How to Map a Network Drive

Today's TipsMake will show you how to convert a folder on your computer into a shared drive. To proceed, your computer must be on the same network as the computer containing the drive folder. You can map (also called 'map') network drives on both Windows and Mac computers.

On Windows

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Open Start . Click the Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

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Open File Explorer. Click the folder icon in the bottom left of the Start window.

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Click This PC . This folder is in the options column on the left side of the File Explorer window.

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Click the Computer tab . It's in the upper left of the This PC window. A toolbar will appear below the Computer tab .

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Click the Map network drive icon. This option looks like a gray drive with a green bar below it and is in the "Network" section. A window will pop up when you click.

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Select the drive letter. Click the "Drive" drop-down box and select the drive you want to use for the folder.

Hard drives are assigned letter names (for example, hard drives in computers are often labeled "C").

Consider choosing the letter X or Z to avoid overlapping with drive letters A through F that you will most likely use on your computer at another time.

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Click Browse… (Browse). The option is in the middle right side of the window. Another window will open.

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Select the folder you want to use as the drive. Click the name of the computer you want to use, then navigate and select the folder that will be the drive.

If you are not connected to at least one other computer on the same network, you will not be able to select a folder.

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Click OK at the bottom of the window. The folder you select will be saved as the drive destination.

You need to make sure that the owner of the computer you choose does not move that folder from now on.

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Check that the "Reconnect at sign-up" box is checked. Click the box to the left of this option if it is not already checked. This will make sure you always have access to the folder.

If the computer is connecting to a shared folder on a network, you may need to provide login information. In this case, check the "Connect using different credentials" box and enter your credentials.

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Click the Finish button at the bottom of the window. The setup will complete and link the current computer to the selected folder. You will be able to use that folder as a drive.

The specified folder appears under the "Devices and drives" heading in the This PC window and has the letter name you selected.

On Mac

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Open Finder. Click the blue face icon in your Mac's Dock.

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Click Go . This tab is in the menu bar at the top of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

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Click Connect to Server . This option is near the bottom of the drop-down menu. A new window will open.

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Enter the address of the folder you want to use. For example, if the folder is called Movies and is located in the Documents folder on a computer named Thao , you would enter smb://Thao/Documents/Phim/ to the right of the tag .

Depending on your network type, you may see an ftp:// or similar tag instead of the smb:// tag .

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Click the + sign to the right of the address bar. The folder address will be added to your Mac computer.

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Click Connect . This blue button is at the bottom of the window.

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Enter your login information when prompted. The required login name and password will depend on the current network, so you will need to ask the system administrator if you do not know how to log in.

After logging in, you will see the folder's drive icon appear on the desktop.