Using the GUI

1. Select the Windows Start Icon > Computer.
2. In the top menu of Windows Explorer, select Map network drive.
3. In the Map Network Drive dialog box, type \\fs.example.com\share and select Finish.  Replace fs.example.com with the domain name or IP address of the share.

Using the command line

net use command can be used to show if there are any network drives already mapped.

C:\Users\john.doe>net use

Status    Local    Remote                         Network
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK        X:       \\server1.example.com\share    Microsoft Windows Network
OK        Y:       \\server2.example.com\share    Microsoft Windows Network
OK        Z:       \\server3.example.com\share    Microsoft Windows Network

The net use <drive letter>: <UNC path> command can be used to map a network drive.

• Note: the /delete option can be used to disconnect a mapped network drive (example: net use m: /delete)

C:\Users\john.doe>net use S: \\server4.example.com\share

Using PowerShell

New-PSDrive

# Add a network drive
$pass="Your Password"|ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText -Force
$Cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PsCredential('Your Username',$pass)
New-PSDrive -Name X -PSProvider FileSystem -Root \\fs.example.com\share -Credential $Cred -Persist

# List the network drives
Get-PSDrive

# Remove the network drives
Remove-PSDrive -Name X -PSProvider FileSystem

net use

$FS2 = "\\fs.example.com\share"
$username = "Your Username"
$password = "Your Password"

net use $FS2 $password /USER:$username  

On Boot

To have a network drive mapped when Windows is restarted, you can create a batch file, such as map.bat at C:\Users\your_username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup, and the network drive will be mapped on boot.

net use z: \\fs.example.com\share /persistent:yes

Username / Password

When mapping the network drive, there may be a prompt to enter a username and password.

If the Samba is being used for the share, on the Samba server, use the smbpasswd command to add a users password to the SMB database. You can now connect to the Samba share using the username and password.

[root@server1 ~]# smbpasswd -a jeremy
New SMB password: ********
Retype new SMB password: ********