Mapping a share folder as a drive to your My Computer is a good option if you need to access it on a regular basis. It will appear just like other hard drives in My Computer, so you can access them directly.

So, how to map the share folder as a drive? Follow these steps.

1. Goto Start — Run and type \\’yourservernameoripaddress’\ (without quotes).

2. You should get a window listing all the share folders from that server/machine.

3. Right-click the share-folder you need to map, and choose the option ‘Map Network Drive’.

4. A dialog box will open up. Choose any letter of your choice from the list, for the drive.

5. Also, check the option ‘Reconnect at logon’ to enable the drive to be available the next time you log in to the machine.

6. Click on ‘Finish’ to complete the process. Open My Computer and check whether you can see the new drive listed there. Double-click on it and start using it.

 

Note : This drive will be accessible only when the host machine is online.

This is the easy method. There is another method with which also you can map the same share folder as a drive. This method will require you to type in the details. Lets see that method as well.

1. Open My Computer.(or any Explorer window)

2. From menu bar, goto Tools — Map Network Drive..

3. Again, from the dialog box, choose the drive letter in the ‘Drive’ field.

4. Type in the share folder path with the server name in the ‘Folder’ field correctly, like ‘\\’yourservernameoripaddress’\’sharefoldername’ , and press Finish. Again, check the ‘Re-connect at next log on’ option.

5. Check in My Computer for the new drive.

 

So, choose whichever option you feel is comfortable for you.

 

Troubleshooting :

If, when you open My Computer, you are not able to see the drives you mapped, follow these steps to re-connect them back.

1. Check whether you are properly connected to the network. Check your ip address and see if it falls in your office network. If it is in the office network, then try the following steps..

2. Goto Start — Run and type \\’yourservernameoripaddress’\ (without quotes). If its opening, then map the share folder back as the drive, as described above.

3. If the server share is not opening, then goto Start–Run again, and type ‘services.msc’. From the list of services, see if the service named ‘Server’ is started or not. If its not started, scroll up and find the service called ‘Remote Procedure Call Locator’ (RPC Locator). Start this service. (The server service cannot be started manually as it will give an access denied error if you try to do so. You will have to restart the machine to restart the server service).

4. Once the RPC locator is started, try the second step again. This time, it should open. You can continue to map the drive.

5. In case, if the server service is started, and the server share is not opening, then check if your Windows firewall or any other installed firewall application is running.( eg: Checkpoint). If yes, disable it and try again.