How to Map a Network Drive on Windows 11

If you routinely use a networked generate (or “share”) with Home windows 11, you can map it to a drive letter in File Explorer to make it appear much more like a community generate and speedily accessibility it in the long term. Here’s how to do it.

Very first, open up File Explorer. If you really do not have a shortcut to File Explorer in your taskbar, right-simply click the Start button and pick out “File Explorer.”

In a File Explorer window, click on the ellipses button (3 dots) in the toolbar, then pick out “Map Network Drive” in the menu that appears.

In the “Map Community Drive” window, click the “Drive” drop-down menu and decide on a generate letter that you will assign to the community travel. It can be any letter in the list, relying on your particular choice.

In the “Folder” industry, enter the network system and share name. If you really don’t recall it, click “Browse” to see available products on your nearby community.

If you want Windows to always reconnect to this drive each individual time you indicator in, check out the box beside “Reconnect at indication-in.” And if you want to connect with credentials (username and password) other than the kinds linked to your present Windows account, look at “Connect Using Distinct Qualifications.”

When you are accomplished, click “Finish.”

Soon after clicking “Finish,” Home windows 11 will try to link to the community push. If your default qualifications fail, or if you checked “Connect Applying Different Credentials” in the very last phase, you are going to see a “Windows Security” window wherever you can enter the consumer name and password required to obtain the push.

If you want Home windows to generally recall this user identify and password for the generate (so you do not have to enter them once again), test “Remember My Credentials.” When you’re performed, click on “OK.”

Windows 11 will hook up to the drive and map it to the travel letter you selected. If you open File Explorer and glimpse at “This Personal computer,” you’ll see the mapped generate outlined below “Network Destinations.”

The mapped travel will also look in the File Explorer sidebar beneath “Network.”

Anytime you open the mapped travel (if you have examine and generate accessibility), you can use it virtually accurately like a nearby push connected to your equipment. But continue to keep in mind that it will possibly be slower than your community drives because information is currently being transferred to and from a network instead of through a nearby relationship like USB or SATA.

Similar: NVMe vs. SATA: Which SSD Know-how Is Speedier?

How to Disconnect a Mapped Community Travel

To disconnect a mapped network drive, initially open File Explorer. In the toolbar of any File Explorer window, click the ellipses button (3 dots) and find “Disconnect Community Travel.”

In the “Disconnect Community Drives” window that appears, pick the travel you’d like to disconnect, then click on “OK.”

Alternately, you can find the mapped push in File Explorer, then ideal-click on it. Pick out “Show Far more Options” in the first menu that seems, then “Disconnect” in the second menu.

Soon after that, the drive will be disconnected and no more time mapped. It will also no cost up the previously reserved drive letter utilized by the mapped travel. Content networking!

Related: How to Work With Community Drives & Network Areas