In Microsoft Windows, how do I map a drive?

Note: You may need a VPN connection to access certain IU shared drives.

If you already know the location of the drive and folder to which you want to map, follow these steps to map a drive in Windows:

1. Right-click My Computer (in Windows 7 and Vista, right-click Computer).
   
   
2. Select Map Network Drive... .
   
   
3. In the "Drive:" field, select the letter you would like to assign to the drive. That letter will become the mapped drive.
   
   
4. If you would like to connect to that drive every time you start your computer, select Reconnect at logon.
   
   
5. In the "Path:" or "Folder:" field, type the pathname of the networked drive, for example: \\myserver\docs
6. Click OK or Finish.

If you do not know where the drive is located, follow the appropriate steps below:

Windows XP

Note: If this doesn't match what you see, refer to About navigation settings in Windows.

1. Click Start and select Search.
   
   
2. When asked "What do you want to search for?", choose Printers, computers, or people, and then A computer on the network.
   
   
3. Type the name of the computer to which you wish to connect and click Search. The name of the computer should appear. If it does not, check the name and try again.
   
   
4. Select the computer, and then search for the folder to which you want to map. Right-click the folder and select Copy Path, and then Copy Long Path.
   
   
5. Right-click My Computer and choose Map Network Drive. Right-click in the "Folder:" field and choose Paste.
   
   
6. Assign a letter to the drive. If you would like to connect to that drive every time you start your computer, select Reconnect at logon.
   
   
7. Click Finish. The drive should be mapped.

Connecting with a different username in Windows 7, Vista, or XP

Sometimes you might need to use a different username and password than your own to access the drive or folder you plan to map. By default, Windows will try to use the username and password you logged in with; but if the drive or folder has only given permissions to a group account, you must force Windows to supply that group username and password in place of your own:

1. When following the instructions above, before you click OK or Finish, click Connect using a different user name. A Connect As... login box will appear.
   
   
2. In the fields provided, enter the username and password you plan to use to map this drive.

   Note: If at least one computer (either your own or the one with the drive you want to map) is joined to a domain or Active Directory, you'll have to supply the domain with a backslash in front of the username. At IU, use the following example with ads\, where darthvader is the username:

   ads\darthvader
3. Click OK to return to the original mapping dialog window, and then click Finish.

Comments/Questions/Corrections