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There are different ways to map network drives in Windows. However, to map network drives on multiple computers, you need Group and this article provides the steps.
Step 1: Create a Group Policy Object (GPO)
The first step is to create a new GPO. Here are the steps:
- Logon to a Domain Controller and open Server Manager.
- From Server Manager, click Tools. Then click Group Policy Management.
- When Group Policy Management opens expand your domain name. Then expand Group Policy Objects.
- To create a new GPO, drag Default Domain Policy to Group Policy Objects container.
- You will then receive a Copy GPO prompt. Click OK. When the copy is completed, click OK (See the second image below).
- Right-click the new copied GPO and click Rename. Then give the GPO a descriptive name. See mine in the second image below.
Step 2: Link the GPO to an AD Container
After creating a new GPO, the next step to map network drive Group Policy is to link the new GPO to an Active Directory container.
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Here are the steps:
- From Group Policy Management, drag the new GPO from Group Policy Objects container to the AD container you wish to link the GPO. For this example, I want to link the GPO to the Account Users OU.
- When you drag the GPO to the AD container, you will receive a prompt to confirm that you wish to link the GPO to the container. Click OK.
- To confirm that the GPO is linked, expand the container. The GPO should be beneath the container.
Step 3: Publish the Shared Folder in AD
Before you can map a network drive with Group Policy the share has to be published in Active Directory.
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Obviously, you have to have shared the folder on the server before you can publish it in Active Directory. For steps to share a folder, click this guide – 3 Ways to Share a Folder in Windows 10.
Here are the steps to publish a share in Active Directory:
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- Confirm that you can access the share from from another computer: Open File Explorer and type \\ServerName\ShareName.
- Then logon to a Domain Controller and open Server Manager.
- From Server Manager click Tools. Then select Active Directory Users and Computers.
- When Active Directory Users and Computers opens, navigate to the container you wish to publish the share.
- Then right-click the container. Point to New and select Shared Folder.
- At the New Object – Shared Folder screen, enter a name for the share. Then enter the path to the share. Path should be entered in the format \\ServerName\ShareName. When you finish, click OK. The share will become available in the container (See the second image below).
Step 4: Configure the GPO to Map the Share
The final step to map a network drive with Group Policy is to configure the GPO.
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Here are the steps:
- Open Group Policy Management. Then expand the AD container you linked the GPO you created earlier.
- Right-click the GPO and select Edit…
- When the GPO open for editing, navigate to User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings. Then click Drive Maps.
- Right-click Drive Maps, point to New. Then select Mapped Drive.
- When New Drive Properties opens, click the 3 dots beside Location field.
- When you click the 3 dots, Find Custom Search will open with a list of all published shares in Active Directory. Click the share you wish to use. Then click OK.
- Finally, check the Reconnect box. Then beneath Drive Letter, you could select Use the first available, starting at: or simply select a drive letter from Use: drop-down. Then click Apply, then OK. The mapped drive will be displayed in the Drive Maps node. See the second image below.
- When the user logs off and back, the mapped drive should show up in their This PC.
Conclusion
There are four steps to use Group Policy to map a network drive. Firstly, you must create a GPO or use an existing GPO.
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Then, you must link the GPO to the AD container hosting the computers you want the policy applied. In the last two steps, you need to publish the share in AD and configure the GPO to map it.
It is that easy to map a network drive with Group Policy!
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