Map Drive From Command Line ~upd~ Access

net use \\server\share That’s right—you can net use a UNC path with no drive letter. It won’t appear as a drive, but it will be an authenticated, persistent connection that applications can still access via the full UNC path. Mastering net use and New-PSDrive turns drive mapping from a point-and-click chore into a scriptable, repeatable, and automatable operation. Whether you are deploying 200 workstations, maintaining a headless server, or simply tired of typing passwords into a dialog box, the command line offers speed, control, and depth that the GUI never will.

net use Z: \\server\share /user:OtherDomain\jsmith /savecred You will be prompted for the password once. After that, any script or command using that same mapping will reuse the stored credential—useful for scheduled tasks, but a security consideration. Network paths with spaces require quotation marks. Drive letters do not:

Next time you need to map a drive, don’t open File Explorer. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell—and feel the difference. map drive from command line

This feature dives deep into the art and science of mapping drives from the command line, from basic syntax to advanced scripting techniques. The net use command is a relic of the MS-DOS and OS/2 era, yet it remains one of the most reliable networking tools in modern Windows. It connects, disconnects, and displays information about shared resources. Basic Mapping Syntax The simplest form is almost poetic in its brevity:

New-PSDrive -Name "Z" -PSProvider FileSystem -Root "\\server\share" -Persist This creates a drive visible in File Explorer and across all applications—identical to net use Z: \\server\share . PowerShell handles credentials more securely using PSCredential objects: net use \\server\share That’s right—you can net use

| Task | Command | |------|---------| | Map persistent drive | net use Z: \\server\share /persistent:yes | | Map with specific credentials | net use Z: \\server\share /user:DOMAIN\user * | | Delete mapping | net use Z: /delete | | Delete all mappings | net use * /delete | | PowerShell persistent drive | New-PSDrive -Name Z -PSProvider FileSystem -Root \\server\share -Persist | | View all connections | net use |

net use * /delete While net use works everywhere, PowerShell offers richer control and better integration with modern authentication, including Azure AD and certificate-based logins. New-PSDrive for Persistent Mappings PowerShell’s drive cmdlets are primarily for creating session-scoped PSDrives (like HKLM:\ for the registry). However, with the -Persist flag, you can create a standard Windows mapped drive: Whether you are deploying 200 workstations, maintaining a

net use Z: \\server\share /persistent:yes Once you set /persistent:yes , subsequent net use commands (without specifying persistence) will also be persistent until you turn it off with /persistent:no . Sometimes you need to access a share with alternate credentials while logged into Windows with your standard account. The /savecred flag stores the password for future sessions: