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April 19, 2011

Mapping a Network Drive in Windows 7

Yeah, so Windows 7 as it is shipped is somewhat different than XP Pro, the last real O/S released by Microsoft. So, the goal, per usual, is to try to make the new O/S work like the old O/S because no one really wanted it to change to begin with. Only you've got thousands of programmers all over the globe that are getting paid to write code, so you kick out a new O/S every 4 years.

Some people might ask "why would I want to map a network drive?" I like to do it because it creates a very slick shortcut down to some obscure file path on a drive and now I can get to it without clicking on 7 different folders to get to the location. So, it's a very slick little shortcut. Granted, you could place a shortcut to the folder on your desktop, or in a folder, but nothing is quite as clean as mapping it as a drive, IMHO.

OK, first of all, the 'Computer' icon does not appear on the Win7 Desktop by default, so let's get the Computer icon back on the desktop. Right-click on the desktop. Select Personalize. Select Change Desktop Icons. Check the box next to 'Computer' in 'Desktop Icons'. Click OK.

You should now have a Computer icon on your desktop. Click on the new Computer icon. It launches Windows Explorer. Alternately, hit the Windows key and the letter 'e' at the same time. Now, you've launched Windows Explorer, but the little tool bar/menu bar is gone. To make it magically reappear, hit the 'Alt' key. You can toggle the tool bar/menu bar on and off using the 'Alt' key.

If you want to bring the little tool bar/ menu bar back permanently, (and let's be honest here, who doesn't?) then click on Organize and then go to Layout and then select Menu Bar. Now, the Menu Bar will be visible permanently until you make it hidden.

Now, you can select Tools - Map Network Drive - Select a drive letter. Click Browse next to Folder. Click on Network. "Network Discovery is turned off. Network computers and devices are not visible. Please turn on network discovery in Network and Sharing Center." WTF?

Start - Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Changed Advance Sharing Settings - Network Discovery. Select "Turn on Network Discovery". At the bottom, select Save Changes.

Now, I can finally begin to make Windows Explorer function like it should have by default in Windows 7. Now, launch Windows Explorer (Windows - 'e').

Click in a blank place in the explorer bar at the top. I'm not sure what the name of this bar is. It shows what folder you're in. But if you click out to the right, in a blank area, it does a cool trick and displays the path as a URL and highlights it, so you can easily Copy and Paste. Very slick.

So, basically navigate to the folder where you want to map your network drive. Click in a blank place on the explorer bar so it will select the URL. Hit Control - C to copy the URL.

Now select Tools - Map Network Drive. Choose a drive letter. In the Folder section, hit Control V to paste in the URL. Choose reconnect at logon. Hit Finish.

Now, you should see a new drive letter in the Folders section on the left. If you don't like the name of it, right-click on it and select Rename. You can call it whatever you want, pretty much.

Wow. This is really slick. It's a shame that Microsoft sucks so hard that they don't ship the product configured properly. I hate those worms. Seriously I do.

Posted by Rob Kiser on April 19, 2011 at 10:16 AM

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