New Site Features

I have decided to add some new features to the site. You will notice some Feedzilla news feeds and social bookmarking links at the end of posts. I have also added an Archive page for convenience. I hope you all enjoy the new features, I will add more if there is demand. If you would like to see a feature added to this site, please contact me or say so as a comment to this post. 

Mapping a Network Drive (Part I)

It has come to my attention, from the many conversations I have with end-users, that the general population may not know how to map a drive. I through this phrase around fairly loosely when speaking to customers, because in today’s corporate and small business environments, network resources are becoming more prevalent and access to remote resources can be necessary.

What is a “mapped drive”? - A mapped drive is, in its simplest terms, is a virtual connection to media from another server or workstation on a network. Depending on you environment, you probably have “mapped drives” already on your computer without even knowing it, these drives probably point to a server on you network where all employees keep files. (a file server) These mapped drives are established when you log-in to your computer as part of a start-up script written by your administrator. Your administrator is just automating what you can do on your own, this type of automation helps employees become familiar with one resource point. (i.e. “I put the files you wanted on the Z: drive.”)

Why do we need mapped drives? - Good question, but there are lot of reasons. Mapped drives to file servers, for instance, centralize resources for groups of people, it helps standardize directory structure (easier to find files), and it is more efficient (power, hardware, reduces file duplicates), not to mention it is more easily managed. Without the ease of mapping drives, this type of network resource sharing may not exist.

How do I map a network drive? - Now comes the easy part. Mapping a drive is very simple and I will detail how, in the following steps:

1. Open My Computer

 

 

 

 

2. Click Tools > Map Network Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Choose a drive letter & Enter the resource path. (i.e. Drive Letter = Z: ; Resource Path = //accounting_server/invoices)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Click Finish.

 

 

 

Now when you look in My Computer you will notice an extra drive available besides your local drives

 

 

 

 

 

In Part II of mapping a network drive, we will explore a few more advanced options and I will show you how to automate it with a script.

 

Create a hidden share.

This is a pretty simple post but a useful one, that is why I am putting in the Journal section.

If you have ever wanted to create a shared drive or a shared folder but don’t want it to be visible to the entire network you can use a $ sign at the end of the share name to hide it from windows explorer.

This is not a major security precaution, you will need to use specific permissions to deter unwanted users, this is just a means by which you can share a folder or a drive without it being seen by all users on your LAN. To specifically access a hidden share you will need to type the specific share name in your windows explorer address bar. (i.e. \\mycomputer\hidden_share$) Now you can secretly share all those weekend photos with co-workers, without you boss knowing!