How to map a network drive in Windows 10 (and Windows 11)

Applies to: Windows 10, with notes for Windows 11. A mapped drive gives a shared folder on another PC, a NAS or a server its own drive letter, so it shows up in This PC and in every app’s Open and Save dialogs.

Before you start

You need three things:

• The folder’s network path. It looks like \\ComputerName\ShareName or \\192.168.1.20\ShareName. On the PC that shares the folder, right-click the folder, select Properties and open the Sharing tab; the path is shown under Network Path. For a NAS, the path is in its admin page or app.
• A user name and password for that computer or NAS, unless it’s set up to let your account in already. For another Windows PC, this is an account on that PC.
• Network discovery turned on if you want to browse for the folder instead of typing the path: go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings, select Turn on network discovery for your private network, and save.

Both computers should be on the same network. If the other PC doesn’t share the folder yet, set that up first; our guide to printer sharing in Windows 11 walks through the same sharing settings for a printer.

Method 1: File Explorer

1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer and select This PC in the left pane.
2. On the ribbon, open the Computer tab and select Map network drive > Map network drive. You can also right-click This PC and select Map network drive.
3. In Drive, choose a free letter. Letters near the end of the alphabet, such as Z: or Y:, are least likely to clash with USB drives.
4. In Folder, type the network path, or select Browse to pick the computer and shared folder.
5. Tick Reconnect at sign-in so the drive comes back every time you sign in.
6. If the other computer uses a different account from yours, tick Connect using different credentials.
7. Select Finish. If asked, enter the user name and password, tick Remember my credentials and select OK.

The drive now appears under Network locations in This PC. For a user name on another PC, type it as ComputerName\UserName so Windows doesn’t try to use your own PC’s account.

Windows 11: open File Explorer, select This PC, then select See more (the three dots) in the command bar and choose Map network drive. The rest of the steps are the same.

Method 2: The net use command

The command is handy when you set up several PCs, or when the File Explorer wizard fails without a useful message. Open Command Prompt normally, not as administrator (see the note below), and run:

net use Z: \\DESKTOP-PC\Shared /persistent:yes

Replace Z: with the letter you want and the path with your own. /persistent:yes makes Windows reconnect the drive at sign-in. To connect with a different account, add /user: and Windows asks for the password:

net use Z: \\DESKTOP-PC\Shared /user:DESKTOP-PC\Sam /persistent:yes

Other useful commands: net use on its own lists your mapped drives and their status, and net use Z: /delete removes one.

Why not as administrator? With User Account Control on, a drive mapped from an elevated (administrator) Command Prompt belongs to the elevated session, so it doesn’t show up in File Explorer. Map drives from a normal window unless you only need them in that elevated window.

Method 3: PowerShell

In PowerShell, use New-PSDrive with -Persist to create a real Windows mapped drive that File Explorer and net use can see:

New-PSDrive -Name "Z" -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\DESKTOP-PC\Shared" -Persist -Scope Global

Add -Credential (Get-Credential) to sign in with a different account. The name must be a single letter without the colon, and the root must be a path on another computer. To remove the drive, run Remove-PSDrive Z.

Disconnect a mapped drive

In This PC, right-click the drive and select Disconnect. This only removes the drive letter from your PC; the files in the shared folder are not touched. You can also run net use Z: /delete.

If the drive won’t connect

• “The network path was not found” (0x80070035): Windows can’t reach the computer or share. Check the path and that the other PC is on, then follow error 0x80070035: the network path was not found.
• “The local device name is already in use”: the drive letter is taken by an old or broken mapping. Pick another letter or see how to fix “the local device name is already in use”.
• Access is denied: the account you used doesn’t have permission on the share. Use an account that has access on the other computer, and check both the Sharing and Security tab permissions there. Our guide to “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” explains folder permissions.
• Red X after restarting: Windows tries to reconnect at sign-in, sometimes before Wi-Fi is ready. Opening the drive usually reconnects it. If it asks for a password every time, open Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credentials, remove the old entry for that computer and map the drive again with Remember my credentials ticked.
• An older NAS that worked before: current versions of Windows block guest (no-password) access to shares and don’t use the old SMB1 protocol by default. Create a user account on the NAS and update its firmware rather than turning these protections off.

If the PC has no network connection at all, start with “Ethernet doesn’t have a valid IP configuration”.

Related guides

• Error 0x80070035: the network path was not found
• The local device name is already in use: how to fix it
• You don’t currently have permission to access this folder
• Printer sharing in Windows 11
• Ethernet doesn’t have a valid IP configuration

Official sources: for more detail, see these Microsoft pages:

• Microsoft Support: File sharing over a network in Windows
• Microsoft Learn: New-PSDrive

Frequently asked questions

Why don’t I see the Map network drive option?

The Computer tab only appears when This PC is selected in File Explorer. Select This PC in the left pane first, or right-click it and choose Map network drive.

Is a mapped drive available to other users on my PC?

No. Drive mappings are stored per user account, so each person who signs in to the PC needs to map the drive for themselves.

Does disconnecting a mapped drive delete the files?

No. It only removes the drive letter on your PC. The files stay in the shared folder on the other computer or NAS.

Can I map a drive to a folder on the internet?

Only if the service offers a network share or WebDAV address. For OneDrive, use the OneDrive app instead, which shows your files in File Explorer without a drive letter.