M Drive Missing (Any Drive Missing)
This article will describe various methods in adding and re-adding certain mapped drives, however all of these solutions will map any available shared drive or folder on the network.
Occasionally network connections can drop, causing access to network shares, folders and files to be lost.
For WSI as a whole, mapped drives are one trouble area, particularly the M Drive (\\WSINAS01\Share\).
In this article we will explore 4 very easy methods to restore connectivity to this, or any other network share.
OPTION 1 - Reboot
Rebooting clears any issues on the network for your PC.
When a PC reboots, it takes any existing connections to network shares, closes them and attempts to re-establish them.
When a PC reboots, it takes any existing connections to network shares, closes them and attempts to re-establish them.
When your PC is rebooted, it also clears off the current state, processes and hang ups of any software program that's running, which is why rebooting is so popular as a first line of troubleshooting.
*Conversely, it's also the first line of troubleshooting for things that have nothing to do with local programs, like P21 or internet problems, so users can waste time rebooting when rebooting isn't the solution.
By design, our WSI domain (the network our PCs, servers and storage sit on), has mechanisms called Group Policies that force a PC when it is rebooted to map or remap drives (among other forced policies like password checks and security checks). So a reboot will also not only potentially clear any network issues, it will force your PC to talk to the domain and remap these drives.
OPTION 2 - U Drive Bat File
U Drive Bat File? Yes, this one is hit or miss because it relies on the assumption that you have network connectivity to your U Drive, while you don't have connectivity to your M Drive.
For whatever network latency reason(s), the M Drive appears to lose it's mapping and the U Drive does not.
As part of the aforementioned Group Policy in Option 1, the U Drive is forced to map to your PC when you login everyday... just like there is a policy for your M Drive.
As part of the aforementioned Group Policy in Option 1, the U Drive is forced to map to your PC when you login everyday... just like there is a policy for your M Drive.
In every users' U Drive, is a file called 'M Drive Logon.bat'. This file when clicked will run a command on your PC telling it to remap your M Drive.
You are free to copy this file onto your Desktop or somewhere locally on your PC for future use.
To access your U Drive, go to This PC or My Computer and you will see your U Drive listed.
Below is where you can find it in Windows 10 and in Windows 7...
OPTION 3 - Command Prompt
This may be for more intermediate users, but this solution is fairly simple.
The Command Prompt is an old-school method of doing pretty much anything you can do with a keyboard and mouse and doing it with typing in commands.
In either Windows 10 or 7, click on Start and type Command Prompt in the search field.
Click and open Command Prompt and a small black window will appear.
In the black window, type gpupdate /force
Please note the space BEFORE the /.
Hit Enter on your keyboard and let the policies do their magic.
This command forces your PC to grab the Group Policies (mentioned in Option 1) from our servers and attempt to force the M Drive and U Drive policies to remap those drives (among any other Group Policies we have).
You may be prompted to log off, type Y for yes and log off.
This will force you to log back in and re-apply any policies (somewhat like rebooting, but quicker).
This will force you to log back in and re-apply any policies (somewhat like rebooting, but quicker).
Windows 10
Windows 7
In the Command Prompt window, your commands should look as such:
gpupdate /force
The result should appear as such:
Type Y to log off.
Log back in and you're good to go.
Log back in and you're good to go.
OPTION 4 - Remap the Drive
This is a 'manual' method of mapping the drive that forces and connects the drive. VPN/Remote users MUST be on the VPN first.
Whether you need your M Drive or your U Drive remapped, the steps are as follows:
Windows 10
1. On your keyboard, press the Windows Key+the letter E. This will open up File Explorer.
Alternately, find the Windows Explorer icon:
In File Explorer, make sure you are pointing to 'This PC' and the Computer tab and click on Map Network Drive.
A Map Network Drive window opens.
Here you will select the Drive letter (U or M, the other letters in this image are for demonstration only and you may not have rights to access them).
The M Drive is where we share our company files.
The U Drive is the User drive where you can save your personal files on a server that gets backed up nightly.
In the 'Folder' section, type one of the following, depending on where you want to map your drive:
U: \\10.105.10.10\D$\Users\<yourusername> … substitute your username, for example... \\10.105.10.10\D$\Users\pocasio
M: \\WSINAS01\Share
Click Finish.
That's it.
That's it.
Now make sure you can access your drive.
You may be prompted to enter your username and password, simply do so.
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