Drive mapping is the way by which Microsoft Windows and OS/2 associate a local drive letter (A through Z) with a shared storage area to another computer over a network. After a drive has been mapped, a software application on a client's computer can read and write files from the shared storage area by accessing that drive, just as if that drive represented a local physical hard disk drive.
To map a network drive:
1. To connect a drive from My Computer, click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Explore. To connect a drive from Windows Explorer, right-click Start, and then click Explore.
2. On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive.
3. In the Drive box, click a drive letter.
4. In the Folder box, type the UNC path for the server and shared resource in the following format: \\server name\share name. You can also click Browse to find the computer and shared resource.
You can map shared drives and shared folders. When you access a shared drive or folder you can also access subfolders if you have the appropriate permissions. However, you cannot map a drive for a subfolder that is not explicitly configured as a shared resource.
If you need to access a shared file on another PC, you can open My Computer, click My Network Places, click View Workgroup Computers, double-click the desired computer, and double-click the appropriate shared folder to locate the file.
To disconnect from a mapped network drive:
1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the icon for the mapped drive.
3. Click Disconnect.
