to the “Access” tab and click the “Advanced settings” button.
In the new dialog box, check the “Open” checkbox general access...", set, if necessary, the number of concurrent users accessing it, and then click "Permissions". By default, everyone has read-only permission, if you want other users to be able to edit files on the disk and write their data to it, change the permissions accordingly. Save the settings one by one.
At the last stage of saving, in the properties window you should see the message “Shared access available” and the path itself, starting with two slashes.
Now, by clicking the share button, add in the window that opens users who will be able to access the shared folder on their PCs, otherwise they will receive a network error, the description of which is presented in the screenshot below.
At this stage, the basic configuration of the network drive ends. The next step is to test network discovery. If your network is defined as private, discovery should be enabled by default, but if it is defined as public, you will most likely have to open it. Execute the command in the Run window control /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter, and then click the “Change advanced sharing settings” link on the left.
Activate the radio button “Enable network discovery» in the current profile and apply the changes. To be able to connect a network drive, the manipulations done should be sufficient; if the latter then does not want to connect, try changing the network mode.
Adding a network drive
You can connect the newly created resource in different ways, including through the usual CMD console, but we will consider the simplest option. Right-click on the “This Computer” shortcut (no matter where) and select “Map network drive” from the menu.
In the window that launches the wizard, select a letter for the future resource, be sure to check the “Use other credentials” checkbox, otherwise other users will not even be able to see it on their computers.
Using the browse button, select the folder for which you set up sharing.
After clicking the “Finish” button, Windows will ask for your current login and password.
The corresponding section should also become visible in the main workspace of this computer.
To disable a network resource, right-click on it and select “Disable” from the menu. You can also select it with the mouse and select “Disconnect network drive” from the Network ribbon menu.
Connect by name or IP address
There are also other ways to connect a created and configured shared resource, but they are less convenient. For example, instead of searching for it through browsing, you can specify its symbolic or IP address in the connection window field. The symbolic address is specified in the folder properties, the IP in the adapter properties “Local Area Connection” (IPv4 address parameter).
The same address can be obtained from the command line by running the command ipconfig /all(the data will be located in the section of the same name).
Using the Command Line
And finally, let's see how to map a network drive in Windows 7/10 using Command CMD lines or the PowerShell console, perhaps some will find this method even faster. The general command syntax looks like
net use \\ComputerName\ShareName[\volume]
username]
Here drive is a free drive letter, and \ComputerName\ShareName– path to the shared folder. Let's connect our WorkFolder folder from the desktop as a network drive, for which, in a line launched with administrator rights, execute the following command:
net use Z: //DESKTOP-8CS7OLG/WorkFolder /user:compik 11111
Parameter /user necessary so that the system does not request authorization. Line element "compik" in in this example This is the computer administrator's name, and "11111" is his current password. To make the network drive permanently connected, and not just during an open session, you can add the key to the end of the command /persistent:yes.
To disconnect the disk, run the command net use z: /delete, where z is the drive letter.
Unfortunately, in the Windows 10 we tested, when connecting with the net use command, the corresponding volume was not displayed in the “This PC” section, remaining accessible from the Explorer navigation bar.
So, now you know how to set up a network drive, but these, of course, are only general recommendations. Practice shows that in the process of connecting this kind of resources one often has to deal with various errors, of which the most common is “Network path not found.” Failures may be caused by problems with settings network adapters, with drivers, parameters network security and so on. In such cases, problems are usually resolved privately based on the identified cause.
At the command line, NET USE is used to connect to and disconnect from network shares (drives) and to display information about current connections. When the command is used without parameters, a list of all connections is displayed of this computer. On a personal note, I would like to note that the Net use command can also be used when working with Windows 10.
NET USE Command Syntax
To display help for the specified net command, enter the command net help use.
- net use [(devicename|*)] [\\computername\resource[\volume]] [(password|*)]] ] username] [(/delete | /persistent:(yes|no))]
- net use [devicename]
- net use where
- Device_name - specifies the resource name when connecting or the device name when disconnecting. There are two kinds of device names: names for disk devices (that is, drive letters D: to Z:) and for printers (respectively, LPT1: to LPT3:). Entering an asterisk (*) in place of a specific device name will assign that device the closest available name.
- \\computer_name\resource_name - specifies the name of the server and share. If the ComputerName parameter contains spaces, the entire computer name from the double backslash (\\) to the end (for example, "\\Computer Name\Share Name") must be enclosed in straight quotation marks ("). The computer name can be anywhere from 1 to 15 characters.
- \volume - specifies the name of the NetWare system volume. To connect to NetWare servers, you must install and run the Client for NetWare Networks.
- Password - specifies the password required to connect to the shared resource. Enter an asterisk (*) to display a password prompt. When entering from the keyboard, the password characters are not displayed on the screen.
- /user - specifies a different username to connect to the shared resource.
- domain_name - specifies the name of another domain. Omitting the domain_name parameter causes the net use command to use the domain name specified at logon.
- username - specifies the username for connection.
- domain_name _with_dot - indicates full name domain in which it is present account user.
- /savecred - saves the entered credentials for future use.
- /smartcard - indicates the need to read credentials from the smart card for a network connection. If you have multiple smart cards, you will be asked to specify one of them.
- /delete - cancels the specified network connection. If the connection is specified with an asterisk (*), all network connections will be canceled.
- /persistent:(yes|no) - manages constants network connections. The default is the last used value. Connections without a device are not permanent. Selecting Yes causes all existing connections to be saved and restored the next time you connect. If you select No, connections made and subsequent connections are not saved. Existing connections are restored the next time you log in. To delete persistent connections, use the /delete switch.
- /home - connects the user to his home directory.
As you can see, the command syntax is quite long, but it should be noted that not all of its parameters are used in practice.
Thus, the NET USE command connects or disconnects a computer to a share. Although the NET USE command has a fairly extensive syntax, not all of its parameters are used in real life. Let's try to understand the work of this popular team and give real examples that will be useful in work.
- To display information about current connections, enter the command net use.
- To connect a network drive using the net use command with the drive name Z: from the public directory Public2$ of the computer \\Nuclear, enter the command - net use z: \\Nuclear\Public2$
- Example net use delete. To disconnect from the \\Nuclear\Public2$ directory connected by a network drive with the name drive Z: use the command - net use z: /delete
- To connect the Backup$ shared folder from the Nuclear computer under the administrator user as if he were connecting from the Podryad.local domain, you should enter - net use d: \\Nuclear\Backup$ /user:Podryad.local\administrator
- If the computer name consists of several words and there are spaces between them, then the entire computer name from the double backslash to the end must be enclosed in straight quotes. For example, to connect to Share1 on Server 1, the command would be - net use k:\\"Server 1"\Share1
- To restore current connections the next time you log into the network, regardless of future changes, use the command net use /persistent:yes.
Video - Working with NET USE examples of connecting/disconnecting network drives
If you have a local network, then the presence of network folders in it is a completely natural phenomenon. File storages, separate shared directories on computers. However, every time open in a networked environment the right computer and searching for the desired directory there can be quite tedious. Especially for these and a number of other cases, Windows 7 supports the ability to create a network drive for quick access to online directories. But not everyone knows how to do this correctly. Therefore, in this article, I will tell you about how to connect a network drive in Windows 7, as well as what nuances there are.
From a usage point of view, a network drive is no different from a regular drive. You can also record, copy and move files. The only difference is the speed of operations, which must always be remembered. It is smaller, since the files are not read directly from the disk, but are transferred over the network. In addition, it is worth considering that if the local network is loaded, for example, several people will use such a disk, then the speed may be very low.
Now, let's look at how to connect a network drive in Windows 7 through a standard interface:
1. Open File Explorer and go to Computer. This can also be done using the combination "WinKey ( Windows key) + E".
2. In the top menu, click on the "Map network drive" item.
3. In the window that opens, as shown in the figure above, you must specify the network drive letter, then select the network directory. For example, "\\computer1\video" or "\\192.168.0.112\video". You can also specify whether this disk needs to be restored after restarting Windows. If necessary, provide connection credentials.
4. Click the "Done" button at the bottom.
5. The network drive will be available for use.
As you can see, create a network drive using the standard Windows interface 7 is quite simple, but it is always useful to know alternative methods.
Many tools in Windows 7 are available from the command line, which is sometimes very convenient and much faster to use. Therefore, now we will look at how to connect a network drive from the console. To do this, we need the "net" command with the "use" parameter. And here are the actions you can do using this combination:
1. Connecting a network drive. Open command line, type the following command and press enter:
net use Z:\\addr\folder
Where " net use"is the team itself," Z:" is the desired drive letter (double quotes are required), " \\addr\folder" is the address of the network directory.
The network drive will be created.
2. Installation automatic connection disks when rebooting Windows 7. So, you have connected a network drive. However, the moment that the disk will or will not connect after rebooting the computer remains unknown (the last execution of the installation command is taken automatic recovery). Therefore, it should be explicitly specified, for which you need to enter the following command:
net use /Persistent:Yes
Where " net use" is the team itself, and " /Persistent:Yes" is a setting that specifies that the network drive needs to be mapped every time the system boots. Please note that this setting applies to the last connected disk and becomes the “default” for all subsequent ones. If you want to indicate that the disk does not need to be restored, then instead of " /Persistent:Yes"must be specified" /Persistent:No".
3. Removing a network drive. Network drives can be temporary, so it is useful to know how to delete them. And here is the corresponding command:
net use Z: /delete
Where " net use"is the team itself," Z:" is a network drive, " /delete" - a parameter that indicates that this network drive needs to be deleted.
As you can see, using the "net" command with the "use" parameter to map a network drive is not much more difficult than using the standard Windows 7 interface. In addition, using this combination you can always create bat files For quick setup network drives.
Hello.
Let me outline a typical situation: there are several computers connected to a local network. It is necessary to share some folders so that all users from this local network can work with them.
To do this, you need:
1. “share” (make public access) the desired folder on the desired computer;
2. on computers on the local network, it is advisable to connect this folder as a network drive (so as not to search for it every time in the “Network Neighborhood”).
Actually, how to do all this will be described in this article (the information is relevant for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10).
1) Opening public access to a folder on the local network (folder sharing)
Before you can share a folder, you must first configure Windows accordingly. To do this, go to the panel Windows management at the following address: " Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center"(see Fig. 1).
Then open the " Change advanced sharing options«.
Rice. 1. Network and Sharing Center
- private (current profile);
- all networks;
- guest or public.
You need to open each tab in turn and set the parameters as in Fig.: 2, 3, 4 (see below, clickable pictures).
Rice. 2. Private (current profile).
Rice. 3. All networks
Rice. 4. Guest or public
Now all that's left is allow access to the required folders. This is done very simply:
- Find the desired folder on the disk, click right click mouse over it and go to its properties (see Fig. 5);
- Next, open the tab “ Access" and click the " Sharing" button (as in Fig. 5);
- Then add the “guest” user and give him rights: either read only or read and write (see Fig. 6).
Rice. 5. Opening public access to a folder (many people simply call this procedure “sharing”)
Rice. 6. File Sharing
By the way, to find out which folders are already shared on the computer, just open Explorer, then in the “Network” tab click on the name of your computer: then you should see everything that is open to public access (see Fig. 7).
Rice. 7. Shared folders (Windows 8)
2. How to map a network drive in Windows
In order not to climb into the network environment every time, not to open tabs again, you can add any folder on the network as a disk in Windows. This will slightly increase the speed of work (especially if you often use a network folder), and will also make it easier for novice PC users to use such a folder.
And so, to connect a network drive, right-click on the “ My computer (or This computer)" and in the pop-up menu select the function " Connect a network drive"(see Fig. 8. In Windows 7 this is done in the same way, only the icon " My computer" will be on the desktop).
Rice. 9. Windows 8 - this computer
After this you need to select:
- drive letter (any free letter);
- indicate the folder that should be made a network drive (click the “Browse” button, see Fig. 10).
Rice. 10. Connecting a network drive
In Fig. 11 shows folder selection. By the way, after making your selection, all you have to do is click “OK” 2 times - and you can start working with the disk!
Rice. 11. Browse folders
If everything was done correctly, then in “ On my computer (on this computer)"A network drive with the name you selected will appear. You can use it almost the same way as if it were yours. hard drive(see Fig. 12).
The only condition: The computer on whose disk the shared folder is located must be turned on. Well, of course, the local network must work...
Rice. 12. This computer (network drive connected).
Very often they ask questions about what to do if they cannot share a folder - Windows writes that access is impossible, a password is required... In this case, most often, the network was simply not configured appropriately (the first part of this article). After disabling password protection, problems, as a rule, do not arise.
Good job 🙂
Net use is a command to connect to network shares or display information about computer connections. The team also manages permanent network connections.
If you have a local network configured in your home or office and also use network folders, then for the most convenient use it is recommended to configure network drives. Such a network drive will be no different from other drives (for example, C or D) that are used on your computer. The only difference among these discs is low speed writing or reading data.
Command Options
Net use is a command that is designed to make connections to a shared network resource or to display information regarding computer connections. Net use also manages persistent network connections. The command, called without parameters, retrieves a list of network connections.
The Net use command is used in batch files and scripts. Let's look at the main Net use command line parameters:
- Device name. To use the name of the device to which you want to connect a network drive, use the “*” symbol;
- Computer name. The name to which the resource currently belongs;
- Resource name. Name of the shared resource;
- Volume. Is the name of the volume if the share belongs to a Net Ware server;
- Password. Password for making connections to the resource;
- "*". This symbol is a request to enter a password;
- /user:<домен>\<пользователь>. A string to indicate the name of the user whose rights must be used to connect;
- /home. The function is designed to connect the user's home directory;
- /delete. Cancellation of connection;
- /persistent: . Indicating the need to restore connections during subsequent user registrations in the system.
In order to connect a network drive you need to:
- Click the “Start” button, then select the “Run” command;
- Enter the command “cmd” in the “Open” field;
- Enter – net use x: your computer name (or IP address), resource name.
Using the command and its nuances
The net use command when creating a network drive returns the current status of each connection along with the name of the drive and the UNC name of the resource sharing, as well as the type of network. Most often the network type is Microsoft Windows Network, but if the computer is using another operating system, then this will be reflected in the column labeled Network. For example, if the user will work with the client software, NovellNetWare and will connect the drive to a server called NetWare, in the column called Network it will say Net Ware. Thanks to the Net Use command, it is possible to use batch files to create shared resources. With the Net Use command, you can use batch files to assign resources to users during the process of registering a network drive.
Differences
The difference between the Net Use command and the Windows graphical interface is the unlimited connection to shared folders. In order to connect to a subdirectory to which public access is prohibited, on a shared drive you can enter the following command: “netuse f: \”. This feature can be quite useful in most situations where the operation of a network drive and its connection are important. For example, you can share an entire disk and have users configure connections to individual directories using netuse. From a security point of view, this approach is questionable, so if you need to use this feature, you should make sure that the permissions for a specific folder that has not been shared are correct. Assigning resources will make it easier for you to access the corresponding program folders and disk data. If you are a user working in a corporate database, you can create a registration script. If you learn how to use the command line and also create batch files, you can distribute them to other users. This will make the work much easier. Batch files can also be useful in a peer-to-peer network in order to connect to resources or when performing maintenance tasks on other computers.
If you need to map a network drive, you can easily do this using this article.
