If you frequently access shared network resources, mapping a network drive on your Windows 8 PC can be a time-saving solution. Network drives work as a shortcut to folders shared by other PCs or devices on the network. In this post, we’ll teach you how to map a network drive in Windows 8.
First, it’s important to note that network drives are stored individually for each user account on your Windows PC. This means that only the user who has created or mapped a network drive can see it in their user account, and they are not available for other users on the same computer.
To map a network drive, open Computer and then click Map Network Drive from the Computer tab. In the Map Network Drive wizard, the first option is to choose the drive letter that you wish to assign to your mapped network resources. Choose an appropriate drive letter, and then in the folder location, you can either type the path of the network location or you can click the browse button to search for shared resources.
Once you are done with typing or browsing the network path, the next option is to choose whether you want to automatically reconnect to these mapped network resources each time you sign in to your account. This option is useful if you don’t want to remap a network drive for the same network resources every time you log in to Windows.
If your network resources require special login credentials, then you need to make a check mark on “Connect using different credentials.” After making appropriate selections, click Finish. If you have checked “Connect using different credentials” option, then you have to enter the login credentials to access that particular network resource.
Once you are done, you can now access that Map Network Drive from Computer, under Network Locations. Following the same method, you can map more network drives for the network resources that you use the most.
You can also pin your favorite mapped network drives to the Start screen. Right-click on a mapped drive and then click Pin to Start. You can also map a network drive right from Network locations. To do this, open Network and browse for the shared resources that you wish to map as network drives. Right-click on a shared folder and then choose Map Network Drive. Follow the wizard to finish mapping a network drive.
If you ever feel that you no longer require a network drive, just right-click on the drive and choose Disconnect. You can also disconnect a mapped network drive by clicking on the drop-down arrow under Map Network Drive button, found in Computer tab.
That’s all about mapping shared resources as Network Drive. With these simple steps, you can easily map network drives in Windows 8 and streamline your workflow.